Chorus  Line    c.  2000  B.C.

         The Fish  Story to End  All  Fish  Stories
 

I know,   Chorus Line  is  not 100%  kosher.    It lacks Charleton Heston  and  a few
hundred Egyptian war chariots.  It's hard to compete with  the  Cecil D. Mille image
of  the parting of the Red Sea.

However,  my fishy theology undercuts  the widespread  literal acceptance of  one
of the major elements of the Exodus narrative.  I mean  the movie Ten Commandments
picture of the  waters piling up  skyscraper high walls of water to let the children of Israel
procede through the midst of the Red Sea.   Of course,  the Bible testifies against itself
on this point since  its several strands of narrative describe the Red Sea incident  in
markedly different ways.  Basically,  the  story gets taller  with the passage of time.
The final, poplar version  is one whopper of a  fish story.  As  I suggest above.

Of  course, there is also  the  rational  approach to the story  which makes the  cut
through the  Red Sea  a little more acceptable to the modern mind.   So,  goes  the
hope, anyway.   In this version, it's not the Red  Sea  but the bog   on the north end,
The Reed Sea, which  miraculously  contrives to  save the Children of   Israel  from
the Egyptian oppressor.   Winds, no doubt  300 kilometers per hour,  blow the
waters of the bog back to  let God's people escape the pursuing army.  The
heavy chariots of the Egyptians are  bogged down in the  mud.  As if Egyptian
did not have  foot soldiers who, even if they had to leave their rubber boots
in the mud,  could not  outrun the old women men and children  among the
escaping slaves.

The origins of  Israel  may indeed go  back  to slavery and captivity in Egypt
during the early  2nd  millenium  B.C.E.  And  beyond that to wandering
nomadic tribes of the fertile crescent.   And   extreme  weather conditions
may have figured  in  the escape of a group of Hebrew slaves from  slavery.
There  may have been  a "fog in the bog"  somewhere  northeast of Egypt.
Or even  a   50 meter high  tidal wave sweeping in from the Mediterannean
Sea and across the delta area  of Egypt.  In any case,  I suggest  we take
the  walls  of water  towering over the dry  seabed as depicted  in the book
of Exodus and  in the movie  Ten Commandments  with  a grain of salt.
Fish stories are great   entertainment  around  the campfire, then and now,
but  are not really  a necesary ingredient of good theology.

Sure,  it's  upsetting for many that the literal Bible doesn't go far  in the
modern world.    And its probably true  that  the Bible as literally
understood  go us hight up the  mountain of religious knowledge.
However, its obvious modern man is not going to buy a lot
of  the Bible.  Why should he (or she)?   And you have to ask what are
the real motives  of those who shove the literal  Bible to the masses today?
And why would we want  our modern children  to believe in  creation
in six days  and not evolution?   To believe  in Jesus as part of the  godhead
or Mary  exalted that way either?    What is to be gained by  talking of
eternal  hell?