The Ten Plagues: Acts of God or Acts of Nature
Staying true to ones faith can be very difficult at times. But what makes it especially hard is when others try to disprove your beliefs. Throughout the history of Christianity, there have been many stories passed on through generations, especially through the Bible. These stories are the basis for many peoples continual faith in the Christian Religion. One of these stories is the story in Exodus about the Ten Plagues that God inflicted on Egypt. The Plagues can all be explained scientifically, and can really make one question whether or not they were caused by God. I found this research to be so phenomenal and scary at the same time.
The First Plague was that God turned the Nile River into blood. The Bible states:
"?all the water that was in the Nile turned to blood. And the fish
in the Nile died; and the Nile became foul? And all the Egyptians dug water round about the Nile for water to drink, for they could not drink the water of the Nile." (Exodus 7:20-24)
Of course Christians would believe this story, especially since it is stated in the Bible. But despite the fact that these plagues are said to have been ceased by God, there is a
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very scientific explanation for them. Algal blooms, which are toxic to fish, are known to be found in seawater (Anonymous). They release red pigment causing "red tides" and kill fish in millions. Also known to be in the water at the time was an algae called Pfiesteria. This type of algae ate at the skin of fish and caused boils and bleeding (Lee). It was ...