Today we tackled the big fish (pun intended). Apparently the original Hebrew term is vague enough that it could be any large sea creature, although my edition of the Tanakh has no problem translating it as fish. And yes, though he really didn't push the point, if you believe the Bible is the Word of God, then yes, this really did happen.
My question is, how do we know this happened? We are given a "God's-eye view", much as in a modern novel, or as the pastor said, an insider's view of things. But how did the person who wrote Jonah know all these things? Was he or she there? Did Jonah himself write the story (not likely, as it is written in the third person)? Who was there to see him get swallowed by whatever it was? It wasn't witnessed by the sailors on board; the text makes that clear.
There is one possibility that I have come across, and that Jonah was originally meant as a religious novel. In other words, it's a fictional story meant to convey a message. I know that that answer probably would not be acceptable to many people in this church, but when you think about it, the Bible is a collection of books assembled over centuries. Unlike the Qu'ran or the Book of Mormon which were intended to be sacred scripture right from the beginning, the authors of the various books of the Bible most likely did not realize that what they were writing would someday be considered the inerrant Word of God. Certainly they were not the ones to declare their writings so (except for some of the prophets). So this was a decision made down the line by human beings, which books to consider and which not to. This aspect of Bible history is seldom discussed, however. I guess it comes down to you have to take it by faith that the men who put the Bible together were divinely inspired.
The point of Jonah is not the whale but the fact that the prophet was sent on a mission, a mission he didn't want to do and tried his best to get out of. And this is where science fails and religion succeeds. Science is very good at describing the physical world, both tangible and intangible, but it is not really good at inspiring people and giving them a purpose in life. Sunday after Sunday we are told that we do have a mission, that we are important, etc. This is no small thing. People need to feel important, they need to feel that they matter, and that there is more to life than just living and dying. And they will grasp at anything that gives them that. Just check out some of the kooky religions and sects on Rick Ross Cult Information Network. I find it incredible that people would fall for some of that stuff, but they do, all the time. Because it gives them meaning.
The problem that I and others have with a fundamentalist, literal interpretation of the Bible is that it flies in the face of what we know and experience as being true. In order to submit to God in the way this church and others like it say is necessary would mean radically amputating a part of my being. It would mean shutting off all outside influences. And there are people there that do just that, not only for themselves but for their children as well. I know at least one parent who reads the books her children take out of the library before they can read them for themselves--and these are teenagers. My parents had their faults but they at least trusted our good judgement at that age that we could read something and decide for ourselves whether it was good or bad. They may not have liked everything we read but I cannot think of any book that was forbidden. (There was one TV show that was forbidden in our house, and that was "Hogan's Heroes", because one of my uncles had been in a German POW camp during World War II and my parents did not think that this was an appropriate subject for humor.) When she told us that she "censored" her teens' reading, I was speechless. But I understand why she feels she needs to do this. Because the world outside is so threatening. It is the price one has to pay if one is to keep one's faith. That is because it is not a faith based on reason, based on love, but based on fear. Well, I believe God deserves better than that. If the only reason or the main reason we come to Him is fear, then He is not much of a God to begin with.
My question is, how do we know this happened? We are given a "God's-eye view", much as in a modern novel, or as the pastor said, an insider's view of things. But how did the person who wrote Jonah know all these things? Was he or she there? Did Jonah himself write the story (not likely, as it is written in the third person)? Who was there to see him get swallowed by whatever it was? It wasn't witnessed by the sailors on board; the text makes that clear.
There is one possibility that I have come across, and that Jonah was originally meant as a religious novel. In other words, it's a fictional story meant to convey a message. I know that that answer probably would not be acceptable to many people in this church, but when you think about it, the Bible is a collection of books assembled over centuries. Unlike the Qu'ran or the Book of Mormon which were intended to be sacred scripture right from the beginning, the authors of the various books of the Bible most likely did not realize that what they were writing would someday be considered the inerrant Word of God. Certainly they were not the ones to declare their writings so (except for some of the prophets). So this was a decision made down the line by human beings, which books to consider and which not to. This aspect of Bible history is seldom discussed, however. I guess it comes down to you have to take it by faith that the men who put the Bible together were divinely inspired.
The point of Jonah is not the whale but the fact that the prophet was sent on a mission, a mission he didn't want to do and tried his best to get out of. And this is where science fails and religion succeeds. Science is very good at describing the physical world, both tangible and intangible, but it is not really good at inspiring people and giving them a purpose in life. Sunday after Sunday we are told that we do have a mission, that we are important, etc. This is no small thing. People need to feel important, they need to feel that they matter, and that there is more to life than just living and dying. And they will grasp at anything that gives them that. Just check out some of the kooky religions and sects on Rick Ross Cult Information Network. I find it incredible that people would fall for some of that stuff, but they do, all the time. Because it gives them meaning.
The problem that I and others have with a fundamentalist, literal interpretation of the Bible is that it flies in the face of what we know and experience as being true. In order to submit to God in the way this church and others like it say is necessary would mean radically amputating a part of my being. It would mean shutting off all outside influences. And there are people there that do just that, not only for themselves but for their children as well. I know at least one parent who reads the books her children take out of the library before they can read them for themselves--and these are teenagers. My parents had their faults but they at least trusted our good judgement at that age that we could read something and decide for ourselves whether it was good or bad. They may not have liked everything we read but I cannot think of any book that was forbidden. (There was one TV show that was forbidden in our house, and that was "Hogan's Heroes", because one of my uncles had been in a German POW camp during World War II and my parents did not think that this was an appropriate subject for humor.) When she told us that she "censored" her teens' reading, I was speechless. But I understand why she feels she needs to do this. Because the world outside is so threatening. It is the price one has to pay if one is to keep one's faith. That is because it is not a faith based on reason, based on love, but based on fear. Well, I believe God deserves better than that. If the only reason or the main reason we come to Him is fear, then He is not much of a God to begin with.
