This is one of the most historic and least recognized paradigm shifts ever recorded. Note how quickly "the correct" information can change one's beliefs, and career.
"I'm sure that you've heard the story of my earlier life. You know my pedigree: a legitimate birth, circumcised on the eighth day; an Israelite from the elite tribe of Benjamin. I lived as a strict Pharisee, the most demanding branch of our religion. I was a meticulous observer of everything set down in God's law Book; a fiery defender of the purity of my religion."
"It's because I believed it and took it seriously that I committed myself heart and soul to what God promised. I thought it was my duty to fight opposition with all my might. Backed with the full authority of the high priests, I threw those that believed in Jesus in jail right and left, and whenever it came to a vote, I voted for their execution. I was systematically destroying them. I stormed through their meeting places, a one-man terror obsessed with obliterating them."
"I was so enthusiastic about the traditions of my ancestors that I advanced head and shoulders above my peers in my career. And then I started on the towns outside Jerusalem."
"When I got to the outskirts of Damascas I was suddenly dazed by a blinding flash of light- it was bright - brighter than the sun. " As I fell to the ground, I heard a voice in Hebrew: "Saul, Saul, why do you insist on going against the grain? Why are out to get me?"
My companions lay there dumbstruck - they could hear, but couldn't see anyone.
I said, "Who are you....................Master?"
The voice answered, "I am Jesus, the One you're hunting down like an animal."
"I became an obedient believer on the spot."
"What could I do? I couldn't just walk away! I started throwing out everything I used to take credit for. Yes, all the things I once thought were so important - everything I once thought I had going for me was insignificant dog dung. I didn't want some petty righteousness that comes from keeping a list of rules when I could get the robust kind that comes from trusting Jesus Christ-God's righteousness. I gave up all that inferior stuff so I could know Christ personally, to be a partner in his suffering and experience his resurrection power."
"I started preaching this life-change-this radical turn to God and everything it meant in everyday life." Yes, I changed my mind on the spot.
Not a bad example...
