Posted on 04/30/2011 5:21:53 PM PDT by Lee N. Field
Those of us who are entrusted with the task of expositing the Scriptures in a local church must take care to verify our sources, illustrations, and stories. No matter how helpful an illustration may be, it is dishonoring to God if it is untrue.
Here are a number of urban legends that get repeated in sermons. Some are more pervasive than others, even appearing in commentaries and scholarly works.
1. The “eye of the needle” refers to a gate outside Jerusalem.
...
2. The high priest tied a rope around his ankle so that others could drag him out of the Holy of Holies in case God struck him dead.
Various versions of this claim have been repeated by pastors, but it is a legend. It started in the Middle Ages and keeps getting repeated. There is no evidence for the claim in the Bible, the Apocrypha, the Dead Sea Scrolls, Josephus, the Pseudepigrapha, the Talmud, Mishna or any other source. Furthermore, the thickness of the veil (three feet) would have precluded the possibility of a priest being dragged out anyway.
3. Scribes took baths, discarded their pens, washed their hands, etc. every time they wrote the name of God.
As a way of getting across the reverence of the Jewish and Christian scribes toward God, preachers like to describe the honor given to God’s name. Unfortunately, there’s no evidence that scribes did these sorts of rituals every time they came across the name of God.
4. There was this saying among the sages: “May you be covered in your rabbi’s dust.”...
5. Voltaire’s house is now owned by a Bible-printing publisher....
What are some other urban legends we should avoid as pastors?
Seven examples total. Click through for the full text.
I've personally heard four, and could add others he didn't list.
On the following Sunday, the pastor rose to begin. Looking out at the congregation he said, "Last week I asked you all to read Mark 17. If you have read the chapter, please raise your hand." Nearly every hand in the congregation went up. Smiling, the pastor said, "There is no chapter 17 in Mark. I will now begin my sermon on lying."
Interesting, some years ago a pastor I very much respected did say the “eye of the needle” was a gate in the Jerusalem wall that was just large enough for an *unloaded* camel to pass through.
The analogy still makes sense.
Interesting, since I’ve heard most of these and had never challenged a few of them (1 and 2). Usually mythbusting involves some evidence it’s a myth. I’m a little disappointed he offers nothing to support his busting, since I’ve heard endless mythbusting busted.
I even checked out #7, and found this:
>> The traditional explanation that a burning rubbish heap in the Valley of Hinnom south of Jerusalem gave rise to the idea of a fiery Gehenna of judgment is attributed to Rabbi David Kimhi’s commentary on Psalm 27:13 (ca. A.D. 1200). He maintained that in this loathsome valley fires were kept burning perpetually to consume the filth and cadavers thrown into it. However, Hermann Strack and Paul Billerbeck state that there is neither archaeological nor literary evidence in support of this claim, in either the earlier intertestamental or the later rabbinic sources.[8] Also, Lloyd R. Bailey’s “Gehenna: The Topography of Hell”[9] from 1986 holds a similar view.
There is evidence however that the southwest shoulder of this valley (Ketef Hinnom) was a burial location with numerous burial chambers that were reused by generations of families from as early as the seventh until the fifth century BCE. The use of this area for tombs continued into the first centuries BCE and CE. By 70 CE, the area was not only a burial site but also a place for cremation of the dead with the arrival of the Tenth Roman Legion, who were the only group known to practice cremation in this region.[10]
In time it became deemed to be accursed and an image of the place of destruction in Jewish folklore.[11][12] However, Jewish folklore suggests the valley had a ‘gate’ which led down to a molten lake of fire.
Eventually the Hebrew term Gehinnom[13] became a figurative name for the place of spiritual purification for the wicked dead in Judaism. According to most Jewish sources, the period of purification or punishment is limited to only 12 months and every shabbath day is excluded from punishment.[14] After this the soul will ascend to Olam Ha-Ba, the world to come, or will be destroyed if it is severely wicked.[15] <<
The JEWS believed in a state of purification before ascension???
