I get the feeling you want to discuss Paul!!!!!!!

According to scripture, Paul was a pharisee who persecuted followers of Jesus. Paul was a Jew of Roman citizenship.

The road to Damascus is very important to Christianity because it is the beginning of Paul's conversion and his subsequent evangelization of thousands. I believe IMO that his was a meeting with Jesus on that road. He went blind temporarily as a result of that meeting. Again, IMO he must have seen Jesus and truly come to believe in Him. Why else would he become the most ambitious evangelizer? Why would he change his life of power for one of constant pain and prison stays? Why would he travel the world to spread the gospel?

IMO his was a genuine encounter with the Lord.

Blessings,

Emilie

And apparently the very last face to face with said "Lord" in 2000 years or so.

Not one recorded event since then.

Paul was a Liar, evangelizing a new faith based on his Roman/Pagan ideas. Ridding the new faith of any relationship to the Jews.

I remember watching a documentary on the Salem Witch Trials. and this fungus was believed to be a contributing factor to the behavior of the girls who started the witch outcries. It listed hallucinations as one of the side effects, there was also seizures, and it could cause someone to be temporarily paralyzed. I wish I could remember what the name of the documentary was. It was very interesting. It was probably on the History Channel.

How do you know not one recorded event? What proof do you have?
Just because he has not appeared to you means nothing to me.
According to scripture, God uses the foolish things of this world to confuse the wise.

Blessings,

Emilie

did he appear to you?

If not, that makes 2.

Did he appear to Carl?

If not, that makes 3.

Let's keep counting. If Jesus has appeared to anyone here, please raise your hand.

Now call your friends and family and ask them if Jesus has appeared to any of them.

Then place an advert in the paper and ask anyone from anywhere if Jesus has appeared to them.

If all those people say jesus has not appeared, will it "still mean nothing to you?"

Hmmm. I guess it depends on what kind of eyes you're looking through. I see Jesus all around me. I see Him in the eyes of a loving child. I see Him in my neighbors helping one another. I see Him when you offer help to someone & they smile w/gratitude. I see Him in the love of my animals when I walk through the door & I know they've missed me.

And technically, Paul never "saw" Jesus. He heard Him speaking. What Paul "saw" was a flash of light & he was blinded by the light.

See, it's all about what you want to see.

Why do people claim to see Jesus when nice things happen?

I see loving children. I help my Muslim and Hindu neighbors, I get smiled at eventhough I don't have a God.

So what's the difference?

You just don't recognize it as such. What you claim for others is the same back to you. You see what you want to see & yet accuse those who do the same thing as being deluded or unintelligent.

And as far as seeing Him only in the "nice" things, I see Him in love. Good & bad happens to everyone. It doesn't matter if you believe, if you don't believe, if you're not sure. Everybody, I repeat everybody, sees what they want to see depending on their life experiences. If you're a half-full glass person, you're going to see the good that comes out of a bad situation. If you're a half-empty person, you're going to focus on the bad. I tend to focus on the good. I just happen to believe that we "need" the bad stuff in order for the good to shine forth brightly. When the bad stuff doesn't happen & it's all peachy keen, we tend to take the good stuff for granted.

Sorry for you PaulLied that you don't see God. Again, your problem and IMO one you will have to deal with if there is an afterlife that includes heaven and the other place. But since you nor I can prove ANYTHING, I guess we will have to wait until we die. If there is a God as I believe there is and I die knowing Him, I will have lost nothing. If you die not knowing Him, you will have lost everything.

Blessings,

Emilie

I focus on the good too. Religion is not one of them.

And I agree, it doesn't matter if you believe, if you don't believe, if you're not sure.

So why do people get all offended when I say that I don't believe, and I see the same good they do? Why can't I say that I think Religion and God are manmade creations designed to make you feel better about something you can't understand?

Why can't I say (in my opinion) that I think the people who believe this, and expect everyone else on the planet to believe it (without any good reason), are flat out wrong and self-deluded (in my opinion).

God is a concept. That's all it is. Otherwise we wouldn't be bombing each other because your God is different from my God.

Take God out of the picture and leave Good, and the world is much better for it.

You see good, I see good. You like children, I like children. You help neighbors, I help neighbors. Why even bring God into it? OBviously people get offended when I say my God is better than your God. I make it easy - I don't have a God so no one needs to be offended by what I believe. I don't have to make up stories to justify what I believe.