Biblical Myths: Episode the First

Moses had a pretty wicked beard

This is the first post in a series on what I call Biblical Myths.  These are things that a lot of people grow up believing about the Bible that aren't really true.


First up, lets talk about something that I've only recently had to change my thinking about.  The Bible is usually very clear about sin.  But there are times when a biblical figure will sin without being specifically called out on it in the text.

The first biblical myth that I want to present is this: Just because the Bible doesn't condemn someone's actions, doesn't mean that God condones it.

An arguable example of this is in Genesis and the father of our faith, Abraham.  Genesis 12:10 tells us that Abraham and his wife Sarai traveled to Egypt to escape a famine.  Now Abraham, worried that the Egyptians will kill him and take his beautiful wife (let's not get into the fact that Sarai was at least 65 at this time), tells Sarai that whenever they encounter the Egyptians he wants her to say that she is his sister rather than his wife, so that they will not kill him but rather deal fairly with him.

I said that this was an arguable example for this reason: Sarai actually was his sister!  Actually, his half-sister, but close enough that Abraham wasn't actually lying when he told the Egyptians that she was his sister.  So why did I include him as an example?  Even if he wasn't outright lying, he was still being deceptive, and deception goes against the character of God.

We don't have to look far for another example, Abraham's nephew Lot provides us one.
Everyone is familiar with the story of Sodom and Gomorrah, how God judged the city for their rampant sinfulness and immorality, and how Abraham's intercession saved Lot and (most of) his family.

Right after Lot escaped from Sodom with his two daughters in tow, they inhabited a cave.  Thinking that they will never get husbands now (because honestly, who marries cavewomen?), Lot's daughters successfully enact a plan to get their father drunk and sleep with him, each producing a child.  I've heard lessons about the sin of Lot's daughters, but what about Lot himself?  If ever there was a cautionary tale about the dangers of alcohol this is certainly an extreme example of one.  He didn't just drink (which I don't believe is a sin, but that's another blog post maybe), he didn't just get drunk and pass out, he got drunk enough to sleep with his daughters without even realizing it, twice in a row.  I'm surprised he was even able to carry that much alcohol out of Sodom, but then again the text doesn't say how long they had been living in the hills of Zoar before this happened....

I digress.

My point was not to defame biblical figures; I'm neither trying to cast them down nor raise myself up.  What I do believe is that the events of the Bible actually happened, and that they were carried out by real human beings.  From Adam down to the last man standing, we are all sinners save the one who came to be the perfect sacrifice for those sins - there is not a single person in the Bible or out of it who does not need God's gift of grace for their salvation.

It's a good thing that God loves us anyway, just look at David.  He was guilty of some of the biggest sins and crimes in the Bible, from adultery to murder.  And yet he also received some of the greatest acclaim, being called a man after God's own heart.  Think about that.  To receive salvation you have to accept God into your heart, but have you ever tried to seek out God's own heart?  Think about what a blessing that must be, one that caused David to pen some of the most beautiful Psalms declaring God's glory and mercy.

Have you come across any common beliefs about the bible that aren't true?  Let me know in the comments below.