(September 26, 2016 at 3:45 am)Firefighter01 Wrote: Have you ever thought that both these stories may just be fiction?
I just said that I don't view Acts as being "wholly reliable", I think you need to re-read what I said.
Paul cannot fictionalise himself, that's nonsensical. We have at least seven letters that he wrote to early first-century Christian churches. If your argument is that Paul and Jesus never existed then who founded the church? I have a pretty good idea of how it happened. Not a complete picture of course, but enough to say that Pauline Christianity was the strand of Christianity positioned correctly for the latter part of the first century which was crucial in its success. Without it the church most likely would have died off and never made it to the end of the second century.
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