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Forums - General - Was Jonah swallowed by a whale?

trashleg on 03 July 2009
NinjaguyDan said:
trashleg said:
famousringo said:

From what I've heard, this is a matter of mistranslation, just like how killing poisoners somehow got transformed into killing witches.

There's an old Aramaic idiom that to be preoccupied by a dilemma is to be "in a fish." The modern turn of phrase would be to be "in a pickle."

So at some point, Jonah being "in a large fish" for three days evolved into being swallowed by a whale for three days. It would be like me writing in my journal how I was really in a big pickle being transformed by two thousand years of copying and translation into "And woe betide, famousringo was transformed into an enormous cucumber." Language is a tricky thing.

wasnt there anoter mistranslation about a camel being passed through the eye of a needle, wher the word for camel got confused wth the word for thread or something? idk, i've never read the whole bible  but  its just what i heard.

Obnoxiusly rich and selfish people who want to call themselves "Christian" would have you believe that.

would have me believe what - that it is, or isnt, a mistranslation?  what does being rich have to do with anything?



Highwaystar101 said: trashleg said that if I didn't pay back the money she leant me, she would come round and break my legs... That's why people call her trashleg, because she trashes the legs of the people she loan sharks money to.
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NinjaguyDan on 03 July 2009
trashleg said:
NinjaguyDan said:
trashleg said:
famousringo said:

From what I've heard, this is a matter of mistranslation, just like how killing poisoners somehow got transformed into killing witches.

There's an old Aramaic idiom that to be preoccupied by a dilemma is to be "in a fish." The modern turn of phrase would be to be "in a pickle."

So at some point, Jonah being "in a large fish" for three days evolved into being swallowed by a whale for three days. It would be like me writing in my journal how I was really in a big pickle being transformed by two thousand years of copying and translation into "And woe betide, famousringo was transformed into an enormous cucumber." Language is a tricky thing.

wasnt there anoter mistranslation about a camel being passed through the eye of a needle, wher the word for camel got confused wth the word for thread or something? idk, i've never read the whole bible  but  its just what i heard.

Obnoxiusly rich and selfish people who want to call themselves "Christian" would have you believe that.

would have me believe what - that it is, or isnt, a mistranslation?  what does being rich have to do with anything?

"It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God." (Matthew 19:24)



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madskillz on 03 July 2009
That Guy said:
This is why i don't get into religious threads anymore.

too much flamebait, too much condescention. It goes nowhere.

Amen.



highwaystar101 on 03 July 2009
Scoobes said:
highwaystar101 said:
I think most people (Christians included) don't take this story in a literal sense, but more of a metaphor. Also, the very notion that someone could survive in a whale is rather silly anyway.

It's like Noahs ark, of course a worldwide flood didn't happen. It's just a story that's supposed to offer guidance, and I think only the hardcore believers would say differently.

So in conclusion: no

Actually there is a theory that there was a large scale flood thousands of years ago, which is why there are a number of the flood/tidal wave myths around the world from the Atlantis story, to Noah's Ark to myths in India. The theory also implies that civilisation was more advanced then we orginally believed prior to this supposed flood. Not sure if I believe it. Also the Noah's Ark story, like a number of Old Testament stories is actually derived from the Babylonian myth "The Epic of Atrasus" (not sure if I spelt that right, but you get the idea).

A lot of these old stories do have some basis in actual events but a lot gets lost in translation and over the years people forget how they came about. Of course, some are also complete crap :P

Oh of course, I agree, large floods have come and gone, they have occured many times. But the flood described in Noahs ark specifically said that the highest mountain peaks were covered. That's a flood of, well, biblical proportions lol.



trashleg on 03 July 2009
NinjaguyDan said:
trashleg said:
NinjaguyDan said:
trashleg said:
famousringo said:

From what I've heard, this is a matter of mistranslation, just like how killing poisoners somehow got transformed into killing witches.

There's an old Aramaic idiom that to be preoccupied by a dilemma is to be "in a fish." The modern turn of phrase would be to be "in a pickle."

So at some point, Jonah being "in a large fish" for three days evolved into being swallowed by a whale for three days. It would be like me writing in my journal how I was really in a big pickle being transformed by two thousand years of copying and translation into "And woe betide, famousringo was transformed into an enormous cucumber." Language is a tricky thing.

wasnt there anoter mistranslation about a camel being passed through the eye of a needle, wher the word for camel got confused wth the word for thread or something? idk, i've never read the whole bible  but  its just what i heard.

