We often hear the phrase “the road to Damascus”. An infamous international stock market speculator sees the error of his ways and becomes a fierce critic of globalisation. A high-living pop singer rediscovers faith and opts for a celibate lifestyle. A drug dealer embraces Islam and starts an anti-drug campaign. Even among those who have [...]
Archive | Anthony Egan SJ on St Paul RSS feed for this section
Paul and the Bible
When we think of St Paul on his many great journeys fearlessly preaching the gospel, do we imagine a street preacher proclaiming his message aloud, grasping and sometimes waving around a well-thumbed leather-bound copy of the Bible? When we think of Paul writing his letters, do we imagine him writing away surrounded by a stack [...]
Paul and Jesus
What did St Paul actually know about Jesus? Before his conversion on the road to Damascus (Acts 9:1-6) Paul would have known very little about Jesus. Having never met the historical Jesus of Nazareth, he had to rely initially on what was being said about him in Jerusalem by Jesus’ disciples and detractors.
Paul and salvation
It used to be a common joke to say that while Jesus was Catholic, Paul was Protestant. Of course we know that both Jesus and Paul were Torah-observing Jews but as with many jokes it has a core of truth.
Understanding St Paul
Paul’s moral teaching often causes controversy. Scripture scholar Victor Paul Furnish, who tries to show how a more critical reading of Paul’s ethics can retrieve the spirit of what he said, observes that “when one treats Paul’s teaching as if it were a sacred cow, one runs the risk of turning it into a white [...]
Jesus’ trial
These are meditations and not a detailed exegesis of the Passion accounts in the gospels. For this reason, I will limit my reflection to two trials as told in Mark: the religious one before Caiaphas, and the political one before Pontius Pilate.
St Paul today
As we begin the Year of St Paul, we are faced with the almost inevitable question: what does a Jewish preacher of the Risen Christ who was executed in Rome in around 61 AD have to say to Christians today? After all, so much has changed since Paul’s death.
Pilgrimage 2013
The Digital Southern Cross
