Is This Story True?
Is This Story True? If the Bible contains myth, can it be trusted? Have you ever opened a bible and read something that caused you to ask, “Is this story true?” One example is the Bible story about a man named Jonah who was swallowed whole by a big fish in the Mediterranean Sea. He survived three days in the fish’s belly before he was vomited up on shore. How did he survive without air? People ask, “How could Noah and his family have cared for all the animals in the world on that boat?” “How did Noah even get all those animals gathered into the ark?” “What about the dinosaurs?” There are many such questions asked of the Bible. These types of questions reveal the problem. It’s our approach to biblical interpretation. Questions like this reveal our contemporary worldview, which is informed by empiricism or the scientific method. We are shaped to think that something is factual or true only if data can be gathered through observation, measurement, and repetition. If something can be...