Some of the most bizarre stories from the bible 1
May 12, 2022 19:31:41 GMT
Winter_King, NJtoTX, and 2 more like this
Post by FilmFlaneur on May 12, 2022 19:31:41 GMT
1 Human-God hybrids
The Bible introduces mysterious superhumans that influenced God's decision to send a flood that covered the Earth.
The Book of Genesis says, "The sons of God saw that the daughters of humans were beautiful, and they married any of them they chose," Genesis 6:2. Their children were god-human hybrids that the Bible refers to as the "Nephilim."
God was unhappy about this interbreeding and "regretted that he had made human beings on the earth, and his heart was deeply troubled," Genesis 6:6. So he sent a flood that wiped out many of the humans and Nephilim, but not before ordering Noah to build an ark that saved a select few. The biblical story suggests that the breeding between gods and humans was a major factor in God's decision to send the flood. The Neps appear memorable in Russell Crowes' 'Noah'.
Family problems
In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus has an unusual requirement for his disciples: that they have to hate their own family.
"Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them, He said, 'If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters — yes, even their own life — such a person cannot be my disciple,'" Luke 14:25-26.
Why Jesus said this is a matter of debate. One possibility is that there was additional context that was lost over time or that information was passed down incorrectly or misinterpreted.
Big fish story
Did a whale really swallow Jonah? Not quite.
The Book of Jonah tells of how God tried to convince a man named Jonah to travel to the city of Nineveh "and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me," Jonah 1:2. Jonah was not enthusiastic about the idea and tried to run away from God by boarding a ship and sailing to a city called Tarshish.
Jonah never made it to Tarshish, as a storm ravaged the ship. In a bid to calm the storm, the ship's sailors throw Jonah overboard. God "provided a huge fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights," Jonah 1:17). While people sometimes think a whale swallowed Jonah, the Bible uses the word "fish." You'd have thought God would have inspired more accurate knowledge of his creation.
Other mysterious resurrections
The Gospel of Matthew claims that Jesus wasn't the only one who came back to life: "The bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. They came out of the tombs after Jesus' resurrection and went into the holy city and appeared to many people," Matthew 27:52.
The Gospel doesn't tell us much more about these other people who came back to life; nor is such a striking event, like so much else in the Gospels recounted by any contemporary historians, even Jewish ones.. What were they like after they were resurrected? How long did they live afterward? Did they resume their previous lives? How did they interact with their family members? The Bible provides little insight into these questions and one suspects the original author wrote in the event, planned to go back to it and then just forgot or forgot to cancel the introduction to such an ambitiously conceived event.
God tries to kill Moses
The Book of Exodus also contains a strange turn of events: At one point, God gives Moses instructions on what he must do to help free the Israelites from Egypt's pharaoh. God gave Moses special capabilities, such as the ability to turn his staff into a snake. However, as Moses heads toward Egypt, God gets another idea.
"At a lodging place on the way, the Lord met Moses and was about to kill him. But Zipporah [the wife of Moses] took a flint knife, cut off her son's foreskin and touched Moses' feet with it. 'Surely you are a bridegroom of blood to me,' she said. So the Lord let him alone," Exodus 4:24-26.
Scholars have been baffled about why God initially planned to kill Moses. You'd have thought He have a settled plan.
The Bible introduces mysterious superhumans that influenced God's decision to send a flood that covered the Earth.
The Book of Genesis says, "The sons of God saw that the daughters of humans were beautiful, and they married any of them they chose," Genesis 6:2. Their children were god-human hybrids that the Bible refers to as the "Nephilim."
God was unhappy about this interbreeding and "regretted that he had made human beings on the earth, and his heart was deeply troubled," Genesis 6:6. So he sent a flood that wiped out many of the humans and Nephilim, but not before ordering Noah to build an ark that saved a select few. The biblical story suggests that the breeding between gods and humans was a major factor in God's decision to send the flood. The Neps appear memorable in Russell Crowes' 'Noah'.
Family problems
In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus has an unusual requirement for his disciples: that they have to hate their own family.
"Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them, He said, 'If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters — yes, even their own life — such a person cannot be my disciple,'" Luke 14:25-26.
Why Jesus said this is a matter of debate. One possibility is that there was additional context that was lost over time or that information was passed down incorrectly or misinterpreted.
Big fish story
Did a whale really swallow Jonah? Not quite.
The Book of Jonah tells of how God tried to convince a man named Jonah to travel to the city of Nineveh "and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me," Jonah 1:2. Jonah was not enthusiastic about the idea and tried to run away from God by boarding a ship and sailing to a city called Tarshish.
Jonah never made it to Tarshish, as a storm ravaged the ship. In a bid to calm the storm, the ship's sailors throw Jonah overboard. God "provided a huge fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights," Jonah 1:17). While people sometimes think a whale swallowed Jonah, the Bible uses the word "fish." You'd have thought God would have inspired more accurate knowledge of his creation.
Other mysterious resurrections
The Gospel of Matthew claims that Jesus wasn't the only one who came back to life: "The bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. They came out of the tombs after Jesus' resurrection and went into the holy city and appeared to many people," Matthew 27:52.
The Gospel doesn't tell us much more about these other people who came back to life; nor is such a striking event, like so much else in the Gospels recounted by any contemporary historians, even Jewish ones.. What were they like after they were resurrected? How long did they live afterward? Did they resume their previous lives? How did they interact with their family members? The Bible provides little insight into these questions and one suspects the original author wrote in the event, planned to go back to it and then just forgot or forgot to cancel the introduction to such an ambitiously conceived event.
God tries to kill Moses
The Book of Exodus also contains a strange turn of events: At one point, God gives Moses instructions on what he must do to help free the Israelites from Egypt's pharaoh. God gave Moses special capabilities, such as the ability to turn his staff into a snake. However, as Moses heads toward Egypt, God gets another idea.
"At a lodging place on the way, the Lord met Moses and was about to kill him. But Zipporah [the wife of Moses] took a flint knife, cut off her son's foreskin and touched Moses' feet with it. 'Surely you are a bridegroom of blood to me,' she said. So the Lord let him alone," Exodus 4:24-26.
Scholars have been baffled about why God initially planned to kill Moses. You'd have thought He have a settled plan.
