5 Bible-stories explained by science

[DetlefK]

http://www.cracked.com/article_22708_5-badass-stories-in-bible-explained-by-science.html

5. Goliath likely had gigantism, which has the side-effect of impaired vision. And slingshots were pretty standard weaponry back then. Getting hit by an egg-sized pebble at the speed of a baseball is bad for your health. (The roman legions had dedicated auxiliary units, the Velites, light infantry, that made liberal use of slingshots. Their ammo? Cast pieces of lead.)

4. Jericho, Sodom and Gomorrah were located in earthquake-prone regions.

3. Jesus maybe walked on "spring ice", an ice-sheet that forms below the surface.

2. Stories of the Dead rising were likely premature burials combined with virtually non-existent medical knowledge.

1. The ten plagues that hit Egypt were likely a combination of two environmental disasters.
During the rule of Ramses II there was a sudden change in climate in Egypt: It turned extremely hot, causing the Nile to shrink. The Nile was overrun with the Burgundy Blood algae which colors water red and is toxic, which causes frogs to abandon the water, which causes an increase in the insect-population, which increases the amount of transmitted diseases.
400 miles from Egypt was an active volcano whose ash-plumes had disastrous effects on the climates of Europe and Asia. The ash served as a condensation nucleus, leading to much more severe thunderstorms, whose humidity would lead to an explosion of the locust-population.
And if, after all these catastrophes hitting the country, the food supplies were contaminated, the first-born would likely die first because they were the first to be fed.

[Warren Stupidity]

1. I know it is humor but the assumption that any of this shit happened at all is bogus.

Do we assume that the witch depicted in Hansel and Gretel existed and that her gingerbread house needs to be explained by science? Do we need a scientific explanation for Sisyphus? Where exactly was Valhalla?

[stopbush]

2. Bingo!

[Igel]

4. Exactly.

And the very idea of a pre-Roman tale including some sort of city like Troy being destroyed.

Why, only a fool would believe such a thing.

(Quick: Spot the difference between what the Grimm brothers wrote down and the Iliad.)

[DetlefK]

5. Well, the ruins of Troy have actually been discovered.

But all the biblical content prior to king Salomo's era (or was it king David's era?) is so far unsupported by archeological evidence.

And don't forget that

1. A lot of the original content of the Old Testament was retconned by jewish scholars during the babylonian exile. (e.g. camels in Palestine at a time when there were no camels yet in Palestine. Or that thing with the early Jews being polytheistic.)

2. You would think that other ancient nations would have records that can corroborate biblical stories. (e.g. the ancient Egypts were crazy for book-keeping. The records for when the pyramids were built mention a case where a worker called in sick. That's how serious they took book-keeping. And the library of Alexandria was a gotta-catch-em-all collection of all writings they could get their hands on.)

[Warren Stupidity]

6. Have you read the Illiad?

It contains a whole lot of supernatural bullshit. None of which needs a scientific explanation. The existence of Soddom doesn't need a scientific explanation, although it does indeed lack archeological evidence, it's miraculous destruction by Angry Yaweh is the problem. Should we search for scientific explanations for the intervention of the gods in the siege of Troy?

[rug]

8. Iliad.

Sodom.

Yahweh.

[dangin]

3. Jesus is pretend

That's the answer for most of this.

[LanternWaste]

9. we all of us rationalize some of the imaginary as truly existing while indicting other parts as less

"Jesus is pretend..."

As are national borders. Yet oddly enough, many people call themselves Americans. Economics too, imaginary-- existing nowhere but our own minds-- yet we aspire to work, "make" money and support ourselves. Philosophy also being a product only of the mind, hence imaginary, however the stoic, the nihilist and the pacifist believe in the reality of their values, knowledge, reason and perceptions.

No doubt, we all of us rationalize some of the imaginary as truly existing while indicting other parts as less... real. That too, is the answer for most of this.

[cleanhippie]

10. Uhm, yeah, national borders, citizenship of a country, and economics are all imaginary.

Just like Jesus is imaginary.

Yes, exactly the same thing.

[gcomeau]

7. I'll one up you, and scientifically explain all religion...

http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Apophenia


There, done.