Fables the Biblical Scriptures

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fables in the Bible

The stories in the Old Testament are totally unbelievable, I am amazed that I was taught for so many years by people who should have known better that these were actual historical events. It is so obvious now that these are myths and fables, with no more historical accuracy than the stories about Atlantis & Lemuria. I can't believe grown up people still believe in these myths, and worse still teach them to impressionable young minds. Let's take a look at a few of the more ludicrous stories.
Creation and the Fall

OK, so nobody apart from a few fanatics seriously believes the world was created in 6 days as described in Genesis. But even if you maintain that the 6 days represent 6 ages, there are still ridiculous paradoxes that stand out. For example:

Genesis Plants are made on the third day, without the sun to drive the process of photosynthesis.
All creatures are apparently created as herbivores (Genesis ch1 v30). So what happened to the dinosaurs?

There are countless others - the Genesis account doesn't even remotely match what science tells us about the origins of the earth, however much you try to twist it to fit the facts.
Noah's Ark

This is basically a reworking of the much older "Epic of Gilgamesh". The idea that there was a worldwide flood is completely unsupported by any kind of evidence. After building the ark, God gave Noah 7 days warning of the flood. There are somewhere between 8 million and 10 million species inhabiting the earth (not including the 30 million different types of insect).

Since there was a male and a female of each species on the ark, Noah had just one week to collect polar bears from the North Pole, lions from Africa, spiders from South America and tigers from India and the Far East. Even assuming he could travel around the world at the speed of light, there would have to be an average of 30 animals per second going through the ark's single door. How did the cone beetle survive the year at sea, bearing in mind it can only survive on a particular type of tree only found in California?

Another ridiculous idea is that God created the rainbow as a sign that he would never again wipe out humanity in a global catastrophe. Are we expected to believe that light behaved differently a few thousand years ago when passing through raindrops? Only the incredibly naive can surely believe this!?

The "worldwide flood" somehow seems to have missed out the Chinese and other civilizations that were around at the same time, since they have no record of it.
Finally, the whole idea was to rid the wicked people from the world. Did it work?
Tower of Babel

The Tower of Babel myth is ludicrous - the idea that the entire world spoke a single language until God became angry at their attempt to build a skyscraper and cursed them all with different languages. Where is the evidence for a worldwide language? All ancient cultures evolved their own languages separately, there was most likely some kind of cross-pollination as people moved around, but there is more evidence for the existence of Bigfoot than a single common language.
Joshua and the Sun

Joshua 10:12-14: It was on the day when the Lord gave up the Amorites into the hands of the children of Israel that Joshua said to the Lord, before the eyes of Israel, Sun, be at rest over Gibeon; and you, O moon, in the valley of Aijalon. And the sun was at rest and the moon kept its place till the nation had given punishment to their attackers. (Is it not recorded in the book of Jashar?)

So the sun kept its place in the middle of the heavens, and was waiting, and did not go down, for the space of a day. And there was no day like that, before it or after it, when the Lord gave ear to the voice of a man; for the Lord was fighting for Israel.

Have you ever heard anything so ridiculous? Not only does this imply that the Sun orbits the Earth, but even if it happened as described and the earth stopped moving to give the appearance of the Sun standing still, the gravitational effects would be devastating.

Funny that there is no record of such an incredible celestial event in the records of all the other civilizations that were present at the same time. And what on earth is the "Book of Jashar"? Finally, I was once taught in Sunday School that a NASA supercomputer had found Joshua's "missing day" whilst compiling a history of time - this is an urban myth and has been thoroughly debunked, nobody has ever owned up to running such a program.
Yahweh defeated by "chariots of iron"

Judges 1:19 Yahweh was with Judah; and drove out the inhabitants of the hill country; for he could not drive out the inhabitants of the valley, because they had chariots of iron.

So Almighty God, who creates universes at the blink of an eye, was defeated by a tribe because they had chariots of iron? Isn't it insulting to ascribe this claptrap to the Source of everything?
The genealogy of Jesus

Take a look at the two separate genealogies of Jesus as described in the gospels of Matthew and Luke. Well, actually you aren't supposed to, as 1 Timothy 1:4 says that you must "Neither give heed to fables and endless genealogies". There are only 4 names that actually match.

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@Alan McDougall,

I believe in many of the Biblical myths and intend to teach them to my children. Yet I also understand that they are not historical accounts.

These stories do not derive their power from being historically true, they derive their power from being universally true. Who was it that said that fictional stories often contain far more truth than factual accounts? Whoever said it was right.

