road to Damascus

English

Etymology

From the Bible New Testament book Acts of the Apostles. Referring to the conversion of Saul of Tarsus, later known as the Apostle Paul, to Christianity while travelling to Damascus to persecute Christians.

Pronunciation

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

Noun

road to Damascus (plural roads to Damascus)

1. (idiomatic, often attributive) An important point in someone's life where a great change, or reversal, of ideas or beliefs occurs.
   • 2007 March 5, Jim Brown, quoting Mike Huckabee, “Huckabee criticizes fellow GOP candidates over 'Damascus Road conversions'”, in One News Now‎^[1], archived from the original on 2007-03-08:

     Today we hear a lot about those who have had what's often called Road to Damascus experiences on every issue from guns and same-sex marriage to the sanctity-of-life and taxes.

   • 2007 March 18, Will Hodgkinson, quoting Bryan Ferry, “Soundtrack of my life: Bryan Ferry”, in The Observer‎^[2]:

     […] That was my Road to Damascus moment. They played one hit after another and this is the song I remember most clearly.

   • 2010 February 14, Vernon Jones, quotee, The Atlanta Journal and Constitution:

     The candidate is aggressively branding himself as Vernon 2.0, a kinder, gentler Vernon Jones, a bridge builder, a fence mender. Asked by a Rockdale editor about his “road to Damascus moment,” Jones laughs. “I got knocked off my donkey,” he says.

Translations

important point of change or reversal

• Afrikaans: pad na Damaskus
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 轉折點 / 转折点 (zh) (zhuǎnzhédiǎn)

• Danish: vej til Damaskus
• Finnish: käännekohta (fi)
• French: chemin de Damas (fr) m
• German: Damaskuserlebnis n
• Portuguese: estrada para Damasco
• Russian: поворо́тный моме́нт m (povorótnyj momént)
• Spanish: camino a Damasco m

See also

• Acts of the Apostles
• Damascene conversion
• metanoia (“fundamental change of mind”)

Further reading

• conversion of Paul the Apostle on Wikipedia.Wikipedia