Conversion

Conversion is the changing from disbelief to faith. It is often accompanied by a change in outlook on life and a manifestation of an overwhelming love or repentance. Not all conversions are willful. Some are politically driven and cause social turmoil.

• Another person’s conversion is mysterious even to those who believe. To those who do not, it is inexplicable."

Positive personality changes and religious conversion

See also: Change in personality traits due to religious conversion

John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness of Judea, proclaiming, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near." - Matthew 3:1-2 (NRSV)

Jesus Christ said: "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.” (Matthew 22:38-40 NRSV). In addition, the Bible says to be holy and zealous in good works and to not be lukewarm (Revelation 3:16).

As far as the New Testament, according to the Greek Orthodox Diocese of America:

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The Greek term for repentance, metanoia, denotes a change of mind, a reorientation, a fundamental transforma­tion of outlook, of man's vision of the world and of himself, and a new way of loving others and God. In the words of a second-century text, The Shepherd of Hermas, it implies "great understanding," discernment. It involves, that is, not mere regret of past evil but a recognition by man of a dar­kened vision of his own condition, in which sin, by sepa­rating him from God, has reduced him to a divided, auto­nomous existence, depriving him of both his natural glory and freedom. "Repentance," says Basil the Great, "is salvation, but lack of understanding is the death of repentance."

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Repentance is primarily a change of the heart and mind, or rather a change in the mind (Greek metanoia—meta "change" + noia "mind"); a personal metamorphosis. This is what repentance means in the context of salvation: Luke 13:1-5 "Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish." Jesus is telling the people they need to change the way they think. In this context, a change of mind represents also a reversal of one's previous moral judgment, a repudiation of one's previous behavior. There is a command to believe: "Repent ye, and believe the gospel" (Mark 1:15). How can anyone believe in Christ if they don't change their thinking? No one naturally sees themselves as a sinner; when you repent, you know and realize you're a sinner. You change from thinking "I'm a basically good person." to "I'm a sinner; I need Jesus." That is the third definition of repentance. "Behold, thou art made whole; sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee." John 5:14. "Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more." John 8:11. "Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance" Matthew 3:8. (See Corporal and spiritual works of mercy.)

Repentance is a turning away, to cease. Example: Revelation 2:16 "Repent; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth."

Personality changes due to religious conversion:

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Religious conversion is one of the life events most strongly associated with personality change, because it often reshapes someone’s identity, daily habits, values, and social world. But the magnitude of change is usually not unlimited—it tends to be moderate rather than extreme, and uneven across the Big Five traits. Average change: Studies suggest that religious conversion or increased religiosity is associated with about 0.3 to 0.7 standard deviations of change in certain traits over time. Maximum documented change: In rare, profound cases (e.g., dramatic “born-again” conversions or entry into highly structured religious orders), people can shift by 1+ standard deviation on some traits, but that’s exceptional.

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There is a significant amount of historical and scientific evidence that Bible reading has greatly increased human flourishing such as people's physical health, psychological well-being, character and virtue, and social connections (See: Bible reading and human flourishing)

The Big Five personality traits change due to a person becoming more mature, efforts to change the personality traits or a major life change (See: Neuroplasticity and the ability of individuals to change their personality).

Personality changes due to religious conversion:

“

Religious conversion is one of the life events most strongly associated with personality change, because it often reshapes someone’s identity, daily habits, values, and social world. But the magnitude of change is usually not unlimited—it tends to be moderate rather than extreme, and uneven across the Big Five traits. Average change: Studies suggest that religious conversion or increased religiosity is associated with about 0.3 to 0.7 standard deviations of change in certain traits over time. Maximum documented change: In rare, profound cases (e.g., dramatic “born-again” conversions or entry into highly structured religious orders), people can shift by 1+ standard deviation on some traits, but that’s exceptional.

”

"A bell curve, also known as a normal distribution, is a symmetrical, bell-shaped curve that represents the distribution of data in statistics. Standard deviations measure the spread or dispersion of data points around the mean (average) of a normal distribution. In a normal distribution, roughly 68% of the data falls within one standard deviation of the mean, 95% within two standard deviations, and 99.7% within three standard deviations."

There is a significant amount of historical and scientific evidence that Bible reading has greatly increased human flourishing such as people's physical health, psychological well-being, character and virtue, and social connections (See: Bible reading and human flourishing).

Big Five personality traits

• Conscientiousness - Self-control/Self-discipline/willpower, efficiency/productivity, orderliness/organizational skills and dependable. Conscientiousness is positively correlated to a desire to perform a task well. See: Self-efficacy and Skill and Work ethic

• Extraversion - Assertive, energetic, and personable. See: Interpersonal skills and Interpersonal relations and Social intelligence and Conversational skills and Communication skills and Affability and Friendship and Social networking and Conflict resolution

• Agreeableness - Understanding and cooperativeness. See: Empathy and Collaboration

• Neuroticism (See also: Emotional stability) - Anxiety/fear, vulnerability, and sensitivity. See also: Courage and Confidence and Mindset and Growth mindset and Optimism and Mental toughness and Psychological resilience and Comfort zone

• Openness - Creativity, imagination, imitativeness, intellectual curiosity and innovation

Journal article

• Religious conversion and self transformation: An experiential study among born again Christians. World Cultural Psychiatry Research Review. March 2013: 29-44. 2013 WACP. ISSN: 1932-6270

External links

• Dramatic Conversions and the Power of Grace