04_Sandnes_550-564_copia_550-564 10/12/15 10:24 Pagina 558 558 KARL OLAV SANDNES 558 the prophetic tradition, which otherwise is so important for under- standing Paul’s apostolate. Carol K. Stockhausen argues that the Abraham narrative serves as the foundational pattern of Paul’s autobiography in Galatians 1–2. While recognizing that Abraham is not mentioned, she claims that Paul’s story, with Damascus as its turning point, has a remarkable parallel to Abraham: Abraham is the revered model who first abandoned his heritage, his home, and the ways of his fathers to follow the will of God. It is his authority that lends a profound authority to Paul’s self-portrait, in its turn intended to be paradigmatic for Paul’s readers. The following of this paradigm is the first theological recommendation made in the letter 26. Reference for the last sentence is Gal 4,12 where Paul is the model for readers who turned from the idols to God. Abraham was the paradigmatic proselyte 27, and if he is the model for the autobio- graphy, this has direct bearing upon the question of “the parting of the ways”, since Paul then weaves into this passage a remem- brance of Abraham who left behind his religious allegiance to be- come a true believer. Although Stockhausen takes notice of some of the observations pointed out in the present article, I think that her argument moves beyond the evidence of the autobiography. It is as a figure of faith, not of proselytism, that Abraham comes into view in the rest of Galatians (chap. 3). Summing up so far: Paul reminds his audience about his Da- mascus revelation, shaping the story according to prophetic call nar- ratives. All the basic elements that make up such a story are echoed in Gal 1,15-16a. Implied is that Paul conceives of the mission he has been called to as an extension of the preceding prophetic tradi- tion. However, the story of Paul’s prophetic call is part of an argu- ment that is paradigmatic for his addressees in a way that paves the way for considering it a “conversion”, albeit not a turn from one religion to another. This shaping of the Damascus event proceeds 26 C.K. STOCKHAUSEN, “2 Corinthians 3 and the Principles of Pauline Ex- egesis”, Paul and the Scriptures of Israel (eds. C.A. EVANS – J.A. SANDERS) (JSNT.S 83; Sheffield 1993) 143-164; quotation on p. 152. 27 K.O. SANDNES, A New Family. Conversion and Ecclesiology in the Early Church with Cross-Cultural Comparisons (SIGC 91; Bern 1994) 41-46.