For most of my life, I have attended church regularly.
The only one of those I have heard is the eye of the needle one. I think I have heard it several times but always a bit differently than that it was a partcular gate.
I think it was described as more of a typical gate in cities which was too small for a camel unless it was forced to it’s knees and made to crawl thgough.
I suspect that version is also not true tho.
Just big enough for late caravan arrivals, but small enough to quickly close and barricade against marauding hordes.
Well, yes, traditionally. With the exception of the exceptionally evil, whose souls are destroyed.
One source relates:
"The truth hurts. The truth also cleanses and heals. The spiritual pain of gehinom--the soul's pain in facing the truth of its life--cleanses and heals the soul of the spiritual stains and blemishes that its failings and misdeeds have attached to it. Freed of this husk of negativity, the soul is now able to fully enjoy the immeasurable good that its life engendered and 'bask in the Divine radiance' emitted by the G-dliness it brought into the world."
"For a G-dly soul spawns far more good in its lifetime than evil. The core of the soul is unadulterated goodness; the good we accomplish is infinite, the evil but shallow and superficial. So even the most wicked of souls, say our sages, experiences, at most, twelve months of gehinom, followed by an eternity of heaven."
from my favorite commentator (Albert Barnes):
“It is easier for a camel, etc. This was a proverb in common use among the Jews, and still common among the Arabians. To denote that a thing was impossible, or exceedingly difficult, they said camel or an elephant might as soon walk through a needle’s eye. In the use of such proverbs, it is not necessary to understand them literally, but only to denote the extreme difficulty of the case.”
http://www.studylight.org/com/bnn/view.cgi?book=mt&chapter=019
Also Gill:
http://www.studylight.org/com/geb/view.cgi?book=mt&chapter=019&verse=024
In Christian school, I heard a fair amount of anti-rock music legends: Hotel California is about the Church of Satan, AC/DC are bisexual, Stevie Nicks is a witch, KISS stands for Knights in Satan’s Service, and the Blue Oyster Cult logo mocks Christianity.
I suspect the eye of the needle has been kept going by pastors who didn’t want to upset wealthy members of their church.
Then again, sometimes these urban legends turn out to actually be true or at least have a bit of truth to them.
I think it is impossible for camel to pass thru the eye of a needle. I also think it means exactly what it says...for with GOD all things are possible.
My favorite was popular during the Cold War. “The eagle shall contend with the bear.” This is supposedly found in the book of Isaiah. I have never been able to find it. Has anyone (and please, no ‘it’s there.’ I want chapter and verse.)
I heard most of that garbarge from peers in public elementary skool. AC/DC was “AntiChrist/Devil’s Child” though, didn’t hear the bisexualist thing until later on. The bisexualist AC/DC thing is funny, that’s the band that refused to tease their hair, put on makeup, wear frilly neon spandex and generally look pretty during the 80’s hair band crap. They knew their blue-collar buddies back in Australia would never let them live it down.
There’s a bunch in that line from “He who isn’t to be named on the Religion Forum” concerning the everything from the Catholic Church to Dungeons and Dragons.
Freegards
Also, one I've heard was from a teacher who wanted to debunk the story of the Jews crossing the Red Sea. He said it was really the “Reed Sea” and they crossed at a very low tide. We all knew that was bunk because the Bible says the Jews “crossed on dry land” (not muddy or wet) and that the pursuing Egyptian army as well as their horses all drowned. Another reason was the Jews crossed over from west to east through the middle of the sea. The tide - even if it was unusual - would not open up through the middle of the sea.
I’ve heard that one too.
It’s all TRUE!!!!!! I was there!!!!!
Um, got a dubbie?
The Stevie Nicks thing isn’t just an anti-rock legend among certain Christians. There’s a fair number of “spiritual” (read: Goddess-worshipping) women of a certain age who believe it, too. I’ve known several of them.
I just got out my Strong’s exhaustive concordance and there are no eagle/bear statements in Isiah but there are several Bear/Lion ones in chapter 17.
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