Pauls Thorn In The Flesh

Paul’s enigmatic “thorn in the flesh” in 2 Corinthians has baffled interpreters for centuries. Many offer suggestions as to the identity of Satan’s messenger; others despair that the puzzle is unsolvable. In Paul’s Thorn in the Flesh: New Clues for an Old Problem, Kenneth Berding reopens the case. He follows a trail of clues that includes ancient beliefs about curses, hints in Paul’s letters, similarities with Jesus’s suffering, and the attempts of the earliest Christian interpreters. Berding offers twenty criteria-some familiar, others neglected-that any proposals must explain. While the usual suspects fall short, Berding suggests a new solution-one that satisfies all the evidence and gives us a fuller view of Paul. Far from an abstract puzzle, Paul’s own suffering is relevant to Christians today, including Berding’s own health struggles.