Urban legends of the Bible

So I was reading another post on ATS stating that Jesus apparently was not a carpenter, but rather a stone mason. Apparently, the word "carpenter" is not in the Bible, but rather "builder". And apparently if you were a builder during that time, you were most likely a stone mason. I have not done any independent research yet to verify this, but if true, I did not realize this. Then, that got me to thinking of some other urban legends about the Bible that simply are not true, such as:

Jonah was swallowed by a whale (he was actually swallowed by a big fish);
Three wise men visited Jesus at his birth (the bible never put the number at 3);
the concept that a church is required to have alters for prayer (when church alters did not exist in Jesus' time);
etc., etc.

I am a Christian and some of these things were misleadingly taught to me growing up. I am not trying to bash the Bible, as I am a believer, but I am trying to grow in knowledge.

Can you all think of some other "urban legends" of the bible that people spout off as being true, but there is nothing in the Bible to back it up? I'm not necessarily talking about misinterpretation of scripture (like whether homosexuality is a sin), but rather a complete lack of scripture to justify what people represent to be true. I have no doubt that most Christians are well-intentioned- they are just simply ignorant of the facts and rely upon what other people have told them.

Christians and non-Christians feel free to comment- please refrain from "the Bible is a fairytale" type comments though as that is not the purpose of this post. Assume the Bible to be true and inspired for purposes of this post.

reply to post by jburg6


I believe the rapture to fit in with the theme of this thread. There is no scriptural basis for it imo.

jburg6
So I was reading another post on ATS stating that Jesus apparently was not a carpenter, but rather a stone mason. Apparently, the word "carpenter" is not in the Bible, but rather "builder". And apparently if you were a builder during that time, you were most likely a stone mason. I have not done any independent research yet to verify this, but if true, I did not realize this. Then, that got me to thinking of some other urban legends about the Bible that simply are not true, such as:

Jonah was swallowed by a whale (he was actually swallowed by a big fish);
Three wise men visited Jesus at his birth (the bible never put the number at 3);
the concept that a church is required to have alters for prayer (when church alters did not exist in Jesus' time);
etc., etc.

I am a Christian and some of these things were misleadingly taught to me growing up. I am not trying to bash the Bible, as I am a believer, but I am trying to grow in knowledge.

Can you all think of some other "urban legends" of the bible that people spout off as being true, but there is nothing in the Bible to back it up? I'm not necessarily talking about misinterpretation of scripture (like whether homosexuality is a sin), but rather a complete lack of scripture to justify what people represent to be true. I have no doubt that most Christians are well-intentioned- they are just simply ignorant of the facts and rely upon what other people have told them.

Christians and non-Christians feel free to comment- please refrain from "the Bible is a fairytale" type comments though as that is not the purpose of this post. Assume the Bible to be true and inspired for purposes of this post.

God helps those who help themselves is not in the Bible.

Blessed are the Cheesemakers.

Definitely not in the Bible.

jburg6
So I was reading another post on ATS stating that Jesus apparently was not a carpenter, but rather a stone mason. Apparently, the word "carpenter" is not in the Bible, but rather "builder". And apparently if you were a builder during that time, you were most likely a stone mason. I have not done any independent research yet to verify this, but if true, I did not realize this. Then, that got me to thinking of some other urban legends about the Bible that simply are not true, such as:

Jonah was swallowed by a whale (he was actually swallowed by a big fish);
Three wise men visited Jesus at his birth (the bible never put the number at 3);
the concept that a church is required to have alters for prayer (when church alters did not exist in Jesus' time);
etc., etc.

I am a Christian and some of these things were misleadingly taught to me growing up. I am not trying to bash the Bible, as I am a believer, but I am trying to grow in knowledge.

Can you all think of some other "urban legends" of the bible that people spout off as being true, but there is nothing in the Bible to back it up? I'm not necessarily talking about misinterpretation of scripture (like whether homosexuality is a sin), but rather a complete lack of scripture to justify what people represent to be true. I have no doubt that most Christians are well-intentioned- they are just simply ignorant of the facts and rely upon what other people have told them.