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@Alan McDougall,

This is what baffles me about you Alan. You seem to be teeter tottering on what you believe.

What you have posted here in a way discredits the bible. Well it discredits it in the sense that these stories are not actual events, and if they are not actual events, then they must be something else. But when you analyze these stories to try and pull out their purpose they don't seem to fit very well into any other explanation. They don't make for moralistic teachings and fall flat. The bible is a hodgepodge of mans reflection of his idea or concept of god. These stories are an attempt to solidify those ideas about god as a way to confirm it but in light of today's knowledge and ability to reason, these stories don't work anymore. (except for a few people who refuse to acknowledge this fact)

My question is, why even stick to the concept of god in the first place? Toss out the bible because it is a work of fiction. Toss out the idea of original sin because it is a clear fallacy. Toss out the bloated stories of Jesus since they are clear fabrications and exaggerations. Then what are you left with? You only have the concept of god remaining, but have absolutely no way to affirm god's characteristics. So my reasoning is, if it took a work of fiction to convince you there is a god, then by all means the concept of god itself is something that had to be taught to you and is not something intrinsic of your being.

Once you realize that then you can toss out the concept of god all together and you are left with what you should have started with in the first place. Yourself. The power you have as yourself. The ability to cope and live in a world you do not understand under your own ability. You can play free from those made up restrictions that cause nothing but fear and guilt. You can set your own purpose for your existence and not feel guilty about it. You can ultimately realize that our existence is based on our own unified understanding and not dictated by an imaginary entity. You don't need to be taught about yourself, yet you want to override your own self for something that you can't even make heads or tails over? That to me, cheapens your own existence and refuses to acknowledge your own potential as a being of beings.

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@Alan McDougall,

Didymos Thomas wrote:

Who was it that said that fictional stories often contain far more truth than factual accounts? Whoever said it was right.

But a fictional story is a story which is not true. Fiction means that by definition, it means imagined or made-up. So it seems that the person you quoted is wrong.

Why do you agree with him? You must be talking about something else.

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@Alan McDougall,

I think the reason it is difficult to have a good basis for teaching children the principals of organized society is because we as guides lack consistency. So many people have double standards that to teach these systems they cause confusion. I laugh every time I read or hear someone say, "I would kill the child molester who molested my child." Yet they would insight that murder is wrong, they have made an exception to their own rule. This shows a lack of consistency and people do it all the time, not only with beliefs but they can even do it on a daily basis. Today they might be helpful and productive but tomorrow they might say they don't care or are too concerned with their own problems to do anything else.

Humans lack consistency because we have no consistent mindset of right or wrong. We have to constantly justify what is good and bad. Since it is not clear it is easy to make mistakes.

Isn't it stated in the bible that once you arrive in heaven you are given eighty thousand slaves? First of all, that is a lot of servants, and secondly are they actual beings? Or are they some kind of robots? Third is there really that much stuff going on that you need so many things doing stuff for you? Sounds like heaven might be just a tad too busy for my liking.

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@Alan McDougall,

krumple you are right I have great difficulty to hold firmly onto my own type of theism, like you state I an teetering on the brink of atheism

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@Alan McDougall,

These stories are often seen as metaphors. I believe they are products of other conflicting religious notions of the day (similar to Catholosism, sorry for the misspelling, using the solstice as the time to celebrate Christ's birth). This is evidenced by the the amount of early cultures that had a Noah's Arc kind of story.

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@Three dog,

Three_dog;121321 wrote:

These stories are often seen as metaphors.

The problem is, that they are horrible metaphors. For example if I wanted to use a car as a metaphor for not disobeying the law, I wouldn't describe how to build a car. I wouldn't start telling you what kind of materials to make it out of. I wouldn't be giving you dimensions of how to construct it. If I had a metaphor using a car to explain submission to rules, I would stick to the subject. But this story, goes way off base and completely off topic. The metaphor is lost and a story that could have been just a few lines ends up being chapters. Obey god or he will destroy, you and the entire world, except if he notices your neighbor is cool, then he might tell him to pack up the car for a long road trip.

Not to mention, that the tower of babel has exactly the same message. Obey god or he will destroy you, or split you up so you can't talk to your neighbor any more. Same message, and it didn't need to be chapters long to get to the point. Clearly they were not meant as metaphors.

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@Krumple,

Zetherin;121245 wrote:

But a fictional story is a story which is not true. Fiction means that by definition, it means imagined or made-up. So it seems that the person you quoted is wrong.

