Jesus and Moses

It's interesting comparing the birth stories of Moses and Jesus and noting the striking similarities:

Pharaoh feels threatened by the growing number of Israelites (Exodus 1:9)
Herod feels threatened by the impending birth of a king (Matt 2:3)

Pharaoh is deceived by the midwives (Exodus 1:19)
Herod is deceived by the magi (Matt 2:12)

Pharaoh orders the death of little boys (Exodus 1:22)
Herod orders the death of little boys (Matt 2:16)

Moses escapes by hiding in Pharaoh's house (Exodus 2:10)
Jesus escapes by hiding in Egypt (Matt 2:13)

Perhaps there's some truth to the following comment by Alvin Kuhn, "The sacred scriptures are written in a language of myth and symbol and the Christian religion threw away and lost the very soul of their meaning when it mistranslated this language into alleged history instead of reading it as a spiritual allegory."

Demons and Disease

Do you know someone who has a bad back and can't straighten up? I don't mean to sound alarming but that person could be possessed by a demon! If you are a Bible believer you might want to take note of the following passage:

"...and a woman was there who had been crippled by a spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not straighten up at all". Luke 13:11

Perhaps I shouldn’t be turning my back on uncle Frank anytime soon :)

Demons were also the cause of deafness, muteness, blindness and epilepsy. (Matthew 9:32, 12:22, 17:15) How many of us today believe demons are the cause of such ailments? After the physiotherapist fails, should we head straight for the exorcist?

It was interesting looking up the original word for epileptic in the Zondervan Greek Dictionary:

seleniazomai; to be moon struck, spec. epileptic (supposedly influenced by the moon): epileptics(1), lunatic(1)

These were an ignorant, superstitious people and their writings confirm it. As our medical science increases and the unexplainable becomes explained, our dependence on the spirit world becomes less and less.

What did Jesus say?

This is one of my favorite gospel anomalies:

Mark records, "Going a little farther, he fell to the ground and prayed that if possible the hour might pass from him. 'Abba, Father', he said, 'everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.'" Mark 14:36

In the gospel of John, Jesus says, "now my heart is troubled, and what shall I say? 'Father save me from this hour'? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour" John 12:27

Its like John was correcting or even chastising Mark for portraying Jesus in such a poor light.

It's also interesting to note that at Jesus' death Mark records him saying, "My God, my God why have you forsaken me?" and then states, "with a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last".

But John simply has Jesus say, "It is finished" and then records, "with that he bowed his head and gave up his spirit".

No feelings of forsakeness, or loud cries are allowed in Johns polished account of Jesus.

Peter and the Gospel of Mark

The notes at the back of my NIV bible state, "Ancient tradition certifies that Mark was a companion of Peter. The book [gospel of Mark] is called Peter's gospel by some ancient writers. It is generally conceded that Peter may have furnished or suggested much of the material found in the book." (page 1532)

If this is true, I wonder why Mark doesn't name Peter as the disciple striking the ear (Mark 14:47), or why Mark doesn't bother recounting Peter's miraculous catch of fish or reinstatement by Jesus after he was raised from the dead as told in John 21. You'd think this would be one of the most important conversations of Peter's life, yet Mark doesn't mention it! Something doesn't add up.

The Number 40

I was quite amazed to discover the symbolic use of numbers in the Bible. The number 40 is an interesting example as it seems to symbolize a time of trial and testing:

• for 40 days the earth flooded (Gen 7:17)
• after 40 days Noah sent out a raven (Gen 8:6)
• the Israelites ate manna for 40 years (Exodus 16:35)
• Moses stayed on Mount Sinai 40 days and 40 nights (Exodus 24:18)
• Caleb was 40 years old when he and the Israelites explored Canaan for 40 days, and then wandered the desert 40 years (Joshua 14:7, Numbers 14:34)
• the Lord gave them into the hands of the Philistines for 40 years (Judges 13:1)
• Goliath came forward morning and evening for 40 days (1 Sam 17:16)
• Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel for 40 years (2 Sam 15:6-7)
• Elijah spends 40 days and 40 nights fleeing to Horeb (1 Kings 19:8)
• Ezekiels prophesy: Egypt will lie desolate 40 years (Ezekiel 29:12)
• Jonah proclaimed, "40 more days and Ninevah will be destroyed" (Jonah 3:4)
• Jesus fasted 40 days and 40 nights in the wilderness (Matt 4:2)

The number 40 is also prevalent in other places, possibly portraying a time of completeness:

• Saul, David and Solomon all reigned 40 years (Acts 13:21, 2 Sam 5:4, 2 chron 9:40)
• Joash, a good king, also reigned 40 years (2 kings 12:1)
• the phrase "the land had rest 40 years" is repeated 3 times in Judges (3:11,5:31,8:28)
• Jesus appeared to them over a period of 40 days (Acts 1:3)

Luke also divides Moses' life into 40 year periods. Moses lived in Pharoahs house 40 years until he kills an Egyptian, he then flees to Midian where he spends the next 40 years until he encounters the burning bush, he then spends the last 40 years leading the Israelites until his death at 120 years old. (Acts 7:23,30, Deut 34:7)

Clearly something is going on with this number. I'm hardpressed to believe that 40 is just a numerical value in these cases.

Finally, one last obvious example of the symbolic use of numbers in the Bible:

"Then they came to Elim, where there were twelve springs and seventy palm trees, and they camped there near the water". Exodus 15:27

If we take this verse literally, they simply came to a place with 12 springs and 70 palm trees(with someone actually counting them), taken symbolically, they arrived at the perfect spot, a place ideal for their needs.

Where is Truth?

"If a man beats his male or female slave with a rod and the slave dies as a direct result, he must be punished, but he is not to be punished if the slave gets up after a day or two, since the slave is his property." (Deut. 21:20)

Apparently, this is a law that Moses received from an infinitely wise and holy God! There are tons of terrible verses like this scattered throughout the Pentateuch. It seems really simple to me. If a book says bad things, its a bad book; if a book says good things, its a good book. If we have to overlook parts or say that only God understands them, then I think we have a problem. Many religious cults probably have the same reasoning, “accept our holy books as truth, and if something doesn’t make sense, don’t worry about it, God knows the answer”.

For any Christian readers out there, I wonder how your faith can overcome these barriers? How do you know the Bible speaks the truth when it’s ugly untruths are so plainly seen.