Christians and non-Christians feel free to comment- please refrain from "the Bible is a fairytale" type comments though as that is not the purpose of this post. Assume the Bible to be true and inspired for purposes of this post.

you asked the question tho about urban legends of the bible and nothing in it to back it up,you can,t assume people to believe its true for the purpose of post,the whole things an urban legend to me until any of its proved otherwise.

Not sure you know what urban legend is but it's not what you have put forth. Also churches don't require an alter. All tbat is required is that two or more gather together. There are no architectural requirements for a church save those of the actual builder.

reply to post by jburg6

The gospel calls him "HUIOS TEKTONOS", "son of the TEKTON".
I have looked up the word in three different lexicons on my shelves, and they all translate TEKTON as "worker in wood, carpenter, ship's carpenter".
The really big one says the Septuagint uses it to translate a Hebrew word with the same meaning.
Ultimately from a word meaning to plan or contrive.
I'm inclined to think that if stone was involved, stone would have been specified.
It looks to me as though somebody has arbitrarily translated as "builder" in order to use the argument about builders being stonemasons.
Perhaps "Jesus was a stone-mason" is the idea that really ought to be classified as urban myth.

DISRAELI
reply to post by jburg6

 

The gospel calls him "HUIOS TEKTONOS", "son of the TEKTON".
I have looked up the word in three different lexicons on my shelves, and they all translate TEKTON as "worker in wood, carpenter, ship's carpenter".
The really big one says the Septuagint uses it to translate a Hebrew word with the same meaning.
Ultimately from a word meaning to plan or contrive.
I'm inclined to think that if stone was involved, stone would have been specified.
It looks to me as though somebody has arbitrarily translated as "builder" in order to use the argument about builders being stonemasons.
Perhaps "Jesus was a stone-mason" is the idea that really ought to be classified as urban myth.

Funny, hilarious response and true.

But Jesus wasn't really considered a carpenter, Joseph was. Jesus may have know the carpentry trade, but He wasn't well-known for it. Could you imagine this one, someone believing they own a table or a chair Jesus built. Whew, it's a good thing no one has a hammer once owned by Jesus, because then they will try to say He was like Thor.

But Peter references Psalms, when He talks about Jesus..."The Stone which the builders rejected has become the Chief Cornerstone", implying that even stone masons get the idea about Jesus. He was also called the Chief Shepherd, and nothing indicates He was a sheep rancher either, just that sheepherders also get the idea about Jesus.

The Bible is designed for every facet of human endeavor and career. When I was in film school, one of our classes taught how the Bible sets up narrative that we can see how the structure can help us write screenplays. It is absolutely true that every career or job that mankind has had, there is a way to understand God through using those jobs or careers in a practical way of teaching about them.

reply to post by DeadSeraph

I believe the rapture to fit in with the theme of this thread. There is no scriptural basis for it imo.

Not true.

Matthew 24:30-36
"At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory. And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.

Matthew 24:40-41
Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left. (NIV)

John 14:1-3
Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. (NIV)

Acts 1:9-11
After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.

They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. "Men of Galilee," they said, "why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven." (NIV)

1 Corinthians 15:51-52
Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. (NIV)

1 Thessalonians 4:16-17
For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. (NIV)

reply to post by PrimeLight


Generally speaking, most proponents of the rapture think that this will occur before the tribulation, and that Christians will be spared the coming wrath of God. None of the scriptures you've used here support that idea.

Matthew 24:30-36
"At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory. And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.

This merely indicates that people are caught up to face judgement. It does not indicate a pre-tribulation rapture.

Matthew 24:40-41
Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left. (NIV)

Taken out of context. See this for a good explanation of why this is not an indication of a pre-tribulation rapture.

John 14:1-3
Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. (NIV)

This scripture does not reference a rapture at all. It merely says that Jesus indicated he would prepare a place for his people and would return for them. No grounds for a pre-tribulation rapture here.