Obnoxiusly rich and selfish people who want to call themselves "Christian" would have you believe that.

would have me believe what - that it is, or isnt, a mistranslation?  what does being rich have to do with anything?

"It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God." (Matthew 19:24)

aah, thank you so much! now it all makes sense, i can see that is wasnt a mistranslation at all. whoever told me that is in trouble next time i see them... grrr!

i love when things are put in context. but your last post was still pretty vague, lol



Highwaystar101 said: trashleg said that if I didn't pay back the money she leant me, she would come round and break my legs... That's why people call her trashleg, because she trashes the legs of the people she loan sharks money to.
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NinjaguyDan on 03 July 2009

^Sorry for being vague, I assumed you knew the whole quote.



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Scoobes on 04 July 2009
Kantor said:
Scoobes said:
highwaystar101 said:
I think most people (Christians included) don't take this story in a literal sense, but more of a metaphor. Also, the very notion that someone could survive in a whale is rather silly anyway.

It's like Noahs ark, of course a worldwide flood didn't happen. It's just a story that's supposed to offer guidance, and I think only the hardcore believers would say differently.

So in conclusion: no

Actually there is a theory that there was a large scale flood thousands of years ago, which is why there are a number of the flood/tidal wave myths around the world from the Atlantis story, to Noah's Ark to myths in India. The theory also implies that civilisation was more advanced then we orginally believed prior to this supposed flood. Not sure if I believe it. Also the Noah's Ark story, like a number of Old Testament stories is actually derived from the Babylonian myth "The Epic of Atrasus" (not sure if I spelt that right, but you get the idea).

A lot of these old stories do have some basis in actual events but a lot gets lost in translation and over the years people forget how they came about. Of course, some are also complete crap :P

And two of every species in the world fit into one boat? Besides, surely Noah would just leave the fish and birds?

I don't think much of the Bible is meant to be taken literally. Giant floods, the Red Sea parting, a man surviving inside a whale's body...they're all metaphors. For something.

Of course, I am an Atheist as well, so I am not one to ask.

Of course the bible shouldn't be taken literaly (although some odd people do). I was just pointing out that these stories can have some ounce of truth in history, you just have to use multiple sources of evidence as the bible is extremely bias and historically inaccurate.

For instance, there is one theory the the "parting of the Red sea" was actually the Israelites crossing across a muddy shallow on the river Nile. Israelite infantry and archers, had no trouble crossing. The Egyptians try to cross with chariots that get stuck. Supposedly the idea of the flood is actually a metaphor for the "flood of arrows" they rained down on the Egyptian soldiers. A lot of the old testament is seemingly a group of stories about anchient war mongering, which actually makes them more interesting in my mind (I blame Age of Empires for that :P).




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Scoobes on 04 July 2009
highwaystar101 said:
Scoobes said:
highwaystar101 said:
I think most people (Christians included) don't take this story in a literal sense, but more of a metaphor. Also, the very notion that someone could survive in a whale is rather silly anyway.

It's like Noahs ark, of course a worldwide flood didn't happen. It's just a story that's supposed to offer guidance, and I think only the hardcore believers would say differently.

So in conclusion: no

Actually there is a theory that there was a large scale flood thousands of years ago, which is why there are a number of the flood/tidal wave myths around the world from the Atlantis story, to Noah's Ark to myths in India. The theory also implies that civilisation was more advanced then we orginally believed prior to this supposed flood. Not sure if I believe it. Also the Noah's Ark story, like a number of Old Testament stories is actually derived from the Babylonian myth "The Epic of Atrasus" (not sure if I spelt that right, but you get the idea).

A lot of these old stories do have some basis in actual events but a lot gets lost in translation and over the years people forget how they came about. Of course, some are also complete crap :P

Oh of course, I agree, large floods have come and gone, they have occured many times. But the flood described in Noahs ark specifically said that the highest mountain peaks were covered. That's a flood of, well, biblical proportions lol.

The theory I was refering to was one that suggested that it was a global event following the last ice age. The melting of the ice resulting in massive flooding all over the world at approx. the sametime. I was watching a documentary on it a while back and the guy explaining it seemed to suggest that civilistaion was more advanced during and prior to the ice age then is currently believed. Not quite biblical of course, but pretty large scale if true and I don't think the Jews knew of the Himalayas or Mt. Everest back then, lol.




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Samus Aran on 04 July 2009

Who the f- is Jonah?

Anyway, god is only real if you want him to be real.



d21lewis on 04 July 2009

Until we get time machines (which should be available with the PS4 in 2016), and someone proves otherwise, I'll believe the guy was eaten by a whale. A sperm whale.