+Religious.+--For the Romans, Greeks, and conquered nations and tribes, it was an age of scepticism. While the gods and goddesses in the great heathen temples still had their rites and ceremonies observed yet the people, to a large degree, had ceased to believe in them. The Roman writers of the period are agreed in the slackening of religious ties and of moral restraints. Yet it was the policy of the state to maintain the worship of the gods and goddesses. Any attack upon them or their worship was regarded as an offense against the state. +The Difficulties+ of the situation were threefold: (a) To seek to overturn the religion of the state constituted an offense which was punishable by stripes and imprisonment; (b) To rebuke men's sins and the evils of the times stirred up bitter opposition on their part; (c) To proclaim a crucified and risen Christ as the Messiah to the Jews, when they expected a great conquering hero, often excited and put them in a rage. That Paul could preach Christ and establish churches, under all the opposition that he encountered, shows how fully and implicitly he believed in his Lord. QUESTIONS What impression has the man, Paul, made upon the world? What was his work as an apostle? What his leading thought? Where is the place of his birth? What can be said of his family? How was he educated and trained, in the home, in school, and for a trade? What was the political and religious condition of the world as Paul saw it? What were the three difficulties in the way of his work in preaching Christ? I. PAUL'S PREPARATION STUDY II CONVERSION ANALYSIS +Paul the Persecutor+--Order of Events. The Inevitable Conflict. Cruelty of the Persecutor. +Conversion+--Cause. Effects (physical, mental and spiritual, penalty, relief to the Christians, triumph of Christ, and estimates of the results). +Period of Waiting+--Retirement of Paul. Reasons. The Gospel for the Gentiles. Paul Brought to Antioch. I. PAUL'S PREPARATION STUDY II CONVERSION PAUL, THE PERSECUTOR +Order of Events.+--It seems to be quite evident, when Paul finished his studies in Jerusalem, that he left the city and engaged in work somewhere else, during the years when John the Baptist and Jesus were preaching and teaching. In all probability he did not return until after the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ. Paul first appears in the narrative of the Acts, under the name of Saul, at the martyrdom of Stephen, where he takes charge of the clothes of the witnesses (Acts 7:58, 59).