Inerrant Lie #15

Another lie from "God's ineffable, inerrant word":

The apostle Luke records the ‘conversion’ of the apostle Paul, as it occurred on the road to Damascus, in Acts 9. Of this encounter, it is recorded: "And the men which journeyed with [Paul] stood speechless, hearing a voice, but seeing no man [Acts 9:7]."

Years later, Paul recounts this same encounter on the road to Damascus for the benefit of the Jews at Jerusalem. This recount of the matter is likewise recorded by the apostle Luke in the book of Acts. In Acts 22:9, Luke records Paul the apostle telling the Jews, "And they that were with me saw indeed the light, and were afraid; but they heard not the voice of him that spake to me."

It's arguable whether or not there was any "man" for Paul's companions to see, as per Acts 9:7. After all, Paul himself was blinded by the light of the one who spoke with him on the road to Damascus. Therefore the vision of Paul's companions in Acts 22:9 could well be– as Paul's was– their blindness in Acts 9:7.

Hearing, however, is not seeing. While one may be blinded by what one sees; and likewise deafened by what one hears; still hearing is more of an all- or- nothing proposition, inasmuch as the report that deafens is certainly heard: while the light that blinds obscures its own source from the view of those so blinded by it's brilliance. Therefore, the hearing of Paul's companions in Acts 9 cannot be equated with their deafness in Acts 22 without a corresponding loss of integrity: either in the manuscript; in its author; in its translation; in the One some credit for every word written in it; in the perceived veracity of those who claim the absolute integrity of the document; in the subject matter covered therein; or even in all of the above.

Is the hearing of-- or deafness to-- the words of “the word of God” a small matter? If so: why should anyone, including Paul and Luke, have invested fortunes and hazarded life- and- limb bringing the hearing thereof to the otherwise uninitiated? Either way: even a small lie is a lie.