Why do you agree with him? You must be talking about something else.

Oh, come on, you can figure this one out.

A fictional story is a story in which the events did not occur. The events in Crime and Punishment did not occur as written by Dostoevsky. However, I think anyone who has read that book knows that the book contains immense truth.

The same goes with any good fiction. Great fiction is true, but the events are not.

Krumple: there has been a great deal of commentary on the stories you mention. Do you really think the Babel is story is as plain as you describe it? That it has no nuance, that the meaning is simply so cut and dry?

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@Zetherin,

Zetherin;121245 wrote:

But a fictional story is a story which is not true. Fiction means that by definition, it means imagined or made-up. So it seems that the person you quoted is wrong.
Why do you agree with him? You must be talking about something else.

Well if you prefer you can call them "mythical" stories but the meaning of mythical stories does not lie in their historical accuracy or literal truth. For example.

The story of the good samaritan is a story about "who has faith" and who does gods will presumptively the samaritan but not the other passerbys. Actually it is a very complex story with a lot of possible commentary but
The message of the story does not depend on whether there ever was an injured man or a samaritan at all. Same for the message in Aesop's fables.
Most of the parables in the bible do not need to be historically or literally accurate in order to impart their ethical and religious teaching message.

I think the entire bible is mythical but that is another matter. The "meaning or message" of myths is not in their literal truth or historical accuracy. The bible is a myth but its message is a form of human existential experiential religious truth. Not scientific truth. Not historical truth. Not literal truth. This has historically always been understood "myths transmit a cultures deepest values and truths". The modern notion that myths are falsehoods is a misunderstanding of the nature and purpose of "myth".

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@Didymos Thomas,

Didymos Thomas;121840 wrote:

Krumple: there has been a great deal of commentary on the stories you mention. Do you really think the Babel is story is as plain as you describe it? That it has no nuance, that the meaning is simply so cut and dry?

Pretty much yeah I do. The gist of the story is obey or the wrath of god be upon you. I could give a cometary that shows the story is pointing out how ancient people lacking knowledge in physics felt they could build a tower that would not crumble under its own weight. That they took the collapse as a sign from god, but it was nothing other than failure of the tensile strength of the material being used. But as far as a metaphor goes, show me some examples of how it teaches something other than submission.

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@Krumple,

Krumple;121868 wrote:

Pretty much yeah I do. The gist of the story is obey or the wrath of god be upon you. I could give a cometary that shows the story is pointing out how ancient people lacking knowledge in physics felt they could build a tower that would not crumble under its own weight. That they took the collapse as a sign from god, but it was nothing other than failure of the tensile strength of the material being used. But as far as a metaphor goes, show me some examples of how it teaches something other than submission.

humility and the dangers of prideful thinking for one

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@Krumple,

Krumple;121868 wrote:

Pretty much yeah I do. The gist of the story is obey or the wrath of god be upon you. I could give a cometary that shows the story is pointing out how ancient people lacking knowledge in physics felt they could build a tower that would not crumble under its own weight. That they took the collapse as a sign from god, but it was nothing other than failure of the tensile strength of the material being used. But as far as a metaphor goes, show me some examples of how it teaches something other than submission.

All stories a predicated on the first law of heaven, so to speak, "Obey". Dood if Sprite can market on it you can get it. Look at it this way Assuming there is a creator god who either created/is/exemplifies the universal law, the consquences of disobeying that God are like the consequences of trying to disobey gravity. It would then fall to reason that the "helfire and brimstone" are warranted.

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@GoshisDead,

Krumple;121868 wrote:

Pretty much yeah I do. The gist of the story is obey or the wrath of god be upon you. I could give a cometary that shows the story is pointing out how ancient people lacking knowledge in physics felt they could build a tower that would not crumble under its own weight. That they took the collapse as a sign from god, but it was nothing other than failure of the tensile strength of the material being used. But as far as a metaphor goes, show me some examples of how it teaches something other than submission.

Our friend Amperage has found something you seem to have missed.

Take prothero's example of Aesop: do you think those fables show that the man was so ignorant of animals that he believed they could speak human language? I hope not. Similarly, I imagine that the authors of the Bable story understood all too well that to literally build a tower up to Heaven would be physically impossible, and that they wrote the story in spite of this scientific understanding. Now we have to ask, why?

Perhaps the Tower represents prideful men seeking to elevate themselves to the same level as God? And that the fall of the Tower demonstrates that such efforts are vain and lead certainly to folly?

