Emphasis Preaching Journal

Nobody knows for certain exactly what the Apostle Paul's "thorn in the flesh" actually was, although exegetes tend to believe it was an affliction in the eyes. Such an affliction actually proved advantageous to a devout Quaker gentleman. John Dalton, a British chemist known for his having originated modern atomic theory, shunned the honors that the scientific world attempted to bestow upon him. He refused to be presented to the king on the grounds that, as a Quaker, he could not wear the elaborate court dress which etiquette then demanded.