paul s thorn in the side joe moore writes paul repeatedly talks about the thorn in his side some think it refers to lust others pride but who knows whatever the thorn was apparently it was not compatible with christianity yet does that make his epistles any less paul mentions his thorn skolops actually a sharp stake in corinthians and to keep me from being too elated by the abundance of revelations a thorn was given me in the flesh a messenger of satan to harass me to keep me from being too elated three times i besought the lord about this that it should leave me but he said to me my grace is sufficient for you for my power is made perfectr in weakness he does not explain what it was but it need not have been a moral problem one guess is that paul had a disorder of the eyes he ordinarily dictated his letters and then added a personal note and his signature at the end of the letter to the galatians he says see i am writing in large letters with my own hand or else see what a long letter i have written with my own hand if the former translation is adopted it seems that paul could not write in the small script of a practiced writer but needed to make his letters larger and this suggests eye problems again he says to the galatians you know that it was because of a bodily ailment that i preached the gospel to you at first and although my condition was a trial to you you did not scorn or despise me but received me as an angel of god for i bear you witness that if possible you would have plucked out your eyes and given them to me perhaps this last line means simply you would have done anything for me not withholding your most precious possessions your eyes but in that case we would expect some wording like if i had needed them if it were possible sounds as though the bodily ailment was connected with his eyes william barclay in his volume on acts makes a more specific suggestion before paul preached in the highlands of galatia he had been preaching in the coastal areas of asia minor if he had had a malarial attack while there a doctor would have advised him to leave the low country and head for the hills malaria might well have given him both severe headaches and blurred vision yours james kiefer
