Compare And Contrast Tarsus And Malcolm X

Coming of age in these two worlds, the two men would later reflect on their departure from the will of God yet praise his Divine Presence in each of their lives. Malcolm Little would move to Boston and begin taking pride in his assimilation into white culture--wearing zoot suits and conking his hair--while beginning to reject his childhood faith. In his autobiography, he would glorify Allah for this dark period in his life saying, “All praise is due to Allah that I went to Boston when I did. If I hadn’t, I’d probably still be a brainwashed black Christian” (36). LaMothe writes that “Malcolm X’s withdrawal from and rebellion against the white world and its concomitant expectations of African-American submission included his rejection of Christianity...a
Enthusiastic in his Pharisaic spirituality, Saul would enter a very strict sect of Judaism self-describing himself as a zealot. Some argue that he is referring to himself as a member of the Zealots, a fourth sect of Judaism similar to Pharisaic teachings (another Zealot mentioned in the New Testament is Simon the Zealot, chosen by the Christ as an apostle); others believe there is inadequate evidence for this and conclude that St. Paul was stating he was simply zealous--loyal or ardent--in his Jewish faith. In either case, it is this profound and ardent faith, which leads him to become a great persecutor of the early Church. Following the strict interpretations of the Jewish Scriptures, Saul would have denied wholeheartedly that a Galilean, who called for the destruction of the Temple and its rebuilding in three days, was the long-awaited Messiah; for this reason, he intended to squash the spread of this alleged heresy and witnessed the execution of the first Christian martyr, St.
In the life of St. Paul, the young persecutor of the Church that he would later die for journeyed to Damascus when a great light appeared and the voice of Christ spoke, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?....I have appeared to you, to appoint you a minister and a witness...rescuing you...to open [the eyes of the Jewish people and of the Gentiles] that they may turn from darkness to light and from the dominion of Satan to God….” After this experience, Paul was no longer called Saul in the Bible. Many conclude that this name change is similar to that of Abraham; however, as a Roman citizen, Paul had two names for the two cultures he lived in--the Roman Empire (Paulus) and the Jewish nation (Saulos). This name change is still symbolic as it represents a new mission to follow the will of God serving not only the Jews but also the Gentiles. In a similar fashion, Malcolm Little would change his name saying, “‘X’ replaced the white slavemaster name of "Little" which some blue-eyed devil named Little had imposed upon my paternal forebears” after converting to Islam and receiving a silent vision of Elijah Muhammad while in prison, though he would later come to believe that it was actually Master Fard, the Messiah of the Nation of Islam--an even closer parallel between Paul and Malcolm X; however, there is a great distinction between the two men: St. Paul would see his conversion not as an aversion from