Acts 1:9-11
After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.

Again, I fail to see how this has anything to do with the rapture. This is an account of Christ's ascension, and subsequently references the second coming. Nothing about a pre-tribulation rapture is mentioned.

1 Corinthians 15:51-52
Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. (NIV)

Christians are unanimously in agreement here. This does not reference a pre-tribulation rapture, but the resurrection. This happens before the final judgment.

1 Thessalonians 4:16-17
For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. (NIV)

See the previous quote and statement. This passage describes the same event, NOT a pre-tribulation rapture.

reply to post by DeadSeraph

????????? When did this suddenly become an argument about the timing of the 'rapture' i.e Divine Rescue?

I replied based upon your original post and provided due scriptural correction based upon that post. The rest you can go by your own interpretation, however you see fit.

I always thought it was architect....not stone mason - that was the controversy.

That he was presented as a carpenter to symbolically refer to his divine nature as one with the architect of creation.

CdT

CirqueDeTruth
I always thought it was architect....not stone mason - that was the controversy.

That he was presented as a carpenter to symbolically refer to his divine nature as one with the architect of creation.

CdT

Freemason calls that "The Great Architect" but not have said it was Jesus. The Bible says Joseph was a carpenter because people recognized Jesus and Joseph.

We simply don't know his occupation other than preacher. But we know He did spend a lot of time in the temple and with the Pharisees.

The reason they want to say He was an architect is to support the Egyptian mystery theory. I believe it is called Khemet. But as Egypt still was a polytheistic religion at that time, it makes no sense that Jesus would go to Egypt to learn the hermetic knowledge of polytheism, just to go back to Israel as a pure monotheist.

The entire known world at that time was polytheistic, except for Israel. What we call paganism today was the state religions in those days. The problem has been that people have attempted to assimilate Jesus into polytheism, but it is clear He was very monotheistic. But it didn't help that some of the church fathers attempted to sway other polytheists by exchanging their gods and goddesses for Jesus and Mary. They have put onto Mary certain characteristics and attributes that were never first given to her, neither expressed in any writing from the Romans, Greeks, Persians and Egyptians at that time.

Solely from the Bible we know that Maryam (Miriam) was Jewish. She kept the Mosaic law, including the days of her purification after His birth and taking Him to the temple on the eighth day to be circumcised. We know her cousin Elizabeth was married to the high priest that year, Zechariah. We know that Zechariah was performing his duty in the temple when he was told to name his child John, of which he protested by saying there was no other John in his family. We know that is a Jewish custom still to this day, naming children after relatives instead of the parents. So there would not have been a Zechariah Jr. She even kept the feast days in Jerusalem, that is why they were in Jerusalem when they looked for Jesus and found Him in the temple. If He were an Egyptian kid, He would not have even gotten near the temple, as there were very strict rules about who could go in. Gentiles were not permitted.

I think people don't realize the rules in the temple and how it was designed. For Jesus to be in the temple in the first place, He had to be Jewish and a teacher at that. We know He wore the phylacteries and the prayer shawl as the devout Jews did and still do. The one thing we can say is that Jesus was an orthodox Jew who kept the sabbath, the feast days and the Passover, and kept them in the temple as a Jewish preacher.

Something to remember about Christianity, and namely your comment about the altar, OP, is that there are many correlations between Christianity and Judaism. One of which is the altar, where the sacrifices by the priests were done. Oops, there's another! Priests!

I suppose in a sense and to a degree, you can call Christianity the evolution, or product of Judaism. They are certainly linked.

reply to post by jburg6


When it says you must be born again, it is actually referring to rebirth in the waters of life. This is baptism and not simply repenting of sin. The process of repenting of sin is the fact that you will be reborn again (like reincarnation) into another life. The purpose of being here in the waters of life is so that you CAN repent. Your chance is the baptism you are currently living. You can verify this in Greek and Latin.

