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Conversion to Christianity is the religious conversion of a previously non-Christian person to some form of Christianity. It has been called the foundational experience of Christian life.〔Hanigan, James P. "Conversion and Christian Ethics." Online: http://theologytoday.ptsem.edu/apr1983/v40-1-article3.htm. Accessed 17 June 2009〕 Conversion to Christianity primarily involves belief (faith) in the Christian God, wherein one notices that one has fallen short of God's image in what he created man after which was in his love, glory, and holiness, repentance of sin, and confession of their belief that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and the all-sufficient and only means by whom one's sin can be atoned for and therefore the only route to salvation. While conversion to Christianity may simply involve a personal choice to identify with Christianity rather than with another religion, many Christians understand it to mean that the individual attains eternal salvation by a genuine conversion experience or act—a "radical transformation of self."〔Spilka, Bernard et al. ''The Psychology of Religion, Third Edition: An Empirical Approach.'' Guilford Press, 2003, ISBN 1-57230-901-6〕 Conversion has also been described as the point of transition from "natural life" to spiritual life. In this sense it is seen as both a "radical change of heart and life" and also a more gradual process in which the convert's spiritual nature develops through Christian culture and education.〔Oscar S. Kriebe. ''Conversion and Religious Experience,'' BiblioBazaar, LLC, 2008. ISBN 0-554-51750-7〕 According to theologian Charles Curran, conversion is the central moral message of Jesus. Curran describes it as an "awakening to a consciousness of the presence of divine reality" in one's life.〔Curran, Charles. ''A New Look at Christian Morality.'' Fides, 1970. ASIN: B0029MW7YO〕 The Gospel of Matthew quotes Jesus as teaching, "Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven." Social scientists have shown great interest in the Christian conversion as a religious experience that believers describe as strengthening their faith and changing their lives.〔Peter G. Stromberg. ''Language and Self-Transformation: A Study of the Christian Conversion Narrative.'' Cambridge University Press, 2008. ISBN 0-521-03136-2〕 Christianization, defined as the "reformulation of social relations, cultural meanings, and personal experience in terms of (commonly accepted or supposed) Christian ideals," should be distinguished from conversion.〔Hefner, Robert W. ''Conversion to Christianity: Historical and Anthropological Perspectives on a Great Transformation.'' University of California Press, 1993. ISBN 0-520-07836-5〕 Christianization is the broader cultural term, and typically has involved efforts to systematically convert an entire continent or culture from existing beliefs to Christianity.〔Fletcher, Richard. ''The Barbarian Conversion: From Paganism to Christianity.'' University of California Press, 1999. ISBN 0-520-21859-0〕 == Examples from the New Testament == The conversion of the Apostle Peter, as recorded in the Bible, serves as a classic example of "a previously non-Christian person entering upon the Christian way of life": The Gospels speak of the coming of the Kingdom with power from on high and while Jesus was alive on earth he was still under the Jewish Law being obedient to its rules and regulations. Jesus though was given all authority in heaven and on earth, even the authority to forgive sins which before only God could do. While alive on the cross he did forgive the thief who asked him because he had that authority. In , Jesus' last command was for his disciples to go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything he had commanded. In we see the start of the Christian church with the Holy Spirit coming down, and Peter preaching to the crowd about how their sins, along with the help of wicked men, crucified the savior. Their response was "what shall we do?" Peter's response to their faith was, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.” Another dramatic conversion to Christianity occurred in the life of the Apostle Paul whose formal name had been Saul of Tarsus. He was a zealot for the cause of Second Temple Judaism who had been "breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord". While traveling to Damascus to arrest Jewish Christians, he fell to the ground upon being surrounded by a bright light "from heaven". He heard a voice accusing him: "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?" The experience rendered him temporarily blind. The voice directed him to go on to Damascus where he was cured and baptized by Ananias of Damascus, was described as being filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to passionately proclaim the Christian gospel (good news). In the book of Romans there is a description of what transpires through water baptism. We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? (repentance) Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. (Being immersed in water through baptism is like Jesus being buried in the tomb and being brought up out of the water is like Jesus' resurrection to a new life, i.e., born again by water and Spirit) Hanigan perceives a common "death and rebirth" experience in these and other conversions which he describes as "encounters with the living God". His analysis is that these individuals responded not so much out of a sense of guilt, but from their awe, reverence, and holy fear of God's presence. The pattern, he writes, begins with God taking initiative in the individual's life. Then, the person responds by acknowledging and confessing personal lostness and sinfulness, and then accepting a call to holiness.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Conversion to Christianity」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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