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Der Pharisäer Paulus. Erzählung einer Berufung
The Pharisee Paul. Narrative of a calling
Event by: Evangelische Akademie zu Berlin
Online event
Talks & discussions
About event
The common phrase "from Saul to Paul" suppresses Paul's Jewishness and to this day positions him against Judaism. But that's not how he saw himself.
"Saul becomes Paul. As a preacher, he travels through the country and talks about his faith. He admonishes people and explains that Christians can be recognized above all by their actions. They should support each other: 'Love God and your neighbor as yourself,' says Paul." This is what it says, for example, in the online magazine Sonntagsblatt.de (April 2023). But Paul did not see himself that way.
Especially his emphasis on the commandment of love from the book of Leviticus (19:18) points to the fact that Paul remained Jewish, but trusted in Jesus as the resurrected One, in the beginning of a new era.
The common phrase "from Saul to Paul", which is still encountered in textbooks and materials for religious education, suppresses Paul's Jewishness and positions him against Judaism to this day. We want to counter this with other interpretations.
Dr. Kathy Ehrensperger is a New Testament scholar and research associate at the University of Basel.
In our series Biblical interpretations critical of anti-Semitism, changing exegetes present new biblical interpretations that counter the traditional stereotyping of Jews and Judaism. The lectures are intended to encourage us to rediscover the potential of biblical texts and to show how much we benefit from reading them with the Jewish tradition and not against it.
Further information and registration at https://www.eaberlin.de/seminars/data/2025/12/der-pharisaeer-paulus/
"Saul becomes Paul. As a preacher, he travels through the country and talks about his faith. He admonishes people and explains that Christians can be recognized above all by their actions. They should support each other: 'Love God and your neighbor as yourself,' says Paul." This is what it says, for example, in the online magazine Sonntagsblatt.de (April 2023). But Paul did not see himself that way.
Especially his emphasis on the commandment of love from the book of Leviticus (19:18) points to the fact that Paul remained Jewish, but trusted in Jesus as the resurrected One, in the beginning of a new era.
The common phrase "from Saul to Paul", which is still encountered in textbooks and materials for religious education, suppresses Paul's Jewishness and positions him against Judaism to this day. We want to counter this with other interpretations.
Dr. Kathy Ehrensperger is a New Testament scholar and research associate at the University of Basel.
In our series Biblical interpretations critical of anti-Semitism, changing exegetes present new biblical interpretations that counter the traditional stereotyping of Jews and Judaism. The lectures are intended to encourage us to rediscover the potential of biblical texts and to show how much we benefit from reading them with the Jewish tradition and not against it.
Further information and registration at https://www.eaberlin.de/seminars/data/2025/12/der-pharisaeer-paulus/