(August 20, 2015 at 6:57 pm)Rhondazvous Wrote:(August 20, 2015 at 7:49 am)Randy Carson Wrote: Paul was a young scholar moving rapidly up the chain of command within the ranks of the Pharisees. His future in Jerusalem was assured.In Acts we are told that after his conversion, Paul went to Jerusalem and met with all the disciples and went on an evangelism spree. However, in Galatians, Paul gives a sworn affidavit that none of that ever happened. He says he did not make it to Jerusalem until 3 years later and only met John and a few others but the disciples never saw his face. What difference does it make what his motivations were if his whole story was doctored by writers who couldn't agree about what happened?
And then he threw it all away to join the very group he had been persecuting?
Why? What was his motivation?
This is why it's important to know about Bible contradictions so we can identify the cherry pickers and quasi-arguments.
Damascus > Arabia > Jerusalem
Luke does not mention the three-year sojourn in Arabia; Paul does. But Luke doesn't say that Paul went straight from Damascus to Jerusalem, either.
Don't dodge the question; What did Paul have to gain by giving up a promising career among the Pharisees and joining the fledgling Christians?
