Different Commentators understand the message of the Book of Jonah differently.  How would you regard the story of Jonah, is it a story about Jonah and the Whale?  Is it a story of the power of repentance?  Or is it a story about a man running away from his destiny?  Please substantiate your position.

Relfect on two others posts- If you do not agree with their answer that is fine for i am determinging who is correct or incorrect i just ask to follow the instructions.You should contribute to the discussion of each unit by posting your own thread. In addition you should respond to at least 2-3 postings of class members. You should try to build on previous responses in an analytical and critical way whenever relevant. It is the responsibility of each student to read all the postings on the DB. Some important teaching moments occur only on the DB not to be repeated in any other module of the class.

2.Your threads must have a clear, well formulated thesis. Itshould be insightful, thoughtful, and analytical. It must have a clear sentence structure and sound grammar, punctuation and spelling. In responses to classmates’ posts you must offer authentic responses, such as in an actual classroom. Simple agreement or disagreement will not be suf?cient.

To me, the story of Jonah and the Whale, is a story about someone running away not specifically from destiny but running away from there fears. It is alot easier to run away from what we are afraid of than to face it head on. In Jonahs case, it was the violence of the city of Nineveh. Sometimes thinking so drastically and fast on your feet will cause you to do things you may regret in the future, and this is what i believe happened to Jonah. He thought so fast and left before really thinking about what god was asking him to do and when he realized what happened to him, he repented and was able to live his life again. So i do think it is a story of what happens when you run away from your fears instead of facing them head on.

I found this story to be very interesting but also pitiful on Jonah's part. The first time he disobeyed God because he did not have faith in the Lord. When he was given a set of instructions, instead of asking questions and thinking about what he can do, he decided to flee. He decided to flee from his responsibilites and also the trust of God. In my opinion, it sucks that it took him to be stuck inside of a whale for 3 days and nights, to come to the realization that God will alway be there for you, even if the situation is one that may not be appealing to you- he puts us through hardships because he knows that we can handle it.