AMN is AMEN in Hebrew. This is the word TRUE.

AMN in Greek and Latin is LAMB
AMNi is river of life (Like the Jordan)
AMNio is the bowl catching the sacrifice of the lamb
AMNion is the sac covering the lamb (Baby) in the womb of the mother.
AMNiotic fluid is the waters of the womb, like the waters of life AMNI.
AMNesia is the condition of the water where you forget (The Veil) over the temple
AMNesty is when God forgets

Both Amnesty and Amnesia both come from one word meaning to forget. What happens when God does not forget?

dAMNation. Your lamb is taken from you.

How do you repent? You temporarily forget your past, then relive the chance to repent free from the knowledge of why you should. To be born again is the chance to repeat the process. How many times? Ask Job.

Job 14

Oh that thou wouldest hide me in the grave, that thou wouldest keep me secret, until thy wrath be past, that thou wouldest appoint me a set time, and remember me! 14:14 If a man die, shall he live again? all the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change come. 14:15 Thou shalt call, and I will answer thee: thou wilt have a desire to the work of thine hands. 14:16 For now thou numberest my steps: dost thou not watch over my sin? 14:17 My transgression is sealed up in a bag, and thou sewest up mine iniquity.

Ask Isaiah:

Isaiah 26

19 But your dead will live, Lord;
their bodies will rise—
let those who dwell in the dust
wake up and shout for joy—
your dew is like the dew of the morning;
the earth will give birth to her dead.
20 Go, my people, enter your rooms
and shut the doors behind you;
hide yourselves for a little while
until his wrath has passed by.
21 See, the Lord is coming out of his dwelling
to punish the people of the earth for their sins.
The earth will disclose the blood shed on it;
the earth will conceal its slain no longer.

Christ is the first fruits of those who live again. We are the slices of this loaf called Christ.

1 Corinthians 10

16 Is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks a participation in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ? 17 Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body, for we all share the one loaf.

By being baptized in Christ, you eat the loaf and drink the cup. The cup is what you bear as a burden for the King. The bread is your slice being baked from the seed (DNA) of the blood. Try not to be burnt toast. This is the point.

Repentance is turning from your sins. Baptism is immersion in the waters of life as a lamb. The shepherd sheers the wool season after season. You must be born again. He then washes that wool white as snow and then returns it to you as your new robe (Body). He weaves the robe. You provide the wool. A crown (New mind) goes to you if you succeed.

Salvation is free, but only to those who repent.

Matthew 3

7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them: “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? 8 Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. 9 And do not think you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. 10 The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.

11 “I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me comes one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with[c] the Holy Spirit and fire. 12 His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”

---Burnt toast comes to those who do not put out the fire (Trials of life) with water (Christ / Giving). It's not that I remember. I have simply paid attention and figured it out. Now all I need to do is get busy repenting of my sin. We all have a sin to get rid of. It's the one we cannot seem to shake. The entire reason we are here in the first place.

When you figure it out, you will see that you need Christ to get through the final mile. You cannot do it yourself. Your works are not enough. Only one has ever accomplished what we cannot. This is the mystery of the cross. There will be no boasting in heaven. We cannot save ourselves. It's a gift from the process.

IsidoreOfSeville
Something to remember about Christianity, and namely your comment about the altar, OP, is that there are many correlations between Christianity and Judaism. One of which is the altar, where the sacrifices by the priests were done. Oops, there's another! Priests!

I suppose in a sense and to a degree, you can call Christianity the evolution, or product of Judaism. They are certainly linked.

Judaism is the mother of Christianity. Where they had a great altar for sacrifices then, the altar in Christianity represents where we go to offer our lives for Christ. We live and die in Christ. Baptism represents the death, burial and resurrection of Christ, and that we are baptized because we live and die and rise again with Christ in baptism.

The altar is supposed to be a sacred place.

