Believing What Jesus Believed It has become increasingly popular
to accept certain parts of the Bible and to reject other parts.
Such amazing events as the miracle of Creation, Jonah’s being
swallowed by a sea creature, and the Flood of Noah often are
brushed aside as mere myth, while more “credible” things such as
the teachings of Jesus are accepted as fact. Although this line
of reasoning might have some initial appeal to our “enlightened”
society that rejects biblical miracles off hand, it contains a
major flaw. When the teachings of Jesus are analyzed, it can be
shown that Jesus Himself believed and taught the Old Testament
stories that some label as myth. For instance, the story of
Jonah has come under attack due to its extraordinary details.
According to the Old Testament Scriptures, God’s prophet Jonah
disobeyed the Lord and was swallowed by a great sea creature.
For three days, he dwelt as a damp denizen of that creature’s
belly, until finally he was vomited onto the land and given
another chance to o