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@Didymos Thomas,

Didymos Thomas;121948 wrote:

Our friend Amperage has found something you seem to have missed.
Perhaps the Tower represents prideful men seeking to elevate themselves to the same level as God? And that the fall of the Tower demonstrates that such efforts are vain and lead certainly to folly?

How is this not the same reasoning that if you are not submissive you'll be punished for it? Exercise humility and how dare you compare yourself to god, you shall suffer for such thoughts! It's the same.

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@Krumple,

Krumple;122032 wrote:

How is this not the same reasoning that if you are not submissive you'll be punished for it? Exercise humility and how dare you compare yourself to god, you shall suffer for such thoughts! It's the same.

if you don't see the difference between humility and submission I'm not sure I can articulate it in such a way as to make you see it. And if you don't see the dangers in prideful-ness I'm not sure what I can say other than you may be exemplifying it.

I think I would say humility is an internal decision based on respect, love, and comparative thinking, whereas submission connotates an external force separate from any internal reflection. Secondly, what is in inherently wrong with being submissive to that which is greater than ourselves?

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@Amperage,

Amperage;122035 wrote:

Secondly, what is in inherently wrong with being submissive to that which is greater than ourselves?

Like gravity, perhaps. I don't think anyone complains about being subservient to the laws of nature.

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@Didymos Thomas,

Didymos Thomas;122439 wrote:

Like gravity, perhaps. I don't think anyone complains about being subservient to the laws of nature.

But gravity is first of all observable and secondly it is not convoluted. Thirdly, it does not hinder me from doing what I want, so why complain about it?

What do I mean by convoluted? Thall shalt not have any other god before me. Is incredibly convoluted and it is not observable in any way. Anything can be considered a god so you would always be on conflict with it. On top of that, you would be punished for it.

Gravity is clearly defined, where as biblical rules are not. The laws of physics are either clearly defined or they have such little effect on me, what difference would it make if I obeyed them or not? Do I really have to worry about subatomic bonds? Probably not.

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@Krumple,

Krumple;122534 wrote:

But gravity is first of all observable and secondly it is not convoluted. Thirdly, it does not hinder me from doing what I want, so why complain about it?

What do I mean by convoluted? Thall shalt not have any other god before me. Is incredibly convoluted and it is not observable in any way. Anything can be considered a god so you would always be on conflict with it. On top of that, you would be punished for it.

Gravity is clearly defined, where as biblical rules are not. The laws of physics are either clearly defined or they have such little effect on me, what difference would it make if I obeyed them or not? Do I really have to worry about subatomic bonds? Probably not.

To your points, to your first point, Have you observed gravity or just it's effects on objects?
I believe I have observed God's effects on me in the same way.

To your second point, convoluted in terms of what? Complexity? I guess I'm not sure what you mean. The rule you pointed out lets think about for a second. Let us define our "god" as that which we place the highest priority. If our highest priority is money then we have definitionally placed others well being below that priority in situations where it's one or the other. Since I believe my God IS Love, logically, what should be placed above that?

And to your third point, The only difference is in the ramifications. Gravity has physical ramifications whereas God has spiritual/moral ramifications. You claim gravity does not hinder you from doing what you want but what if you wanted to leap tall buildings in a single bound? Then it(gravity) becomes a hindrance. In the same way, if I wanted to kill someone, my belief in God would become a hindrance.

I find all 3 of your points to be unsound critiques.

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@Amperage,

God good to all, or just a few?
PSA 145:9 The LORD is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works.
JER 13:14 And I will dash them one against another, even the fathers and the sons together, saith the LORD: I will not pity, nor spare, nor have mercy, but destroy them.

War or Peace?
EXO 15:3 The LORD is a man of war: the LORD is his name.
ROM 15:33 Now the God of peace be with you all. Amen.

Who is the father of Joseph?
MAT 1:16 And Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.
LUK 3:23 And Jesus himself began to be about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, which was the son of Heli.

Who was at the Empty Tomb? Is it:
MAT 28:1 In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre.
MAR 16:1 And when the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint him.
JOH 20:1 The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre, and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulchre.

Is Jesus equal to or lesser than?
JOH 10:30 I and my Father are one.
JOH 14:28 Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go away, and come again unto you. If ye loved me, ye would rejoice, because I said, I go unto the Father: for my Father is greater than I.

Which first--beasts or man?
GEN 1:25 And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good.
GEN 1:26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
GEN 2:18 And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.
GEN 2:19 And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof.

