@JonathanChell Welcome to chat. Please feel free to discuss any point of view that you want me to know about but which you do not wish to include in your own answer.

@DickHarfield thanks for setting this up, the brevity necessary for the comments section may make my words seems more terse then I intend them to be, however my comments are intended to improve your answer. let me explain what I think would help your answer (1) In my opinion your answer should address, or at least acknowledge, that there are other opinions. (2) I would like to see some critical assessment of the works you present. TBC

@d

@DickHarfield (3) I would like to see more then just the assertions of the scholars you use, that would enable me to interact with what they say in a more meaningful way when I respond as I would like to do as times allows on this question.

@DickHarfield on a slightly related note know there have been comments going around about marking people down simply because of the paradigm their answers are framed in - I just want you to know that I have never marked you down in such an arbitrary way :D

@JonathanChell I'll respond to your last point first. Yes, that was the impression I already had from your involvement in my answers. And from your profile, I believed you would not do anything that you knew to be unethical.

@JonathanChell as for what you call the assertions of scholars, I think I can easily demonstrate that Galatians 1:16-17 and Acts 9:19-29 give very different accounts of Paul’s travels from Damascus. However, we are on different time zones, so I ask you to leave this until tomorrow, as it is a little late here (and the cricket just started on TV).

BTW, I am sure Spong won't mind if I point out that he is not a scholar, but a theologian (retired Episcopalian bishop in New Jersey).

I will try to answer a secondary question from OP tomorrow. However, I think it unnecessary for me to present every alternative POV. You may choose to do that in a separate answer. I do give multiple POVs if I believe that a matter is not settled, but that is not the case here. I fully accept that the account can not really be harmonised.

@DickHarfield take your time, I will hold off answering the question for a while to see your more full answer, in regards to interacting with every POV that is not what i am suggesting, it is more to do with acknowledging that there are other POV. Finally out of interest what is the difference between a scholar and a theologian - for example Reymon was a Professor of Systematic Theology at Knox is that a scholarly position in your estimation?

@DickHarfield I have posted an initial answer to the question, I would like it interact with your answer a bit more but as I said I will wait until you have updated it - i hope the cricket was enjoyable :D