The Bible has a lot of epic stories, that seem very improbable. For example:

The story of Noah seems a little unlikely.

• If the flood really covered the entire earth, where did all that water come from and where did it go?
• How did he collect all those animals, how did he feed them, etc?

The parting of the Red Sea makes for a cool movie, but also seems a bit improbable.

The story of Jonah sounds a little like a fish story.

Did the Nile really turn into blood?

And what about Balaam’s talking donkey?

The bible has many such stories, but I can give most of these stories a pass because (at least for me) these stories do not have to be historical accurate to teach an important point.

But last night I had an epiphany about a very simple story that is very central to the New Testament. I cannot imagine it happening today – not because it is miraculous, but because it requires each of the 12 apostles to overcome human nature in an almost super-human way (and to happen hours before Peter’s famous human nature failure).

The story takes place at the last supper and is mentioned in three of the four gospels. As told in Mark 14: 18-19 (KJV):

And as they sat and did eat, Jesus said, Verily I say unto you, One of you which eateth with me shall betray me.

And they began to be sorrowful, and to say unto him one by one, Is it I? and another said, Is it I?

We have a lot of problems in our country/society right now, but all I have ever heard are people blaming everybody else. When have you ever heard of a person thoughtfully consider that they themselves may be contributing to the problem? Who ever asks “Is it I”? It’s always “it’s not me – it’s those other guys”.

Many times, when I have asked how family, church members, or other Christians can support a very immoral leader, they have responded that “the scriptures say that it’s supposed to get bad in the days before Christ returns.” So, if the Bible says that in the last days “leopards will eat your faces and it will be very bad,” does that mean that we have a responsibility to enable leopards eating our faces? I think it means the opposite – that face eating leopards will become a problem if we are not careful, so we should do all that we can to prevent this.

For example, I cannot wait to hear people’s convoluted excuses for why Matt Gaetz is the perfect pick to be our next Attorney General given that:

• The House is set to release their ethics report on his behavior (which includes underage sexual abuse, illegal drug use, sharing inappropriate images and videos on the House floor, misusing state identification records, converting campaign funds for personal use, and accepting impermissible gifts).
• He has very little legal experience – he graduated law school in 2007, passed the bar exam in 2008, and only worked as a lawyer until 2010.

In our polarized world where we are all vulnerable to being manipulated by leaders, foreign troll farms, fake news, and social media, I think that we all need to periodically stop and honestly ask ourselves – is it I?

P.S. I realize that I take shots at one side of the political spectrum which can lead a reasonable person to question whether I take my own advice. I discuss my own self-questioning which led to my own drastic opinion shifts here.