Miraculous catch of fish
The Miraculous catch of fish is described independently in both Luke 5:4-10 and John 21:1-6 , which corroborates its accuracy as those Gospel writers did not rely on each other and probably were not even aware of each other's work. It is mathematically significant for illustrating the existence of infinity or, in economics terminology, an unlimited surplus. Logically, the absence of fish throughout the night on one side of the boat does not negate an overabundance of fish on the other side afterwards, so human intuition is proven false by this. Simply put, infinite happiness is immediately available to anyone at any time -- even at his times of his worst despair -- by merely rejecting liberal denial.
The logic of this miracle is very effective in dealing with anxiety, regret, and addiction, as the miraculous catch of fish is always nearby as a matter of logic. This illustrates the Coase theorem, by which the most productive use of resources occurs at any given time no matter who has ownership or what occurred in the past. The concept of infinity is related here, as everyone is closer to infinite happiness or value than they typically realize.
A little-noticed aspect of this is how infinite happiness is immediately available despite a situation of apparently immense despair. This is similar to the insight that there is always a readily available escape away from addiction:
“ | No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.[1] | ” |
In the miracle Jesus urges His disciples, who had been fishing all night without any success, to simply recast their nets in a different way. When they did, to their astonishment the nets filled beyond capacity with fish, catching more than the disciples could handle.
As the miracle is recounted in the Gospel of John, Jesus suggests that the disciples cast the nets on the "right" side of the boat, whereupon the catch was overwhelming.[2] Since Mark and John did not copy from each other, their separate accounts of this miracle constitute powerful corroboration of it.
The "right" side has political connotations. Use of the "right" and "left" to refer to political persuasions became commonplace based on the seating layout of the National Assembly just prior to the French Revolution.
Contents
Often useful
This miracle is often useful in reminding us that simple, immediate solutions exist to many problems, such as:
- "try turning your computer off and back on"
- "keep it simple, stupid!"
- "trying saying daily prayers"
- "try apologizing"
- "try plugging the appliance into a different outlet"
- "try checking the fusebox"
- "try switching from watching television to reading the Bible"
- "try eating a less caloric food instead"
- "try unplugging the NFL and notice how much new free time you have"
- "try getting different friends"
Open-Mindedness
This miracle is a test of Openmindedness, as there is no logical reason not to try casting the nets on the other side of the boat. The fishermen did not have anything better to do with idle time. The human intuition to adamantly refuse to try that simple option is illogical.
Liberal denial
Liberal denial works on the mind to prevent it from realizing the immediate possibility of access to the equivalent of a miraculous catch of fish. Liberal political positions falsely assume a "zero sum" game, a harsh scarcity of resources, and a hopelessness that ultimately requires some form of tyranny or communism.
Immediacy of the opportunity
The immediacy of the opportunity to convert despair into success is striking. The situation dramatically turns from hopelessness to greater success than can be handled. Merely being open to the possibility was all that was required.
Humor in the account
There is substantial humor in the account of this in the Bible, particularly in the description of it in the Gospel of Luke. Not only was the catch of fish large, but it caused the nets to begin breaking and ultimately placed the boats at risk of sinking after they were filled with so many fish.
References
- ↑ 1Corinthians 10:13
- ↑ He said, “Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.” When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish. John 21:6 (NIV)