Judaism, Christianity and Islam
Feeding of the five thousand
Perhaps the most sensational miracle of Jesus is the abundant feasting of a huge
gathering of men with five loaves and two fishes. We are informed that men by themselves
numbered 5000 and besides there were women and children, altogether estimated
to number some 15000 mouths.
According to Luke 9:10 it took place at Bethsaida. But this is directly negatived
by Mark. The text at Mark 6:45 declares in so many words: as soon as the feeding was
done, he prevailed upon his disciples to take ship and cross to Bethsaida. There are thus
two mutually contradictory versions of the very site of the alleged miracle, one saying it
was performed at Bethsaida and the other saying with equal authority that it was only
after the “miracle” that Jesus set out for Bethsaida.
Luke even lacks consistency. He says at 9:10 that the miracle was performed “at a
city called Bethsaida.” But at 9:12 Luke describes the selfsame city as “a lonely place.”
Luke 9:16-17 reads: “Then taking the five loaves and the two fishes, he looked up
to heaven, blessed them and broke them up and began to give them to the disciples to set
before the crowd. So they all ate and were satisfied and the surplus that they had was
taken up, twelve baskets of fragments.”
Jesus did not multiply the loaves and fishes. He only broke them up into tiniest
bits. There were only fragments in the surplus that was gathered, not whole loaves and
fishes. It is impossible to divide five loaves and two fishes and still get enough fragments
to fill twelve baskets.
Besides, how can the writer be sure that Jesus looked up to heaven? All he can
write is that Jesus looked up.
War against Hinduism. By Stephen Knapp
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