The Word Made Flesh: The Voice of the Lion--Paul

Chip Arnold, in a virtuoso one-man performance delivered with soul, wit, and passion on a minimalist stage, recreates the life of Paul in this volume from his The Word Made Flesh video trilogy (the other titles are The Light of the World--Jesus and The Singer of Israel--David; the 3-tape set very affordably priced at $39.95). The story begins with Saul of Tarsus (who later became Paul) as a fanatic obsessed with destroying the nascent Christian ministry (the dramatic pantomime of the stoning of a "heretic" Christian is chilling). Gaining his attention in a rather notable way, the Lord first struck Saul blind, then returned his sight and finally offered him a job helping to build the Church he had previously labored so hard to destroy. Arnold recreates Paul's struggles and ministry around Asia Minor, from his rejection by his father, to his rage against the (to him) insignificant concerns of the Church elders (who, on the subject of circumcision, were "more concerned with the foreskin of a man than his heart..."). Naturally, Arnold has taken a little poetic license in the reconstruction of Paul's dialogue, occasionally injecting modern idioms which are often quite effective (at one point, Paul--ever the ministering pit bull--hunkers down into an imaginary business huddle, saying: "listen, fellas..."). And the final scene, in which Arnold shifts between a drunken Nero working himself up into a dither over "you Christ people" and the soon-to-be-martyred Paul, is both uneasily funny and slam bang powerful. A pristinely filmed production, this innovative production is enthusiastically recommended. Aud: H, C, P. (R. Pitman)