The number of beasts in the ark
GEN 7:2 Of every clean beast thou shalt take to thee by sevens, the male and his female: and of beasts that are not clean by two, the male and his female.
GEN 7:8 Of clean beasts, and of beasts that are not clean, and of fowls, and of every thing that creepeth upon the earth, GEN 7:9 There went in two and two unto Noah into the ark, the male and the female, as God had commanded Noah.

How many stalls and horsemen?
1KI 4:26 And Solomon had forty thousand stalls of horses for his chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen.
2CH 9:25 And Solomon had four thousand stalls for horses and chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen; whom he bestowed in the chariot cities, and with the king at Jerusalem.

Is it folly to be wise or not?
PRO 4:7 Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.
ECC 1:18 For in much wisdom is much grief: and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow.
1CO 1:19: "For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent."

Human vs. ghostly impregnation
ACT 2:30 Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne;
MAT 1:18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.

The sins of the father
ISA 14:21 Prepare slaughter for his children for the iniquity of their fathers; that they do not rise, nor possess the land, nor fill the face of the world with cities.
DEU 24:16 The fathers shall not be put to death for the children, neither shall the children be put to death for the fathers: every man shall be put to death for his own sin.

The bat is not a bird
LEV 11:13 And these are they which ye shall have in abomination among the fowls; they shall not be eaten, they are an abomination: the eagle, and the ossifrage, and the ospray,
LEV 11:14 And the vulture, and the kite after his kind;
LEV 11:15 Every raven after his kind;
LEV 11:16 And the owl, and the night hawk, and the cuckow, and the hawk after his kind,
LEV 11:17 And the little owl, and the cormorant, and the great owl,
LEV 11:18 And the swan, and the pelican, and the gier eagle,
LEV 11:19 And the stork, the heron after her kind, and the lapwing, and the bat.
DEU 14:11 Of all clean birds ye shall eat.
DEU 14:12 But these are they of which ye shall not eat: the eagle, and the ossifrage, and the ospray,
DEU 14:13 And the glede, and the kite, and the vulture after his kind,
DEU 14:14 And every raven after his kind,
DEU 14:15 And the owl, and the night hawk, and the cuckow, and the hawk after his kind,
DEU 14:16 The little owl, and the great owl, and the swan,
DEU 14:17 And the pelican, and the gier eagle, and the cormorant,
DEU 14:18 And the stork, and the heron after her kind, and the lapwing, and the bat.

Rabbits do not chew their cud
LEV 11:6 And the hare, because he cheweth the cud, but divideth not the hoof; he is unclean unto you.
"Gerah," the term which appears in the MT means (chewed) cud, and also perhaps grain, or berry (also a 20th of a sheckel, but I think that we can agree that that is irrelevant here). It does *not* mean dung, and there is a perfectly adequate Hebrew word for that, which could have been used. Furthermore, the phrase translated "chew the cud" in the KJV is more exactly "bring up the cud." Rabbits do not bring up anything; they let it go all the way through, then eat it again. The description given in Leviticus is inaccurate, and that's that. Rabbits do eat their own dung; they do not bring anything up and chew on it.

Snails do not melt
PSA 58:8 As a snail which melteth, let every one of them pass away: like the untimely birth of a woman, that they may not see the sun.

Fowl from waters or ground?
GEN 1:20 And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.
GEN 1:21 And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good.
GEN 2:19 And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof.

Odd genetic engineering
GEN 30:39 And the flocks conceived before the rods, and brought forth cattle ringstraked, speckled, and spotted.

The shape of the earth
ISA 40:22 It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in:
MAT 4:8 Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them;

Astronomical bodies are spherical, and you cannot see the entire exterior surface from anyplace. The kingdoms of Egypt, China, Greece, Crete, sections of Asia Minor, India, Maya (in Mexico), Carthage (North Africa), Rome (Italy), Korea, and other settlements from these kingdoms of the world were widely distributed.

Snakes, while built low, do not eat dirt
GEN 3:14 And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:

Earth supported?
JOB 26:7 He stretcheth out the north over the empty place, and hangeth the earth upon nothing.
JOB 38:4 Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding.
Heaven supported too
JOB 26:11 The pillars of heaven tremble and are astonished at his reproof.

