"Was Jonah in the belly of a whale or a UFO?"
Neither.
The Jonah myth is just that: a myth.
not a myth-----a very artistic cautionary tale. Your evaluation of fine literature leaves much to be desired. -----even robin hood rises about mere "myth"
fine literature for children. I take that back, it should not be read by or told to children.
you have no idea. no doubt when assigned to read THE ODYSSEY
in junior high school----you opted for the classic comic version. An interesting
anecdote----my baby attended a yeshiva type school for grammar school years----
then transferred to a well known "magnet" school from the ninth grade thru 12th.
He was fascinated-----one day told me-----"Ma... Christians I meet seem
to have a comic book understanding of "tanach"----for them the book of
Jonah is about a man who gets swallowed by a whale"-------well---nothing new
Penelope----you are not alone----Lots of people like you see the Odyssey as a
story about a BIG WOODEN HORSE. Not your fault---it's that legacy of unwashed illiteracy with which you are burdened
Are you trying to imply Christians are stupid? Because some think Jonah is a stupid story. Atlas, the Hebrews can't take credit for it, as it was already a myth before you changed it a bit and made it your own.
absolutely not----I am correctly stating that YOU are stupid. Intelligent
Christians---when they GROW UP----realize that sunday school presentations
were silly. I did attend Christian sunday school several time----I did color
cartoons of jesus hold a lamb----the wise men and the star and---
JONAH about to be swallowed by a whale-----thus I am familiar with
some of the early recreations offered Christian children. Since most
americans never read the bible (like you) most persist in imagining
that the book of Jonah is a about a man and a whale. It isn't. In fact
the WHALE is not even mentioned in scholarly discussions of that book---
it is a non issue-----just as the big wooden horse is not really the THEME
of THE ODYSSEY. It is the superficial stuff that impress six year old kids and
really stupid adults-----like you. My kid was talking to adolescent
school mates who, like you----never actually read the book