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Did Jesus walk on water - or ice?
Posted on Wednesday, August 08, 2007 (CDT) by Thoth
 Jesus may not have walked on water as the Bible claims but rather skated on ice formed through a freak cold spell, a scientific study has suggested. Rare atmospheric and water conditions could have caused ice to form on the freshwater Sea of Galilee.
The research shows a period of cooler weather swept what is now northern Israel from 1,500 to 2,600 years ago. Sub-zero temperatures could have caused the formation of ice thick enough to support the weight of a man.
The story of Jesus walking on water is recorded in three of the four Gospels, but Professor Doron Nof, an oceanographer from Florida State University insists his research points to a scientific rather than miraculous explanation.
"If you ask
me if I believe someone walked on water, no, I don't," Prof Nof told
Reuters. "I believe something natural was there that explains it."
The research involved a study of the surface temperatures of the Sea of Galilee along with air temperature and wind records.
Partially submerged in
water, the ice patches, known as "springs ice", may not have been
noticed by observers standing at a distance.
"Because the size of the
springs ice, a person standing or walking on it would appear to a
distant observer to be 'walking on water'," Prof Nof wrote in the
report's conclusion.
"Our springs ice calculation may or may not be related to the origin of the account of Christ walking on water," he concluded.
"It is hoped, however, that
archaeologists, religious scholars, anthropologists and believers will
examine such implications in detail."
Copyright: BBC News
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Re: Did Jesus walk on water - or ice?
by Kaya on Wednesday, August 08, 2007 (CDT)
(User Info | Send a Message) | I'm not sure an oceanographer from Florida understands the kind of cold it takes to create ice thick enough to support a person. Here in Canada some of us await the formation of ice thick enough to hold an angler and it takes quite a while. As a general rule it takes at least 2 weeks of sustained cold nights in the minus 15 to minus 20 degree range with an absence of much wind. A single cold snap won't form enough ice to hold a bird, let alone a grown man. Ice in the range of at least 2 inches is needed, but it's much safer to wait for 4 inches to form. It's true that spring(s) ice can have a layer of water on top as it melts due to the spring sun, while the layer under (sometimes measured in feet rather than inches) can remain intact for quite some time. My point is that if there had been that kind of cold for a sustained period in the middle east, that would have been as much of a story as Jesus walking on the formed ice-- maybe even more of a story.
This theory simply doesn't hold water. |
Re: Did Jesus walk on water - or ice? (Score: 1)
by Albior on Wednesday, August 08, 2007 (CDT)
(User Info | Send a Message) | | I'm amazed professors find enough time and money to spend on a 2000year old hypothetic biblical event... |
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Re: Did Jesus walk on water - or ice? (Score: 1)
by Kaya on Thursday, August 09, 2007 (CDT)
(User Info | Send a Message) | | I hear ya, but it doesn't surprise me at all, Albior. Florida is a red state (Jeb Bush) and the current administration sees no problem or conflict funding right wing, christian projects. Unfortunately, they do so at the expense of social programs, infrastructure, et al. |
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Re: Did Jesus walk on water - or ice?
by Dexter on Thursday, August 09, 2007 (CDT)
(User Info | Send a Message) | I don't think this theory wil stand long eather.
If there was ice that could support a man's weight (and it was big enough to take a few steps on it), I think a lot of people would have known this especially the fishermen of that region.
Jesus could have used a different trick, though: by placing a wooden board inside two leather bags (or calebas), placing his feet on the boards and tying them tightly to his legs, he could have walked on calm water (with some practice beforehand). Since those bags would have been underneath his dress, nobody would have seen his weird shoes, creating the illusion of walking on water. |
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