. . . Okay, so the Roman Empire isn’t doing the persecution yet. My mistake. It’s still mainly the Jewish elders, trying to crack down on this upstart minority faction within their religion. (Saul’s a Pharisee, a group probably best known today for having Jesus call them hypocrites.)
Mom: In the late 30s and 40s AD, the Roman Empire was actively persecuting Christians. One of its top agents in this endeavor was a man named Saul. Now, there’s a story in the Book of Acts that goes like this…
Saul had gotten a warrant to go to the city of Damascus and arrest all the Christians there.
He had almost reached the city when a bright light flashed around him…