The hydrological cycle
ECC 1:7 All the rivers run into the sea; yet the sea is not full; unto the place from whence the rivers come, thither they return again.
JOB 38:22 Hast thou entered into the treasures of the snow? or hast thou seen the treasures of the hail,
Storehouses are not part of the cycle

Order of creation
Here is the order in the first (Genesis 1), the Priestly tradition:
Day 1: Sky, Earth, light
Day 2: Water, both in ocean basins and above the sky(!)
Day 3: Plants
Day 4: Sun, Moon, stars (as calendrical and navigational aids)
Day 5: Sea monsters (whales), fish, birds, land animals, creepy-crawlies (reptiles, insects, etc.)
Day 6: Humans (apparently both sexes at the same time)
Day 7: Nothing (the Gods took the first day off anyone ever did)
Note that there are "days," "evenings," and "mornings" before the Sun was created. Here, the Deity is referred to as "Elohim," which is a plural, thus the literal translation, "the Gods." In this tale, the Gods seem satisfied with what they have done, saying after each step that "it was good."
The second one (Genesis 2), the Yahwist tradition, goes:
Earth and heavens (misty)
Adam, the first man (on a desolate Earth)
Plants
Animals
Eve, the first woman (from Adam's rib)

How orderly were things created?
#1: Step-by-step. The only discrepancy is that there is no Sun or Moon or stars on the first three "days."
#2: God fixes things up as he goes. The first man is lonely, and is not satisfied with animals. God finally creates a woman for him. (funny thing that an omniscient god would forget things)

How satisfied with creation was he?
#1: God says "it was good" after each of his labors, and rests on the seventh day, evidently very satisfied.
#2: God has to fix up his creation as he goes, and he would certainly not be very satisfied with the disobedience of that primordial couple. (funny thing that an omniscient god would forget things)

Moses' personality
NUM 12:3: "Now the man Moses was very meek, above all the men which were upon the fact of the earth."
NUM 31:14, 17, 18: "And Moses was wroth...And Moses said unto them, "Have ye saved all the women alive? ... Now therefore kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman, ... But all the women children ... keep alive for yourselves."

Righteous live?
PSA 92:12: "The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree."
ISA 57:1: "The righteous perisheth, and no man layeth it to heart."

ACT 1:18: "Now this man (Judas) purchased a field with the reward of iniquity; and falling headlong, he burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out."
MAT 27:5-7: "And he (Judas) cast down the pieces of silver in the temple, and departed, and went and hanged himself. And the chief priests...bought with them the potter's field."

Jesus' first sermon plain or mount?
MAT 5:1,2: "And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him: And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying...."

LUK 6:17,20: "And he came down with them, and stood in the plain, and the company of his disciples, and a great multitude of people...came to hear him.. And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples and said..."

Jesus' last words
MAT 27:46,50: "And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, "Eli, eli, lama sabachthani?" that is to say, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" ...Jesus, when he cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost."
LUK 23:46: "And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, "Father, unto thy hands I commend my spirit:" and having said thus, he gave up the ghost."
JOH 19:30: "When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, "It is finished:" and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost."

Years of famine
II SAMUEL 24:13: So God came to David, and told him, and said unto him, shall SEVEN YEARS OF FAMINE come unto thee in thy land? or will thou flee three months before thine enemies, while they pursue. thee?
I CHRONICLES 21:11: SO God came to David, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Choose thee. Either THREE YEARS OF FAMINE or three months to be destroyed before thy foes, while that the sword of thine enemies overtaketh thee;

Moved David to anger?
II SAMUEL 24: And again the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he moved David against them to say, Go, number Israel and Judah.
I CHRONICLES 21: And SATAN stood up against Israel, and provoked David to number Israel.

The GENEALOGY OF JESUS?
In two places in the New Testament the genealogy of Jesus son of Mary is mentioned. MAT 1:6-16 and LUK 3:23-31. Each gives the ancestors of Joseph the CLAIMED husband of Mary and Step father of Jesus. The first one starts from Abraham(verse 2) all the way down to Jesus. The second one from Jesus all the way back to Adam. The only common name to these two lists between David and Jesus is JOSEPH, How can this be true? and also How can Jesus have a genealogy when all Muslims and most Christians believe that Jesus had/has no father.

