Twenty Stages of Evil?

Therefore if any man be in Christ, he
is a new creature: old things are passed
away; behold, all things are become new. 
II Corinthians 5:17

The other day someone was telling me about a psychologist and professor from New York City who recently developed a theory that there are "20 stages" of evil.

I don't remember the man's name and I never paid much attention to it, but for awhile he appeared on a number of television and radio shows espousing his belief. Several articles have been written about this as well. But such theories and pop ideas surface all the time. Every professional, no matter how noble his intentions, wants to be admired as the one who figured it all out. The Bible, however, says that the wisdom of this world amounts to nothing but foolishness in God's eyes. And like those who've attempted to explain the mind and its behaviors, at some point the "20 Stages" concept will be dumped and replaced by something newer and more in vogue.

But I wonder if this professor could explain how a murderous religious zealot like "Saul of Tarsus," who beat and persecuted Christians, and sometimes even put them to death, could himself have a life transforming encounter with Christ? The Bible says that the evil Saul became the legendary apostle, Paul. In fact the former killer, turned Paul the minister, ended up being appointed by God to write the famous "Love chapter" in the New Testament (First Corinthians chapter thirteen).

A hater became a lover. How would such a smarty-pants professor explain this?

D.B.