Bible is full of tall tales

@bonbon664 (3466)
Canada
August 9, 2009 1:29am CST
I think the Bible was written by man, and a series of stories used to symbolize a belief in God. There are several examples of stories in the Bible that are so unbelievable. The story of Jonah for example. I don't believe that someone could live inside the stomach of a fish for 3 days. Do you think this is a literal story? I sure don't.
4 people like this
13 responses
@John4Christ (1597)
• India
9 Aug 09
My friend the simple answer to your question is.......if god did things like man then what would have been the difference.......god does things which are not known to man or rather unimaginable things.......that's the power of god......you know if you go ahead and look for science in all things then you will never discover god..... Many a times we see that the meteorological department says than t there would be no rain showers within the next few days but then within hours it does massive destruction, did anyone knew that there would ever be a disease called as swine flu........no right? so I feel that god does things which are beyond humans knowledge and imagination.......so thing little different allow god to work in your life, I have experience things which are unexplainable and would have never occurred without the help of god !!!! Have a nice day !!!!
@bonbon664 (3466)
• Canada
9 Aug 09
I didn't ask about God's existance, I asked about the bible stories. Supposedly, God is capable of miracles, but, surely there are things that just aren't physically possible. Like, living in the belly of a fish, and talking snakes.
• Philippines
9 Aug 09
You cannot separate the FACTS in the bible with GOD. Whatever written in the bible are true. If you say that they are impossible (Jonah living in the whales belly, then you are relating bible to Science and not with God. God made the bible not through his inspiration through the writers, He dwelt on them when they wrote it. So this simply means everything written inside it are true even the impossible ones, for nothing is impossible with God - the only author of the Sacred Scriptures. Agree?
@bonbon664 (3466)
• Canada
9 Aug 09
No, I don't agree, God didn't write the Bible, man did.
@1hopefulman (45123)
• Canada
10 Aug 09
2 Peter 1:21 (New International Version) 21For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. The Bible was written by about 40 different men. Most books of the Bible (66 books) tell which man wrote the book. It never says that it was written by God. God uses these men as secretaries to write His message. But as you can see from the above quotation, these men were inspired by Holy Spirit (God's active force through which God accomplishes things) to write God's messages for our benefit. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 (New International Version) 16All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. Those of us that read the Bible and study it have benefited tremendously in understanding God and man's purpose on the earth and our lives have been enriched. Many events in the Bible cannot be explained at this time such as Jonah surviving 3 days in the belly of a fish but that doesn't mean they didn't happen. Even many human events cannot be explained at times. I remember seeing a show called "Ripley's Believe It Or Not" where it had many strange events that happened but that could not be explained. I will try to find some events and get back here later.
@1hopefulman (45123)
• Canada
11 Aug 09
You may or may not be aware that Jesus said on one occasion: Matthew 12:38-40 (New International Version) 38Then some of the Pharisees and teachers of the law said to him, "Teacher, we want to see a miraculous sign from you." 39He answered, "A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a miraculous sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. 40For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. There definitely are sea creatures capable of swallowing a man, among them being the white shark and the sperm whale.—See Walker’s Mammals of the World, revised by R. Nowak and J. Paradiso, 1983, Vol. II, p. 901; Australian Zoological Handbook, The Fishes of Australia, by G. P. Whitley, Sydney, 1940, Part 1—The Sharks, p. 125. The sperm whale, having a mammoth square-shaped head that constitutes about one third of its length, is fully capable of swallowing a man whole. (Walker’s Mammals of the World, revised by R. Nowak and J. Paradiso, 1983, Vol. II, p. 901) Interestingly, there is evidence that the seaport of Joppa anciently was a headquarters for whalers. On the other hand, it is possible that the great white shark was the fish that swallowed Jonah. One of these that was caught in 1939 contained two whole 2-m-long (6 ft) sharks in its stomach—each about the size of a man. And the great white sharks have roamed all the seas, including the Mediterranean. (Australian Zoological Handbook, The Fishes of Australia, by G. P. Whitley, Sydney, 1940, Part 1—The Sharks, p. 125; The Natural History of Sharks, by R. H. Backus and T. H. Lineaweaver III, 1970, pp. 111, 113) It should be noted, however, that the Bible simply states: Jonah 1:17 (New International Version) 17 But the LORD provided a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was inside the fish three days and three nights. It cannot be determined just what “fish” might have been involved. In fact, man’s knowledge of the creatures inhabiting the seas and oceans is rather incomplete. Noted the magazine Scientific American (September 1969, p. 162): “As it has in the past, further exploration of the abyssal realm will undoubtedly reveal undescribed creatures including members of groups thought long extinct.”
• United States
14 Aug 09
I think that the fish was a whale, because they are not flesh eaters, and suck in small plant life and gets filtered through fuzzy type hairs in the mouth, and a man could be sucked in by mistake while feeding on the regular diet. And being that the whale blows out water means it get's rid of the water in it's belly to make room for the air that helps to digest. And besides we were not there to prove otherwise, and man has no right to say anything against a God just because they believe in what modern man says is the truth. The bible has proven very accurite to this day, and still has a few events left before the second comming. I believe this is the last generation to exist before the true Christians get taken out of this false world under Satan's rule. The bible never claimed to be written by God himself, but was given to men to give to men, so that they may believe. You would not believe anything that was claimed to be written by God himself, because man still thinks they are God, and therefor would just do what they do best, disbelieve in what the Bible has to say. By the way, Man designed the unsinkable Titanic.................But god designed the Ark........Which is the better design? Mans or Gods design?
