Final answer:
The student's question cannot be answered with the provided information, as the excerpts given do not contain details about the biblical story of Jesus and the Gentile woman's encounter or evidence of her prior conversion.The statement is: b. False
Step-by-step explanation:
The question posed by the student regards Mitchell's conclusion about the Gentile woman's conversion experience before she approached Jesus, which is depicted in the Christian religious texts and tradition. This scenario is not presented in the passages provided, hence the question cannot be directly answered based on them. The excerpts focus on Jane's encounters with the Gentiles and the experiences of early Christians such as Thecla, which do not directly address Mitchell's conclusion about the biblical story of Jesus and the Gentile woman.
To address the question, one would have to refer to the relevant New Testament passages, such as the encounter between Jesus and the Syrophoenician woman in the Gospel of Mark (7:24-30) or the Gospel of Matthew (15:21-28), to analyze whether there is evidence to support the claim of prior conversion. Biblical scholars often draw conclusions from these texts, but without the specific text reference, an accurate answer specific to Mitchell's analysis cannot be provided.The statement is: b. False