He may have "persecuted" the early church, Min, although I'm sure that fact is up for debate. He might actually be referring to persecuting Samaritans or some other sect, or it may just be a general part of the creed he was taught and he has adopted the collective responsibility. Acts 9 does give a more detailed account, however it is either second hand (if the author is Luke) or third-hand (if the author is one of Luke's close associates) information. It reads as if he was involved in the stoning of Jews who opposed the then-contemporary Palestinian Jewish authorities. Acts 9 does not imply that he is acting "alone". He may have been willing to suffer persecution at the hands of the Roman authorities to follow through with his zeal for the Jewish authorities.
But as I said that's quite speculative, I don't know and I'm not pretending to know whether Paul in fact did go as far as Acts 9 says in persecuting the "enemies" of the Palestinian Jews.
But as I said that's quite speculative, I don't know and I'm not pretending to know whether Paul in fact did go as far as Acts 9 says in persecuting the "enemies" of the Palestinian Jews.
For Religion & Health see:[/b][/size] Williams & Sternthal. (2007). Spirituality, religion and health: Evidence and research directions. Med. J. Aust., 186(10), S47-S50. -LINK
The WIN/Gallup End of Year Survey 2013 found the US was perceived to be the greatest threat to world peace by a huge margin, with 24% of respondents fearful of the US followed by: 8% for Pakistan, and 6% for China. This was followed by 5% each for: Afghanistan, Iran, Israel, North Korea. -LINK
"That's disgusting. There were clean athletes out there that have had their whole careers ruined by people like Lance Armstrong who just bended thoughts to fit their circumstances. He didn't look up cheating because he wanted to stop, he wanted to justify what he was doing and to keep that continuing on." - Nicole Cooke
The WIN/Gallup End of Year Survey 2013 found the US was perceived to be the greatest threat to world peace by a huge margin, with 24% of respondents fearful of the US followed by: 8% for Pakistan, and 6% for China. This was followed by 5% each for: Afghanistan, Iran, Israel, North Korea. -LINK
"That's disgusting. There were clean athletes out there that have had their whole careers ruined by people like Lance Armstrong who just bended thoughts to fit their circumstances. He didn't look up cheating because he wanted to stop, he wanted to justify what he was doing and to keep that continuing on." - Nicole Cooke
