Hi I’m Elliott. This is Mental Floss on YouTube. Today I’m going to talk about some
misconceptions about the Bible. I know that you guys are going to get PRETTY ANGRY about
this episode. So, I’ll say that people interpret the Bible in different ways. These are just
some examples of things that people often think are in the Bible, but you will not find
in the actual text.
Misconception #1: There were three wise men. The fact that there were three wise men not
in the Bible’s story of Christ’s birth. In Matthew (2:1), it says that “magi from
the east arrived in Jerusalem.” People later concluded there were three of them because
they present three gifts: “gold, frankincense, and myrrh.” One of those sounds great.
Misconception #2: Adam and Eve ate an apple. In the Bible, the thing that tempts Eve, and
subsequently Adam, is not necessarily an apple. This is the quote from one translation of
Genesis: “But God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the
midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’’ It is only ever referred
to as “fruit.” Scholars have claimed that it could be anything: apple, fig, mushroom,
pomegranate... just a piece of apple pie, still not quite an apple.
Speaking of Genesis... Misconception #3: The serpent that speaks
with Eve is Satan. It could be, but that’s not stated in the
story. It merely describes the serpent as "more cunning than any of the creatures of
the field that the Lord God had made.” In the New Testament’s book of Revelation,
Satan IS referred to as “the ancient serpent.” So, later the serpent was interpreted as Satan,
but it’s possible that the original story didn’t intend that.
Misconception #4: The Immaculate Conception is in the Bible.
Another major misconception is about the concept of Immaculate Conception itself. Many believe
that this refers to how Mary conceived Jesus despite being a virgin. In fact, the term
refers to the Church’s teaching that the Virgin Mary was born without sin. And this
was not in the Bible -- there’s no mention of Mary’s birth at all in the text. It was
made into a doctrine in 1854 by Pope Pius IX.
Misconception #5: Mary Magdalene was a prostitute. This confusion probably comes from the fact
that there’s a story in the gospel of Luke in which an unidentified woman sinner washes
Jesus’s feet. People tend to assume that she’s both a prostitute AND that’s she’s
Mary Magdalene. Two other unnamed female sinners pop up in stories about Jesus. To add to the
confusion, there are multiple Marys mentioned in the Bible, including Mary of Bethany and
Clopas’s wife Mary. But there’s nothing in the text that states Mary Magdalene is a prostitute.
It was Pope Gregory I that really caused all of this confusion in the 6th century AD. He
gave a homily in which HE combined the unnamed sinner in Luke, Mary of Bethany, AND Mary
Magdalene. Since then, the notion has persisted. But, it’s common knowledge amongst scholars
that she was not a prostitute. So stop calling her that, it's very rude.
Misconception #6: Jesus condemns homosexuality. In the text of the Bible, Jesus never even
mentions homosexuality. It was PAUL who condemns it. And that’s all I’m going to say about
that.
Misconception #7: Noah took two of each animal onto the ark.
It’s actually unclear how many animals he brought. Initially, God tells Noah, “You
are to bring into the ark two of all living creatures, male and female, to keep them alive
with you.” Then, within a few verses, he contradicts himself, saying “You shall take
with you of every clean animal by sevens, a male and his female; and of the animals
that are not clean two, a male and his female.”
Let’s finish up with a few “Bible quotes” that are actually not in the Bible at all...
Misconception #8: “This too shall pass” is a quote from the Bible.
You won’t find this in the text. This expression is actually a Persian proverb, written by
ancient Persian Sufi poets. There’s even a story about one poet, Attar of Nishapur,
who inscribed the saying on a ring for a sultan.
Misconception #9: “God works in mysterious ways.”
This quote is a little bit younger than the Bible itself. In 1773, Englishman Cowper wrote
the hymn, “God Moves in a Mysterious Way.” Scholars believe that the popular saying is
a misquote from the hymn.
Misconception #10: “Cleanliness is next to Godliness.”
This phrase is even younger. It’s credited to a pamphlet that John Wesley wrote in 1769
titled “On Dress.” So feel free to just leave your room messy.
Thank you for watching Misconceptions on Mental Floss on YouTube, which is made with the help
of all of these wonderful people. If you have a topic for an upcoming Misconceptions episode
that you’d like to see, leave it in comments and we'll check them out.
I'll see you next week, bye!