20 of the most bizarre stories from the bible msn.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from msn.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
02 June 2021
From a talking donkey to a man being eaten by a giant fish, the Bible has no shortage of strange stories. In her new book A Most Peculiar Book: The Inherent Strangeness of the Bible (Oxford University Press, 2021), Kristin Swenson, an associate professor of religious studies at Virginia Commonwealth University, delves into these stories and many others. Here s a look at 20 of the more bizarre biblical stories that Swenson discusses in the book. Some, such as Jonah being eaten by a giant fish, refer to important archaeological sites, like Nineveh, an ancient Assyrian city in modern-day northern Iraq. Others, such as that of a literal scapegoat, explain how phrases that are commonly used in modern times came into existence.
Sandy Hausman reports
Credit Kristin Swenson
Whether you consider the Bible a sacred book and a guide to life or a historic relic, the fact is that it’s been tremendously influential in western culture – quoted by preachers and politicians, inspiring great art, children’s stories and memorable Hollywood scenes – like Moses parting the Red Sea.
All of these obscure a fundamental fact about the Bible, according to Kristin Swenson, an affiliate faculty member at Virginia Commonwealth University and author of
A Most Peculiar Book: The Inherent Strangeness of the Bible.
“The Bible is a lot stranger than it gets credit for being. I say ‘credit,’ because I think it’s a really positive quality,” she explains.
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