I barely remember a Bible account that went something along these lines: some representative of God was trying to show the Israelites that Jehovah was the real God and challenged them to build a big sacrifice and have their God answer and consume it with fire. When they couldn't, he began to mock them and as the story goes he prays to God and half the mountain dissappears or something like that.
Sorry I couldn't be more precise but it has been a long time. If you remember the Bible chapter and verses, I would like to read it again.
Skipper
All great deeds and all great thoughts have ridiculous beginnings--Albert Camus
- Jan -- "Doctor how can you diagnose someone with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and then act like I had some choice about barging in here right now?" -- As Good As It Gets
a careful reading of the account some time back had me wondering about the buckets of 'water' Elijah had thrown on the sacraficial pyre .. i mean that was one almighty explosion and petroleum products oozed out of the ground in parts of ancient mesopotania.
I really don't give the account much credibility in terms of being an actual event, but if it were, your idea has some merit. I was looking for it because someone recently emailed me and told me that on this particular mountain (I haven't figured out yet which mountain it was) that you can find evidence of this fire, in that the stones were all fused together from the intense heat. They claimed to have even seen some of these stones.
As one trained in geophysics, I could immediately tell what was wrong with their hypothesis and that these fused rocks offer no proof at all.
Does anyone else know what I'm talking about?
Skipper
All great deeds and all great thoughts have ridiculous beginnings--Albert Camus
I remember something about what you are talking about. My dad used to use something he had heard for prooving the Bible to be true when in field service. I remember as a kid my dad told this stuff numerous times. His story was that at the site, Mount Carmel, scientists have discovered fused rock and crystals and these have also been found at the sites of nuclear explosions.
I have heard lots of unbelievable stories as proof almost always presented as fact in public talks. As for the story, I still like the jibe about Baal "having excrement and having to go to the privy".
Thirdson
'To avoid criticism, say nothing, do nothing, be nothing'
This is the one where he mocks their god saying "maybe he is in the privy and full of excrement"?
I always thought that, given the 'rough and rugged' lifestyle they had back there that he would have used stronger language in reality (he was just about to conduct a massacre don't rememeber).
I'm sure it would have been more along the lines of "nah nah, your god sucks - he's full of shit, man!"
Not that I think any of it is remotely believeable in the first place!
I think the site you guys are talking about is not MtCarmel (where Elija hid from jezebel etc ) but Mt Sinai (where Moses boss Jethro, the most High of Midian, ran his forge and idol making business)
I have a book somewhere with aerial photos etc .. i think its called 'Gold of Genesis'
