Jamie wrote:Recieved this in an email today, and found it very interesting. Read all of this one, it is interesting!! Read down to the very bottom highlighted in green, IT GAVE ME GOOSEBUMPS!!! you don't want to miss this! ((*_*))
AGHHHH!! You damn religious RUBES!
This illustrates how strongly held opinions can be mixed with bad biblical interpretation, emotion, and ill-conceived theology to produce something that is essentially fiction. In fact, since it is being presented as a Christian biblical view it is worse than fiction; it is outright propaganda and most of it false at that. What makes that so bad is that too many Christians are not only
believing this kind of material but are basing political and ethical responses on it!
That being said...I have a few other emails you may be interested in.
- A prince in Nigeria has an an entire fortune in the bank, but needs your help to get it out.
- A boy dieing of cancer wants your business card so he can set a world record.
- You cell phone number will soon be published in a directory for telemarketers.
- Bill gates will send you $100 if you forward this message to 100 people.
Now...down to business!
The following verse is from the Koran, (the Islamic Bible)
Koran (9:11 ) - For it is written that a son of Arabia would awaken a fearsome Eagle. The wrath of the Eagle would be felt throughout the lands of Allah and lo, while some of the people trembled in despair still more rejoiced; for the wrath of the Eagle cleansed the lands of Allah;
and there was peace. (Note the verse number!) Hmmmmmmm?!
o.
HOAX.http://www.snopes.com/politics/war/quran911.aspThe quote is
not from anywhere in the Koran (or Quran).
Chapter 9 verse 11 actually says "But if they repent and keep up prayer and pay the poor-rate, they are your brethren in faith; and we make the communications clear for a people who know." (M. H. Shakir translation)
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As for the rest...it is my belief that the bible is a work of fiction anyway, but I will humor you.
1. The Garden of Eden was in Iraq.
False. No one knows where the Garden of Eden was. The Bible nowhere gives a location for it other than “in the East.” Of course, where that is depends on where one starts. From Israel, that could be anywhere from Arabia to China. But since Israel does not yet exist in Genesis 2, there is no guarantee that “east” is from Israel.
2. Mesopotamia, which is now Iraq, was the cradle of civilization!
False, or at least debatable. This was the consensus of early historians, and was taught as the truth in schools until the past few decades. However, recent archaeological and anthropological research now suggest that the first human civilization originated in central Africa in the rift valleys and in northwest Africa in the area of Nigeria. And even if it were true that Mesopotamia is “the cradle of civilization,” I do not see the significance or the relevance to any interpretation of the Bible in relation to modern Iraq.
3. Noah built the ark in Iraq.
False. Nowhere in the biblical account of the flood does it state where the ark was built.
4. The Tower of Babel was in Iraq
Partly True. The biblical story only talks about the territory of Babel (along with Erech and Accad, from the later Akkadians, 2400 BC) and locates it in the Plain of Shinar (from the ancient Sumerians, 3500-1900 BC), which is roughly the territory between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. Those two rivers run from southeastern Turkey and western Syria to the Persian Gulf bordered by Iran and Kuwait, quite a distance. While there is no direct historical link of Babel in Genesis 11 to Babylonia, the city of Erech and the area of Akkad are thought to be located toward the southern end of the Tigris-Euphrates valley. This would place Babel in what in now southern Iraq. However, it could be further to the north. However, the significance of this in this context likewise eludes me.
5. Abraham was from Ur, which is in Southern Iraq!
Partially True. The ruins of Ur are located in what is now southern Iraq. However, while this was Abraham’s ancestral home, something important in the ancient world, he is often referenced in the biblical narratives as being from Haran in the region of Aram, far to the north in what is now Turkey. Terah took his family and left Ur very early in the biblical narratives. Abraham received his call from God in Genesis 12:4 at Haran. Note that Deuteronomy 26:5 says that “my father” (referring to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob) was “a wandering Aramean.” The city of Ur has only marginal significance in the biblical narratives.
6. Isaac's wife Rebekah is from Nahor, which is in Iraq!
Partially True. First, we need to note that in most of the early patriarchal narratives, people and places are interchangeable. Abraham was from Haran, yet that was also his brother’s name. His other brother was Nahor. This suggests that we cannot make too much of geographical names in the early narratives.
