Book of Jonah is satire?

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Just because its genre is satirical doesn’t mean we can’t take it seriously. Because it is meant to be taken seriously as I just wrote above. The author had a clear message.
 
The author did not intend for it to be taken literally though. To take it literally is fundamentally missing the point of the text. So there is a reason to believe it did not happen literally.
 
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The individual interpretations of the Church Fathers aren’t always correct. But even so, doesn’t mean they aren’t useful.

Because I’ve read the scholarly literature which has concluded this based on in depth study of the text and the context in which it was written. Neither Augustine nor Chrysostom had access to this kind of knowledge. The Church Fathers, including Augustine, do allow for other interpretations of the text.
 
And yet this interpretation is not demanded of us.

And our methodologies have far developed beyond the 4th and 5th century. I trust the experts in the field. And actually our sources are much wider because scholarship takes a neutral stance on these texts rather than theological, all available sources are looked at, both Christian and non-Christian to get a fuller picture of what’s going on here.
 
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Nineveh was not destroyed for their wickedness.

Jonah was not happy about it. He would not rejoice with God over the many who were saved. (not to mention all the cows)

When the Pharisees asked for a sign, Jesus gave them the sign of Jonah.

The sign of Jonah can mean many things, but surely one of them is that God is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and rich with compassion.

If you read Jonah literally, you know it is about God having mercy on the people (and cattle) of Nineveh. If you read it as a satire or parody, you know it is about God having mercy on Nineveh, the people and the cows.
 
Ok. The sign Jonas just means that God so loves the world that he sent the Son to save us.

You win. I agree completely.
 
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