God be seen?
EXO 24:9,10; AMO 9:1; GEN 26:2; and JOH 14:9
God CAN be seen:
"And I will take away my hand, and thou shalt see my backparts." (EXO 33:23)
"And the Lord spake to Moses face to face, as a man speaketh to his friend." (EXO 33:11)
"For I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved." (GEN 32:30)
God CANNOT be seen:
"No man hath seen God at any time." (JOH 1:18)
"And he said, Thou canst not see my face; for there shall no man see me and live." (EXO 33:20)
"Whom no man hath seen nor can see." (1TIM 6:16)

CRUEL, UNMERCIFUL, DESTRUCTIVE, and FEROCIOUS or KIND, MERCIFUL, and GOOD:
"I will not pity, nor spare, nor have mercy, but destroy." (JER 13:14) "Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not, but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling."
"The Lord is very pitiful and of tender mercy." (JAS 5:11)
"For his mercy endureth forever." (1CH 16:34)
"The Lord is good to all, and his tender mercies are over all his works." (PSA 145:9)
"God is love." (1JO 4:16)

Tempts?
"And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham." (GEN 22:1)
"Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God; for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man." (JAS 1:13)

Judas died how?
"And he cast down the pieces of silver into the temple and departed, and went out and hanged himself." (MAT 27:5)
"And falling headlong, he burst asunder in the midst, and all of his bowels gushed out." (ACT 1:18)

Ascend to heaven
"And Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven." (2KI 2:11)
"No man hath ascended up to heaven but he that came down from heaven, ... the Son of Man." (JOH 3:13)

What was Jesus' prediction regarding Peter's denial?
Before the **** crow - MAT 26:34
Before the **** crow twice - MAR 14:30

How many times did the **** crow?
MAR 14:72 And the second time the **** crew. And Peter called to mind the word that Jesus said unto him, Before the **** crow twice, thou shalt deny me thrice. And when he thought thereon, he wept.
MAT 26:74 Then began he to curse and to swear, saying, I know not the man. And immediately the **** crew.
MAT 26:75 And Peter remembered the word of Jesus, which said unto him, Before the **** crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. And he went out, and wept bitterly.
LUK 22:60 And Peter said, Man, I know not what thou sayest. And immediately, while he yet spake, the **** crew.
LUK 22:61 And the Lord turned, and looked upon Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said unto him, Before the **** crow, thou shalt deny me thrice.
JOH 13:38 Jesus answered him, Wilt thou lay down thy life for my sake? Verily, verily, I say unto thee, The **** shall not crow, still thou hast denied me thrice.
JOH 18:27 Peter then denied again: and immediately the **** crew.

How many beatitudes in the Sermon on the Mount
MAT 5:3 Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
MAT 5:4 Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.
MAT 5:5 Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.
MAT 5:6 Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.
MAT 5:7 Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.
MAT 5:8 Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.
MAT 5:9 Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.
MAT 5:10 Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
MAT 5:11 Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.
LUK 6:20 And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said, Blessed be ye poor: for yours is the kingdom of God.
LUK 6:21 Blessed are ye that hunger now: for ye shall be filled. Blessed are ye that weep now: for ye shall laugh.
LUK 6:22 Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man's sake.
LUK 6:23 Rejoice ye in that day, and leap for joy: for, behold, your reward is great in heaven: for in the like manner did their fathers unto the prophets.

Does every man sin?
1KI 8:46 If they sin against thee, (for there is no man that sinneth not,) and thou be angry with them, and deliver them to the enemy, so that they carry them away captives unto the land of the enemy, far or near;
2CH 6:36 If they sin against thee, (for there is no man which sinneth not,) and thou be angry with them, and deliver them over before their enemies, and they carry them away captives unto a land far off or near;
PRO 20:9 Who can say, I have made my heart clean, I am pure from my sin?
ECC 7:20 For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not.
JO1 1:8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
JO1 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
JO1 1:10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.
JO1 3:9 Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.

Who bought potter's field
ACT 1:18 Now this man purchased a field with the reward of iniquity; and falling headlong, he burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out.
ACT 1:19 And it was known unto all the dwellers at Jerusalem; insomuch as that field is called in their proper tongue, Aceldama, that is to say, The field of blood.
MAT 27:6 And the chief priests took the silver pieces, and said, It is not lawful for to put them into the treasury, because it is the price of blood.
MAT 27:7 And they took counsel, and bought with them the potter's field, to bury strangers in.
MAT 27:8 Wherefore that field was called, The field of blood, unto this day.

Who prophesied the potter's field?
MAT 27:9-10 (mentions Jeremy but no such verse in Jeremiah) is in Zechariah 11:12-13

Who bears guilt?
GAL 6:2 Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.
GAL 6:5 For every man shall bear his own burden.

Do you answer a fool?
PRO 26:4 Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest thou also be like unto him.
PRO 26:5 Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own conceit.

