Jonah was swallowed by a whale??

Question

A little girl was talking to her teacher about whales.
The teacher said it was physically impossible for a whale to swallow a human because even though it was a very larg e mamm al its throat was very small.
The little girl stated that Jonah was swallowed by a whale.
Irritated, the teacher reiterated that a whale could not swallow a human; it was physically impossible.
The little girl said, "When I get to heaven I will ask Jonah".
The teacher asked, "What if Jonah went to hell?"
The little girl replied, "Then you ask him".
What do you think of this little girls response?

What do you think of this teachers response?

Answer 1

There is not necessarily an intent of harm in the child's answer. And perhaps, depending on her understanding it was a vary logical one to make. Of course, there are at least three other documented, historical cases of people being swallowed by whales. Now the translations do not necessarily have it correct with the word 'whale' but I cannot at this time see that it matters whether one terms it a 'whale', 'great fish', or 'sea monster', the point is still made.
Now the teacher however had a deliberately harmful intent in her answer. It may suggest that she was also not a very knowledgable believer, or that she was not a believer at all, as another answer would have done the job better.

Actually, I think this is taken from an email that is regularly passed around. I think it was a good way to make some think, and yet do so with a smile on their face. Thanks.

Answer 2

The Bible(2Tim.3:16; Psalm 119:105; John 17:17) is the truth and if the Bible says he was swallowed by a whale; that's what happened.

Jonah 1:17 = "Now the Lord had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights."

Jonah 2:1 = "Then Jonah prayed unto the Lord his God out of the fish's belly..."

Matt.12:40 = "For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth."
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As for the girl; she was right about Jonah. As for heaven: she is not; we're not going to heaven; we're going to reign here on (Matt.5:5; Dan.7:27; Rev.5:10; 20:4)earth a 1,000 years. Then after the 1,000 years; the (Isaiah 65:17-25; 66:22; Matt.5:3,10; Rev.3:12; 21:1-4)kingdom of heaven is going to come down and we will still be here on the earth. Another thing she(Prov.28:5) was wrong about was (Matt.7:1-2) judging another person that she/he would go to (Rom.10:6-7)hell. [Although she was a little girl; she probably didn't know what she was saying or she thought that the teacher was. That is besides the point.]The bible tells us we have only (Deut.1:17; Acts 10:42; Heb.12:23; 13:4)one judge and that is God who judges(Heb.9:27; 2Pet.3:7; Jude 1:15) between the good and evil.
As for the teacher she was probably giving his/her opinion, but he/she shouldn't say anything unless they can back it up with evidence. Even so; the Bible tells us "the just shall live by faith." (Hab.2:4; Heb.11:1) Heb.11:1 = "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."

Answer 3

This is an old one that I heard back in the 1940's. By the way, Bible says 'a great fish' not a whale. It was a 'Spiritual' song that said 'whale'. So the debate is open. As for a fish doing the swallowing, yes, that is possible 'cos I've seen larger things cut out of a shark in the South Atlantic.
In the final analysis, the story is a well crafted myth developed to discus the problem of obedience.

Answer 4

The bible states Jonah was swallowed by a fish. Whales aren't fish. But, the little girl's response was cute. Good luck. 2D

Answer 5

A very bright little girl.
Tell that teacher to research the whale shark.... it's mouth is large enough to swallow a man whole.... and they lived in around the seas in the middle east.

Answer 6

I think the Whale or Jonah swallowed a lot of Seamen.

Answer 7

As a joke, pretty funny. As real life, a teacher (unless it was Religion class, which it doesn't seem to be), shouldn't be discussing Heaven and Hell with a "little girl", that's up to her parents.

Answer 8

HAHA this is funny I think that girl told that teacher off Im so proud of her! Standing up for her religion and all!

Answer 9

The girl is dumb for taking that story literally, although it's probably her parents fault that she does. However, the teacher should have dropped it. Of course, it probably never happened.

Answer 10

Girls response:Funny as hell.
Teachers response, trying to teach the class in the most unreligious way possible, trying to keep her job.