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.