On December 21, the choir and orchestra will perform the Paulus oratorio op. 36 by Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy. On this occasion, theologian and retired pastor Dietrich Redecker will speak about the religious, theological and anthropological background to the oratorio PAULUS in the KULTURZEIT.

The transformation of Saul - as a persecutor of the still young Christian community - into Paul - as a missionary and ambassador of the living Christ - marks an important turning point in the life of this apostle in the New Testament.

This process of transformation from the former quarrelsome Jew Saul to the zealous Christian ambassador preaching the risen Christ is interesting.
In Mendelssohn's oratorio, the influence of the Protestant theologian Friedrich Schleiermacher, whose theology was influenced by the Enlightenment, can be recognized in this process. In addition, this process of change also reveals how Paul reckons with his Jewish past and turns to the proclamation of freedom from the law of the Torah.
In this development of the man Saul/Paul, we can also recognize a process of individualization that every maturing person goes through.