The city itself is not specifically named; it is only given as “the city of Nahor.” The location of this city is unknown. The biblical reference only places it in Aram-naharayim, “Aram of the Two Rivers.” The assumption is that this would be the ancestral home near Ur, but the reference is only to the general area of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. Again, I fail to see any significance to this other than the fact that it was the ancient custom to marry within tribes, which would require returning to the ancestral homeland for a wife. Nothing is made in any of these biblical narratives of any particular significance of the geographical location.
7. Jacob met Rachel in Iraq.
False. Jacob went to the territory of Aram, specifically Paddam-aram, which is the area around Haran in southern Turkey and northern Syria. Laban, Rachael’s father, is specifically said to live in Paddam-aram and is described as an Aramean. This is far to the north of present-day Iraq.
8. Jonah preached in Nineveh - which is in Iraq.
Partially True. Ninevah was the capital of the Assyrian empire in the eighth and seventh centuries BC, which occupied the upper reaches of the Tigris-Euphrates valley, partially in modern Iraq and partially in southern Turkey. The ruins of the city lie near Mosul in far northern Iraq. However, Assyrian territory extended beyond the border of present-day Iraq.
9. Assyria, which is in Iraq, conquered the ten tribes of Israel.
Partially True. Assyria did conquer the northern ten tribes in 721 BC. But as noted above, the Assyrian Empire lay only partially in what is now Iraq, reaching further north than the present boundaries of Iraq.
10 Amos cried out in Iraq!
False. Amos proclaimed his message in the northern kingdom of Israel. There is no mention of him ever visiting any area outside Judah and Israel. There is not even a record of his pronouncing any prophetic word against either Assyria or Babylon.
11. Babylon, which is in Iraq, destroyed Jerusalem.
True but misleading. All of these references to Babylon as being in Iraq are misleading at best. Iraq covers a much larger or different area than did ancient Sumer, Akkad, Assyria, or Babylon. It is virtually meaningless to try to identify any and every mention of Babylon in the Old Testament as being in Iraq, especially since Iraq has only been in existence for 70 years or so, and in some sense is a totally “artificial” country created by the demands of 20th century politics.
12. Daniel was in the lion's den in Iraq!
See #11
13. The three Hebrew children were in the fire in Iraq
See #11
(Jesus had been in Iraq also as the fourth person in the Fiery Furnace!)
False. To identify the figure in the furnace as Jesus is anachronistic. There is no Jesus named anywhere in the Old Testament. It is only by interpretation that we get any references to or about Jesus in the Old Testament, and those are always colored by certain theological slants.
14. Belshazzar, the King of Babylon saw the "writing on the wall" in Iraq.
See #11
15. Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon, carried the Jews captive into Iraq.
See #11
16. Ezekiel preached in Iraq.
See #11
17. The wise men were from Iraq.
False. The biblical text never says where the Magi were from beyond saying that they came “from the East.” See # 1 on the biblical symbolism of "the East."
18. Peter preached in Iraq.
False. There is no mention of Peter visiting this area.
19. The "Empire of Man" described in Revelation is called Babylon, which was a city in Iraq!
See #11.
And you have probably seen this one: Israel is the nation most often mentioned in the Bible. But do you know which nation is second? It is Iraq! However, that is not the name that is used in the Bible. The names used in the Bible are Babylon, Land ofShinar, and Mesopotamia . The word Mesopotamia means between the two rivers, more exactly between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. The name Iraq, means country with deep roots.
False. Egypt is mentioned almost three times as often in the Bible as is Babylon. See #11.
Indeed Iraq is a country with deep roots and is a very significant country in the Bible.
False. Iraq is never mentioned in the Bible, so can have no significance. See #11.
No other nation, except Israel, has more history and prophecy associated with it than Iraq.
False. As noted, Egypt is mentioned far more often than Babylon. Israel has a far longer history with Egypt than with Babylon, since Babylon did not emerge until the fall of Assyria in 611 BC. In the NT, Babylon has become a symbol to talk about evil, and is used throughout the NT to refer to Rome, not to any country in the Middle East. “Babylon” throughout the Book of Revelation refers to Rome.
But, you will believe it is all true anyway.
Next time you want goosebumps, I suggest Stephen King...another fine fiction writer.
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