6 days ago
- Science
- Irish Daily Mirror
Bible's biggest miracle 'debunked' by scientists
The Biblical miracle of Jesus feeding the five thousand with just five loaves and two fishes is well-known, but scientists now believe a natural phenomenon may have been at play. Researchers studying Lake Kinneret, referred to as the Sea of Galilee in the New Testament, have been monitoring oxygen levels in the water, as well as wind speed and direction on the surface.
These devices enabled them to cross-reference results with historical accounts of fish die-offs, events which result in the sudden mass deaths of fish in a specific area. According to their research discovered brief periods when winds across the lake's surface were strong enough to draw up oxygen from its depths.
This would trigger a sudden die-off. To an observer on shore or in a boat, it would appear as though a large number of fish were slowly rising to the lake's surface, allowing them to 'be easily collected by a hungry populace' as described in The Bible, reports The Mirror US.
They propose that when Jesus instructed his tired disciples, who had fished all night without success, to cast their nets on the other side of the lake, their success was due to a mass die-off.
Matthew 14:13-21 recounts the story: 'Now when Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there in a boat to a desolate place by himself. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns.
"When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them and healed their sick. Now when it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, 'This is a desolate place, and the day is now over; send the crowds away to go into the villages and buy food for themselves.
"But Jesus said, 'They need not go away; you give them something to eat'. They said to him, 'We have only five loaves here and two fish.
"'And he said, 'Bring them here to me'.'Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass, and taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and said a blessing.
"Then he broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. And they all ate and were satisfied.
"And they took up 12 baskets full of the broken pieces left over. And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children."
However, Biblical scholars have disputed the research, saying in the scripture there was no mention of the fish being 'easily caught'. And they suggested the scientists needed to re-read the passages discussing the miracle.
The Answering Genesis article added: "Jesus simply took the five loaves and two fish, thanked God, broke the loaves, handed everything to his disciples, and the disciples handed the food out. No fish were caught!"
