I was reading a fascinating book last night called The Know It All Book: 365 Steps to Being Very Clever Indeed. The book is as it sounds filled with various facts and interesting pieces of information. Being not a particularly religious web monkey, the book does contain rather too much information about faith for my liking, however I believe all knowledge is useful and I respect the beliefs of others.

One piece of information that struck me was that many scientist believe that Goliath from the David and Goliath story could have suffered from a pituitary gland defect causing his great height and tunnel vision that would allow David to sneak up on him and kill him.

This got me thinking. What other mythical and religious stories could be explained by modern day science? I know I have to tread lightly here because I do not want to upset of offend others who hold their faiths dearly. However part of me thinks why should it matter after all religious faith is viewed by believers aside from science isn’t it? Even if somehow someone disproved the existence of God, people would still believe. Regardless, I hope that I do not upset of offend anyone with what I am about to write as it is certainly not my intention.

The Burning Bush is a religious metaphor that has been interpreted by various faiths in different ways. In the book of Exodus it is described as the bush that was on fire, but was not consumed by the flames. It was burning, but there was no fire. I began to think about this. There are certainly plants today that burn you but do not have flames, from types of nettles to chilli plants. Could it be that such metaphors are literal translations that have been lost or changed somewhat over the centuries? I’m not saying this is so, but I wonder what stories and tales that have been past down, written, translated and rewritten could have been based on real life examples of nature and science?