WAS PAUL,SAINT STRUCK BLIND AND CONVERTED BY LIGHTNING

In the Bible, St. Paul (Saul of Tarsus) was struck blind by a light fr om heaven. Three days later his vision was restored by a ''laying on o f hands.'' The circumstances surrounding his blindness represent an im portant episode in the history of religion. Numerous theories have bee n proposed to account for this event which has been the subject of int erest of theologians, philosophers, artists, and physicians. A lightni ng strike could explain all of the features of this episode. The propo sal of a theory which correlates St. Paul's symptoms with contemporary scientific knowledge makes his recovery of vision and conversion no l ess miraculous or religiously significant since the theory demonstrate s that, indeed, the event may have occurred exactly as stated in the B ible.