I love 

religious lists – especially those involving facts or debunkings. In memory of the

very popular list on factlets people get wrong I have put this one together inspired by the
same excellent source. Be sure to add your own factlets to the comments, and when you are
done, check out the Top 10 Misconceptions About the Bible. This list also features a
competition, so be sure to check out the bonus item.

10
Adam and Eve

Contrary to popular belief, Adam and Eve were expelled from Eden not because they ate the
forbidden fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, but in order to prevent them from
eating from the tree of life (both forbidden trees are in Genesis 2:9) which would have made
them eternal. God doesn’t like competition! Here is the verse (Genesis 3:22-23): “And he
said: Behold Adam is become as one of us, knowing good and evil: now, therefore, lest
perhaps he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever. [23]
And the Lord God sent him out of the paradise of pleasure, to till the earth from which he
was taken.”

9
Jonah and the Whale
We all know the tale of Jonah and the whale… but how well do we know it? Well enough to
know that he wasn’t eaten by a whale? It was no mammal that ate Jonah – it was a huge fish
– though its type is not mentioned. Of course, I am presuming that everyone reading this
list knows that a whale is not a fish.

8
Samson and Delilah
Samson and Delilah is a famous story from the Old Testament which ends rather badly, as
Samson’s long hair is cut short to destroy his strength. The common misconception is that
Delilah was the one to give him the chop – a kind of ancient bobbit if you will. But in fact, it
was Delilah’s servant who did it.

7
Rapture
The “Rapture” is not in the Bible! Despite being believed by a large number of protestants
(many of whom also believe that only that which is in the Bible can be true) it was actually
invented in the 1600s by one Cotton Mather – otherwise famous for murdering women by
strangling them to death (by hanging) in the Salem witch trials. The term in the Bible
commonly mistranslated to the word “rapture” actually comes from the Greek ἁρπάζω
(harpazo) which actually means “caught up” or “taken away” and it refers to one person only
(Philip).

6
Three Wise Men
There weren’t three and they didn’t visit Jesus in a manger. The Bible gives neither the
number of men (but does the number of gifts as three, which is probably where this
misconception stems from). Additionally, Herod demanded the death of all boys under two,
making it probable that Christ had been born up to two years prior. Also, the wise men
visited Jesus when he lived in a house according to the Biblical account in Matthew 2:11.

5
Get Rich Quick
The Bible does not condemn drinking alcohol (remember that Jesus’ first public miracle was
turning water into wine at a wedding party), or gambling and betting. The closest it comes
to the latter is to recommend against get rich quick schemes (Ecclesiastes 5:10) and loving
money excessively. Be sure to remember that next time you are sipping your wine at the
local casino. Addendum: “The Bible does NOT condemn the drinking of alcohol – that
misconception is a holdover from Calvinistic and Purtanical Prtotestantism – which worked
its way into Methodism etc; What the Bible DOES say is “Be not DRUNK of the fruit of the
vine” – at the same time many gainsayers will claim that the water was turned into grape
juice – but the original Gospels clearly use a word which translates from the original Greek
as WINE a “fermented grape beverage”. [addendum courtesy of carra 23]. Traditionally
drunk means “falling down drunk” – in other words, the loss of the will to control oneself.

4
Help
“God helps those who help themselves” – a wise and good quote that everyone knows is
from the Bible. But, in fact, it isn’t. It was a man, not a god who coined the well known (and
overused) proverb. It was Benjamin Franklin in his Poor Richard’s almanac.

3
Brother’s Keeper
Another quote we all know from the Bible is “Am I my brother’s keeper?” Now ask yourself
– do you know what God’s answer was to this question? You don’t – no one does because
the Bible doesn’t tell us what He replied. If God were to have answered, we can presume it
would have been in the affirmative if all of the other commands to look after our brothers in
the New Testament are taken into consideration.

2
Christmas Travel
The Virgin Mary is not described in the Bible as having travelled to Bethlehem on a donkey.
No mention is made at all in the gospels of the mode of transport used in the journey. The
first mention of her riding a donkey comes from the non-Biblical Protoevangelium of James
which you can read here. It was written around 150AD and is also one of the oldest works to
describe Mary as a virgin both before and after the birth of Christ. The exact quote from the
Protoevangelium is “And he [Joseph] saddled the ass, and set her upon it;”

1
Horned Moses
This has been mentioned in passing in comments on previous lists but it definitely warrants
a mention here. Unlike most of the misconceptions here which deal specifically with what
the Bible says or doesn’t say, this one is a misconception about the translation of part of it.
The Old Testament refers to Moses as having horns on his head after he went up the
mountain to see God. This prompted Michaelangelo to sculpt him with the horns. Many
people believe that this was due to a mistranslation of the description of Moses but, in fact,
it isn’t. Moses really is described as being horned. And the reason for this? In Old Testament
times, a person who was believed to have seen or been touched by God was described as
having horns (or rays of light) coming from their head. It was an ancient symbol much like
today’s gloriole.

+
Competition
[NOTE: The competition has now ended and the two winners of the beautiful Bible are:
23redleader and MrsBenLinus - congratulations!]

In honor of this list being about Biblical misconceptions and the fact that Christmas is
almost one week away, we are having a competition. After the publication of tomorrow’s list
I will choose two commenters at random to win a copy of the Haydock Bible – a stunning
leather bound Bible which has a commentary alongside each verse giving interpretations
from the early Christian fathers. It is my favorite edition of the Bible and it is an impressive
size (11×9 inches). This book is valued at $118 USD and we will deliver to any country.

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