Atheist Dick Harfield on Paul's encounter with jesus
A PERSON'S QUESTION: What happened to the people who were in Paul’s entourage? Did they also see Jesus, and did any of them go blind, or was Paul travelling alone on the Damascus Road? HARFIELD'S ANSWER: The author of Acts saw no reason to maintain consistency across the three accounts of Paul’s conversion on the road to Damascus so, although substantially similar, there are some interesting differences. In each account in Acts, there was a blinding light: Paul saw the light in in the version at Acts 9:3-8, but Paul’s men did not. The whole entourage heard Jesus’ voice. At Acts 22:6-11, Paul’s men saw the light but did not hear Jesus’ voice. Paul’s men probably saw the light at Acts 26:13-19, as they fell down; we are not told if they heard Jesus’ voice. In the account of Paul's conversion, Jesus is supposed to have remarked to Paul as he lay on the ground, "It hurts you to kick against the goad [or 'pricks']" (Acts 9:5, 26:14). This should give a good...