Paul claims them both. No, this isn't a thread to push what I believe on other people. I seriously want to know. Here's my understanding as of now- The Romans were NOT keen on allowing conquered peoples to become citizens. The primary reason for this was economic; Roman citizens did not pay taxes. The peoples they controlled did. So every person they allow to BECOME a Roman citizen is one less person that will be paying taxes. For this reason, if a person WAS allowed to BECOME a Roman citizen, it generally costs a lot of money, which is simply Rome attempting to recoup the lost tax revenues. But I am interested in alternate interpretations, if they are backed up with evidence. Now on to the heart of the issue- Acts 22 [quote]"I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia"[/quote] verse 3 [quote]"The commander came and said to Sha'ul, 'Are you a Roman citizen?' 'Yes' he said. The commander replied, 'I bought this citizenship for a sizeable sum of money.' 'But I was born to it' said Sha'ul" [/quote] vs 27-28 Now it gets even stranger. Going from my limited understanding, it would seem that if a person WAS both Jewish and Roman, they would probably be born a Jew, and purchase Roman citizenship. But Paul says he was BORN a Roman citizen... meaning he was born from Roman parents, right? Did he convert to Judaism, then? I can't find any mention of such a conversion in the Bible. I just don't see how to reconcile this.

Post edited by: MattBob_SquarePants, at: 2007/09/20 14:12