Vince Deagler

we are starting a new study this week in our sunday worship service.  we are gonna work through the book of jonah.  one of the things i found interesting is jonah is apparently the most disputed book in the bible.  can you believe that?  do you believe that?  i guess i do, but that doesn’t mean i understand all the objections.  here is what i mean.

think about all the stories in the bible.  genesis 1 we have the creation account.  a bit later the noahic flood.  followed by the tower of babel account.  there are many miracles in the story of the exodus from egypt and wilderness sojourn.  how about the crossing of the jordan, the battle for jericho, and the sun standing still.  do you get what i’m driving at ???  you really don’t have to wait till jonah to get to a story that will force you to accept the supernatural, the bible is full of them from the start.

now some try to work around this with rational explanations.  for instance there are some that present jonah as an allegory.  its not really true, but it is used to make a point.  but it is not presented to us as an allegory.  there are times when allegory is a legitimate literary device, but it is usually quite clear as the story is introduced that it is an allegory.  for instance jesus would often introduce a parable by saying something like “the kingdom of heaven is like…”.  but the whole allegory thing has another problem, and that problem is jesus.  jesus referred to jonah being in the belly of the whale for 3 days, to illustrate his death, burial, and resurrection.  he didn’t say it was an allegory, he said it was a fact.

and that forces us to make a choice.  i think the choice is easy.  b/c i believe in the god of the bible.  b/c i believe he has revealed himself to us in his word.  b/c i believe in the integrity of god and scripture, and that record reveals numerous miracles, many of which are way more significant than a whale swallowing jonah and burping him out on the beach.  i do not struggle, not with jonah, not with the rest.  if i accept god to be the creator, if i accept him as being in control of nature, if i accept his death, burial, and resurrection, it is not hard to accept the jonah account. 

seems to me the issue that must be reconciled is whether or not you can accept supernaturalism.  if you can, then xtianity is for you.  if you cannot, i’m not sure you can ever be a christian.  to be a xtian you must accept the death, burial, resurrection of jesus…right?  that’s a miracle…right?  can you be a xtian and not believe this?  i do not think so.  so by definition a xtian must accept the supernatural nature of god and his word.  and once you’ve done that, jonah is a piece of cake.  at least i think so.  thanks for reading along.  blessings.  vince