A Comparison of Two Religious Conversion Experiences

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A Comparison of Two Religious Conversion Experiences

A religious conversion is a process of change where religious beliefs

previously ignored or unappreciated become significant due to a

specific experience or a change in view over time. They are either

long term, dramatic or involving a deepening of faith that may lead to

the adoption of new beliefs or the prioritising of an individual's

faith. Conversions are not exclusive and occur in most religions. The

conversion of St Paul on the road to Damascus is the most influential

conversion experience in the Christian tradition. St Paul was a major

persecutor of Christians and following a conversion became an apostle

and the author of one third of the New Testament. Similarly in the

Buddhist tradition, the conversion of Siddhartha Gotama ('the

enlightened one') formed the core of the Sangha, the heart of Buddhist

life.

Although both conversion experiences were dramatic and utterly

transformed the believers' life, St Paul's conversion was from one

religion to another (from Judaism to Christianity) whereas Gotama's

was from nominal religious affiliation to complete religious

commitment; his faith was valued more and strengthened. Saul was

stated to have been 'breathing threats and murder against the

disciples of the Lord' (Acts 9) before he was converted. After the

experience, Paul was baptised to show his loyalty to Christianity and

proclaims Jesus to be the Son of God. In this light, another contrast

between the conversions is that only Gotama's conversion endorses the

definition of conversion established by William James. He advocates

that a conversion results in a person that is '...

... middle of paper ...

... well-educated and studied philosophy; however, it was not the same

religion that Gotama converted into. Buddhism was created due to

Gotama's conversion experience so any interaction with Buddhism before

the conversion is perhaps impossible, yet it can also be argued that

Gotama was interacting with what were the beginnings of the Buddhist

tradition. Paul had interacted with Christianity through observing

their lifestyle, through his persecution of them, through baptism,

miracles and his communication with Anani'as. Paul and Gotama

therefore learnt how to behave in their converted role.

Perhaps the most important difference between the conversions of Paul

and Gotama is that they based on different traditions. However, both

exemplify the effects of conversion in inspiring people to promote

their newly founded beliefs.

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