Joel 2:17 Let the priests, the ministers of the Lord, weep between the porch and the altar, and let them say, Spare thy people, O Lord, and give not thine heritage to reproach, that the heathen should rule over them: wherefore should they say among the people, Where is their God?

reply to post by jburg6


Cleaness is next to godliness.

I agree "urban legends" is not the correct term.There is a term for it but it should be self evident.There are so many fallacies of the scriptures that are believed and taught as religion it would take a volume of books to explain them in depth and why.Here are just a few.

There is no eternal punishment of hell.There are 4 words translated as hell in the scriptures.

Sheol(Hebrew)=the grave,the realm of the dead, the realm of imperception
Hades(Greek)=the grave,the realm of the dead, the realm of imperception
Gehenna(Hebrew)= where children were sacrificed by burning to pagan gods like Baal
Tartarus(Greek)=the Greek mythological underworld/pit where the wicked dead are punished brutally

btw Paul nor John never spoke of hell.Peter does once and calls it Tartarus.

Eternal does not mean endless time.It is the translation of the Greek aion/eon which means age or age lasting.

Salvation is NOT only for those that believe a myriad of Christian religious doctrines.The truth is there are multiple scriptures that clearly state salvation is for all of mankind.I have posted just a few of the many at numerous ATS "hell" threads.

Jesus is not his "name".It is the modern English transliteration of the Latin transliteration of the Greek translation of the Hebrew Yahoshua,Yehoshua,Yahshua Yehshua,or Yeshua which was his given name which means God is salvation.

A name (especially to someone of Hebrew descent) is their "nature".To change a name is to change their nature.Only God can change a name.The majority of the New testament outside of the Gospels when using "Yahoshuas" name means literally God is salvation or Gods salvation.
This name has been demonized by some to fit their agenda that Yahoshua is not the savior of all mankind but is saving only a special self chosen group .

Pronouncing his name correctly is not the point.It is what the name means and is.The apostles knew this very well and don't separate the two.They understood and taught that Gods salvation is for all mankind.That is the core meaning of "in the name of or by the name of"

Saying "in the name of Jesus" is absolute futility and means nothing.It is a tradition and doctrine of men.Saying "Jesus or God (God is a title not a name) is not an incantation and has no power at all in it's "voicing" as such.

Forgiveness of sin does not mean pardoned from guilt.It means "freed from bondage".Everyone is 100% accountable for all their guilt.

As I said there are so many and these are just the basic bare bones explanations. Each one would require at minimum a thick book to hit all the aspects in correction of the extreme perversion of their true meaning.

Biggest urban legend = "Jesus' execution was a sin sacrifice"


- The entire narrative involved an arrest, trial and execution.
- It was a standard Roman style execution, not a ritual killing.
- At no point during the execution was any mention made of it being a "sin sacrifice".
- Even after Jesus rose from the dead, there was no mention of anything that resembled "sin sacrifice" theology.
- "Sin sacrifice" theology reduces Jesus to a mere sacrificial animal... a free-ticket to heaven.

sk0rpi0n
Biggest urban legend = "Jesus' execution was a sin sacrifice"


1- The entire narrative involved an arrest, trial and execution.
2- It was a standard Roman style execution, not a ritual killing.
3- At no point during the execution was any mention made of it being a "sin sacrifice".
4- Even after Jesus rose from the dead, there was no mention of anything that resembled "sin sacrifice" theology.
5- "Sin sacrifice" theology reduces Jesus to a mere sacrificial animal... a free-ticket to heaven.

1-Yep. (sort of. the narrative also involved the healing of lepers, exorcisms, raising of the dead, walking on water, etc)

2- Yep.

3- Yep. Not sure why that would be necessary since the romans viewed Jesus as a vagabond and a seditionist (hence his method of execution)

4- There was, but I see your point. The problem is that Isaiah disagrees with you.

5- No it doesn't. "Sin sacrifice theology" as you put it, exalts Jesus, and does not reduce him to the status of an animal. While muslims willingly kill others for Allah, Jesus willingly went to the cross for sinners (me, you, etc). Does that make sense now?