• United States
14 Aug 09
Here are some facts about the right whale: 1. They are very slow, just a few knots speed 2. They are 45-60 feet long 3. They weigh 45 tons 4. They surface every 4-7 minuets 5. They can hold their breath for up to 30 min. 6. They only eat krill 7. They will not sink when killed 8. Of all the whales they have the longest baleen Therefor I think that it would very well be possible for a man to survive in the belly of a whale.
• India
16 Aug 09
Of course i believe it....I believe everything it says. Well if it were so, every miracle witnessed in the Bible seems impossible for a modern man. Well it says God created a woman from the rib of a man, now howz that possible? And if thats possible, so is living in a fish!
@bonbon664 (3466)
• Canada
16 Aug 09
I don't believe that one either.
• India
17 Aug 09
Yup i guess thats wat it is....believers believe and those who dont, just dont......
• United States
13 Aug 09
I do believe the story. I think it was God's way of protecting Jonah from drowning when he was thrown from the boat he was on. God had given Jonah an assignment to prophecy to Nineveh and He intended Jonah to complete it. Is anything impossible for God?
@bestboy19 (5478)
• United States
11 Aug 09
I do believe the story of Jonah. Do you not believe because you don't think a fish can be that large? Or maybe you think Jonah wouldn't have enough air or the fish's digestive juices would end Jonah's life in that amount of time. Why don't you do some checking to see if it's possible for someone to live in the belly of a fish for that long?
@bonbon664 (3466)
• Canada
11 Aug 09
I don't think there would be enough air, and digestive enzymes would start to kick in before 3 days I would think.
• United States
11 Aug 09
So the bible is little more than a mythology book for you...Its no concern what I think. The bible was not written for me to think about. Rather it was written to incite my faith. The dissention between logic and faith will always exist. They require different things from us to work. As with the example of Jonah and the whale. Logic tells us there's just no way it could happen. Faith, on the other hand, says that it did. Logic allows us the comfort of staying within our box, subject to the limitations that we put on ourselves thru various means (like observation)whereas faith requires us to willingly climb out of that box, to go beyond ourselves and our limitations, and to test the waters where those limitations do not apply. So, do I believe in the story? Yes I do because I believe there is much beyond my self and my box.
@bonbon664 (3466)
• Canada
11 Aug 09
Logic doesn't limit me to my box. It allows me to explore the unanswerable questions through science.
• United States
11 Aug 09
But is science itself not a logic limited by the expectation that all answers are within its perameters?..and allowing for nothing beyond those perameters? Faith is what happens in the beyond.
@stvasile (7306)
• Romania
17 Aug 09
I think many of the Bible stories should not be taken literally. They are parables and are meant to teach us some very precise moral lessons.
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
9 Aug 09
LOL--You're opening a real can of worms here since some Christians take the bible as literal truth--like the God made the universe in six days, or if God made Adam and Eve, and they had Cain and Abel where the heck did all the other people come from I've never taken the bible as fact, but maybe that's due to having a heavy science background. And yes, while some might say the bible is the word of God..it still was written by man as allegories to explain the world around them just as any ancient mythological stories
@bonbon664 (3466)
• Canada
9 Aug 09
I'm with you pye, one of the best explanations I've seen.
@Margajoe (4709)
• Germany
11 Aug 09
As you say "symbolize". That is true. The story of Jonah was a symbol. The Bible is a great guideline for a people trying to find out who they are. Personally, it has helped me understand a lot. Unfortunately I have also learned that not everything I read is meant for me. Some things we have to look at realistically. We are living in the year 2009. Things change. We are not here to populate the earth anymore. We have medical supplies we are blessed with to use. The Bible is a man written book. Man is not God. Man likes to rule, and be powerful, but he is not God. That is my opinion. I am not against the Bible, I beleive it has great value. But, I also want to be realistic.
@nzalheart (2338)
• India
10 Aug 09
Hello bonbon666!!! Yes, Bible is no doubt the book full of tall tales. In the ancient time, the people have no other means of entertaining that sitting in a group and then telling stories and enjoy the stories. So, both the story teller and the listeners would enjoy like watching a TV show and hosting a TV show nowadays. And that's why there are number of such interesting tales. Not only in Bible, there are such tales in different taste in asian countries too which are of course not believable. The difference of this tale in bible that it claims that this is the FACT FACT FACT FACT, and so many people start to believe as if it is the real happenings of the God. If they are the fact, then why no the lots of Hindu tales that we can find in the eastern ones the fact. They are equally more related to God, and why not they are the fact, and only the stories written in the BIble are the fact. So, they are just the tales and the bible has tried to capture the beliefs of people... happy mylotting...
@ulalume (713)
• United States
9 Aug 09
What is funny about a story like Jonah is that if any modern day man would have claimed to have lived in a fish, he would likely be seen as insane (and laughed at by religious individuals as well as non-religious ones).
• Philippines
10 Aug 09
lord ,i believe.help me in my unbelief. happy my lotting!
@bonbon664 (3466)
• Canada
11 Aug 09
I never said I didn't believe, I just said I wouldn't take everything the Bible says literally.
@ginge666 (29)
9 Aug 09
not all stories in the bible are written to be taken literally it is soupost to be gods word past on to man and what you need to remember is that the bible was wrote by people who would not be able to under stand most things we believe to be true so it is a book that is very much dumbed down than if it was written today like there is no argument against evolution its just doesn't say anything about it because the people of the time would not have accepted this as true.