How many children did Michal, the daughter of Saul, have?
2SA 6:23 Therefore Michal the daughter of Saul had no child unto the day of her death.
2SA 21:8 But the king took the two sons of Rizpah the daughter of Aiah, whom she bare unto Saul, Armoni and Mephibosheth; and the five sons of Michal the daughter of Saul, whom she brought up for Adriel the son of Barzillai the Meholathite:

How old was Jehoiachin when he began to reign?
2KI 24:8 Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he began to reign, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months. And his mother's name was Nehushta, the daughter of Elnathan of Jerusalem.
2CH 36:9 Jehoiachin was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned three months and ten days in Jerusalem: and he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD.

Marriage?
Proverbs 18:22
1 Corinthians 7 (whole book. See 1,2,27,39,40)

Did those with Saul/Paul at his conversion hear a voice?
ACT 9:7 And the men which journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice, but seeing no man.
ACT 22:9 And they that were with me saw indeed the light, and were afraid; but they heard not the voice of him that spake to me.

Where was Jesus three days after his baptism?
MAR 1:12 And immediately the spirit driveth him into the wilderness.
JOH 1:35 Again the next day after John stood, and two of his disciples;
(various traipsings)

How many apostles were in office between the resurrection and ascension?
1 Corinthians 15:5 (12)
MAT 27:3-5 (minus one from 12)
ACT 1:9-26 (Mathias not elected until after resurrection)
MAT 28:16 Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, into a mountain where Jesus had appointed them.

Judging
1 Cor 2:15 "The spiritual man makes judgments about all things, but he himself is not subject to any man's judgment:" (NIV)
1 Cor 4:5 "Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait till the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men's hearts. At that time each will receive his praise from God."

Good deeds
Matt 5:16 "In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven." (NIV)
Matt 6:3-4 "But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you." (NIV)

For or against?
MAT 12:30 He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad.
(default is against)
MAR 9:40 For he that is not against us is on our part.
(default is for)
LUK 9:50 And Jesus said unto him, Forbid him not: for he that is not against us is for us.
(default is for)

Whom did they see at the tomb?
MAT 28:2 And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it.
MAT 28:3 His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow:
MAT 28:4 And for fear of him the keepers did shake, and became as dead men.
MAT 28:5 And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified.
MAR 16:5 And entering into the sepulchre, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a long white garment; and they were affrighted.
LUK 24:4 And it came to pass, as they were much perplexed thereabout, behold, two men stood by them in shining garments:
JOH 20:12 And seeth two angels in white sitting, the one at the head, and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain.

God change?
MAL 3:6
JAS 1:17
1SA 15:29
JON 3:10
GEN 6:6

Destruction of cities (what said was jeremiah was zechariah)
MAT 27:9 Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy the prophet, saying, And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of him that was valued, whom they of the children of Israel did value;
ZEC 11:11-13 (Note: There is nothing in Jeremiah remotely like this.)

Who's sepulchers
ACT 7:16
GEN 23:17,18

Strong drink?
PRO 31:6,7
JOH 2:11-11

When second coming?
MAT 24:34 Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.
MAR 13:30 Verily I say unto you, that this generation shall not pass, till all these things be done.
LUK 21:32 Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass away, till all be fulfilled.
(See also 1TH 4:15-18)

Solomon's overseers
1KI 9:23 550
2CH 8:10 250

The mother of Abijah:
2CH 11:20 Maachah the daughter of Absalom
2CH 13:2 Michaiah the daughter of Uriel

When did Baasha die?
1KI 16:6-8 26th year of the reign of Asa
2CH 16:1 36th year of the reign of Asa

How old was Ahaziah when he began to reign?
2KI 8:26 22
2CH 22:2 42

Who was Josiah's successor?
2CH 36:1 Jehoahaz
JER 22:11 Shallum

The differences in the census figures of Ezra and Nehemiah.

What was the color of the robe placed on Jesus during his trial?
MAT 27:28 scarlet
JOH 19:2 purple

What did they give him to drink?
MAT 27:34 vinegar
MAR 15:23 wine with myrrh

How long was Jesus in the tomb?
Depends where you look; MAT 12:40 gives Jesus prophesying that he will spend "three days and three nights in the heart of the earth," and MAR 10:34 has "after three days (meta treis emeras) he will rise again." As far as I can see from a quick look, the prophecies have "after three days," but the post-Resurrection narratives have "on the third day."

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