Exodus Decoded

[Aravis Kenobi]

I've heard of a new documentary coming out that takes the story of Exodus and twists it into unbelivable lies. When this comes out, I'd like to see it to see what in the world they believe happened, and would like a discussion about it here if possible.

[Ephinie]

I don't think I've heard about this particular documentary, nor am I familiar with what lies it is supposedly promoting.

[Solya]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exodus_Decoded

It looks pretty interesting! :) I'm glad that they research those things... and science wouldn't be science if they chose to approach it in the way of the Christians/Jews straight away!

[Aravis Kenobi]

From what my dad says, they're going against totally what the Bible says. I wonder how they'll explain the death of the firstborn as being a result of volcanic activity,.hmmm...

[EveningStar]

THEOLOGY OF COMPROMISE?

Producers of shows like this say some people take some comfort into thinking there was some sort of natural explanation for how a "miraculous" event could have taken place then to think it could not have taken place at all. That somehow it's all right to know the Hebrews were not lying, though they were profoundly mistaken, superstitious and ignorant about nature.

But this is like saying "Sure God cut the young lady in half and put her back together. It's a stage illusion! See, these are fake feet!"

That does not make me feel better. If in fact the story of Exodus was just a large number of weird coincidences, reading it would make me feel closer to Ripley's Believe it or Not rather than Christ Jesus. And if it were cheap parlor tricks, that would make God more a Blackstone or Houdini than Jehovah.

I am willing to concede that God may use existing natural forces in ways that defy logic and in precise timing that defies mere coincidence. That he may roll a huge rock down a hill rather than create a huge rock for that purpose. But that is not the point they are making in the show, is it? No.

It all harkens back to the idea that if Oppenheimer and Einstein were leading the Israelites out of Egypt instead of Moses and Aaron, the book of Exodus would have been a series of extremely lucky breaks rather than a string of miracles. I don't think so, and by trhe way Oppenheimer and Einstein believed in God too. Which means religion is not merely the comfort of the ignorant and superstitious.

I believe in miracles. I don't need volcanoes, earthquakes, or red tides to make Exodus more palatable to me. Because it's only if these events are unlikely and even unnatural that they prove God is in control and showing his power to Pharoah.

[Solya]

I am one who believes that most of the stories told in the Bible are metaphorical rather than factual, and so I have little to no problem with scientists trying to prove or disprove things that happened in it. :) But yeah... I do believe in miracles... I think some things are just impossible to prove because they're from God and therefore sometimes not entirely logical. I wouldn't go as far as to call them unnatural (because that disproves my own idea of God being nature) but I do think that we haven't got the knowledge to understand what God does sometimes! That's why we call these sort of things miracles!

[Narborg]

HMMMMMM, I think this guy is trying to ripe of the divence code but doing a simeler thing with a difent event.

Has anyone herd og Bob Crnike? This guys has bean to what he thinkcks is the real Mt sinai in Saudi Arabia. If you go to this mountian, the top of it is all lack and there isa an alter there and a sone which craked open and water came ot, and is just the way t id desribed iin Exadous!!! He shoulkd meet this guy, that would be intersing.

But people will just at anything to back up there belives. Explaining it by Volcanic eurptions sould a bit far fecfed to me. And that want explain all the plages.

[echoscot]

Evening star, very nice reply. As usual "man" is trying to explain away the Bible and all of us sillly superstitious people. Even if Moses parted the Reed Sea instead of the Red Sea, can you imagine how silly the Egyptians must have felt knowing that their army, the largest at that time, drowned in only 3 inches of water?

[Aravis Kenobi]

That's what I find humorous in this documentary (actually from what my dad tells me) How can Egyptians, in chariots, might I add, drown in knee deep water? I can't even drown in knee deep water.