Fat Bible Bloke's Blog

So what is that headline? It refers to some research done in America (well it would be!) that suggests that there are huge amounts of water pent up in the earth's crust. The experiments replicated the environment and conditions deep in the Earth. Based on what they witnessed in their lab, the researchers concluded that more water probably exists deep within the Earth than is present on Earth's surface; as much as five times more. Other research has suggested that a zone between the mantle and the crust also contain a great deal of water, the Japanese researchers noted. If so, there could be more than ten times the amount of water inside the planet as there is on its surface. That's a lotta lotta wotta (as the Scotsman said). Very amusing! And this, spookily, is what the Bible says:- When Noah was six hundred years old, on the seventeenth day of the second month all the outlets of the vast body of water beneath the earth burst open, all the floodga...

So what exactly was this box or boat thing? Throughout history people have guessed what the ark looked like; and most people imagined a big boat with a large shed on the top. Like in the top picture above : a painting by the American, Edward Hicks. [born 1780, died 1849] Or in the bottom two pics : a one fifth size modern reconstruction of the ark by a Dutchman, Johan Huibers. He has now built what he claims to be a full size version. It's set up as a sort of Noah's Ark theme park. Unlike the original ark, this one has internet access and a big screen cinema! And its got animals ... ... but not real ones. Firstly, while it does float, Huibers has stressed that the Ark is not designed to save people from a global flood. Instead, he built it as a symbol of his faith. Huibers built the Ark exactly to the specifications noted in the Bible. You're going to tell me anyway; so what does the Bible actually say? Build an ark for yourself out of good timber;...

He is the first great bible Hero and was descended from Methuselah Even if we are uncertain of the real meaning of his great age; we can see that these people form a link in the narrative with the famous boat builder. When Methuselah was 187, he had a son, Lamech. He had other children and died at the age of 969. When Lamech was 182, he had a son, and said, "this child will bring us relief from God's punishment."; so he named him Noah. Lamech died at the age of 777. So often, in the Bible, it's people's names that help tell the story. What do you mean? Why did mum and dad give you your name? They liked the sound of it, I suppose? Well, the name "Noah" come from a Hebrew word meaning "to bring relief" He "brought relief" by saving the people God chose to go into the Ark, but this picture is very unrealistic. It was painted in 1675, by a bloke called 'Franzosischer Meister' - not his real name 'cos it me...

You must be joking! Did you ever watch the film "2001 a Space Odyssey". It ends with a very, very old man reaching for a block of something that's filled with stars. I never understood the ending but it was, apparently, very meaningful; very "spiritual". But that's not in the Bible, is it? But you were asking about those ancient bods who, apparently, lived for huge numbers of years. And I can't believe that this was ever true! When Jared was 162, he had a son, Enoch, and then lived another 800 years. He had other children 20 and died at the age of 962. When Enoch was 65, he had a son, Methuselah. After that, Enoch lived in fellowship with God for 300 years and had other children. He lived to be 365 years old. He spent his life in fellowship with God, and then he disappeared, because God took him away. When Methuselah was 187, he had a son, Lamech, and then lived another 782 years. He had other children and died at the age of 969....

Intrigue and Incest in the Book of Genesis? Well, go on. Where did Mrs Cain come from? People have argued over this for centuries. Some say that there were plenty of exceptions to the incest rules where it was nesessary, so perhaps that's how Cain gets a son. Other people argue that, although Adam and Eve are reported as the first people there will have been other early human types ... Like Neanderthal Man? ... oooh, very clever. These near humans may have contributed to the gene pool . The writers of Genesis were particularly keen to explain the pre-history of their peoples and they weren't too bothered about every little detail.  Remember they collected "word of mouth" stories and brought them all together. The writers have more to say about how human beings developed.... Enoch [Cain's son] had a son named Irad who was the father of Mehujael who had a son called Methushael who was the father of Lamech who had two wives, Adah and Zillah. ...

But not the end; perhaps the beginning ... I like the hunky men; very physical! Cain committed the first murder so he had to be punished. You are placed under a curse and can no longer farm the soil: You will be a homeless wanderer on the earth. So Cain went away from the Lord's presence and lived in the land of Nod. Isn't that a kiddes' phrase for sleeping - 'he's in the land of Nod.'? 'Nod' is an ancient Hebrew word for "Wandering." Cain and his people became nomads . But the bible suggests that God has a way of making good come from bad; and we are told that Cain " built a city and named it after his son Enoch. " And it is very likely that he "Wandered" and "built his city" in Mesopotamia ; the name means "between the rivers" - near the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers; just "up the road from" the Garden of Eden. But one man couldn't build a city, singe handed. Agr...

Cain Was Less Interested? Of course no-one agrees whether there really WAS a first man called Adam and a first woman called Eve; but many ancient civilisations have similar stories, so there is some ancient truth in the back of people's minds. The important thing about the story of the Garden on Eden is that it begins to explain why things go wrong - why there is bad in the world. Then Adam had intercourse with his wife, and she became pregnant. The Bible's hot on sex then? She bore a son and said, “By the Lord's help I have gotten a son.” So she named him Cain. Later she gave birth to another son, Abel. Abel became a shepherd, but Cain was a farmer. And the next little story shows the troubles in the Garden beginning to get worse. A picture of a man. Is he setting fire to an animal? And the second man has some corn. And the coloured picture with weird writing shows the men with animal and corn again? What's going on? The men are offering sac...