The Reaping

The Ten Biblical Plagues

Science vs. Religion

What Do You Believe?

The Movie :The

Reaping

•The movie is about a woman

named Katherine who used to be

a ordained minister but she lost

her faith because of the

circumstances behind her

families murders.

• She is now a scientist who

goes around disproving miracles

with her friend and colleague

Ben.

•They are asked to travel to a

small town called Haven by the

local high school science teacher

named Doug.

•He wants her to prove to the

local towns people that a little girl

( Loren McConnell who’s life is

being threatened) has not

caused the town to be cursed by

the ten biblical plagues.

Main Characters

Katherine Winter (4) Ben (4)

Main Characters Continued

Loren McConnell (4) Doug (4)

River Turned To BloodFiction Idea of Biblical

River Turned To Blood

The red river from the

movie. (4)

THE PFISTERIA THEORY WAS DEVELOPED BY DRS. JOHN

MARR AND CURTIS MALLOY. IT BASICALLY STATES THAT

THE BIBLICAL PLAGUES CAN ALL BE EXPLAINED

SCIENTIFICALLY AS A UNUSUAL AND TRAGIC SERIES OF

EVENTS. EACH EVENT HAS A RATIONAL AND EXPLAINABLE

REASON FOR HAPPENING.(1)

Pfisteria Theory

What is

Pfisteria?Pfisteria was discover in

1991 by Drs. Ed Noga and

JoAnne Buckholder at NC

State University.(5)

Pfisteria is a dinoflagellate

that can produce toxins that

cause lesions on fish and it

eventually kills the fish. It

can also make people sick

if they come in close

contact with this

microscopic organism

causing burning

skin, respiratory problems

and difficulty

concentration.(5)

Fish that has been exposed to Pfisteria

According to the Bible the fish in the Nile river died

and the Nile’s waters were fouled. According to Dr.

Marr and Dr. Malloy the pfisteria used all of the

oxygen in the water killing the fish.

FrogsThe Doctors go on to state

that the death of the fish (

who eat the tadpoles

)caused an over population

of frogs and because of the

depleted oxygen levels of

the water the frogs fled to

the land. According to the

Bible the frogs even found

their way into the

beds, ovens and larders.

However frogs can’t live on

land permanently the must

have a water habitat to

survive and breed so this

combined with the pfisteria

bacteria killed the frogs.(1)

LiceDr. Marr and Dr. Malloy

began to search for an

insect that would fit the

description in the Bible and

they believe that insect is

the Culicoide. (aka. No-

see-ums) It lays its eggs in

the sand as described in

the Bible and it feeds on

dead animals such as fish

and frogs. (1)

FliesFlies also used the dead

frog and fish bodies as a

breeding ground. There

would be an explosion of

these insects because their

natural predator frogs were

dead. This situation made a

perfect fly breeding

ground.(1)

Death of the LivestockCulicoides are carriers for the

bluetongue virus which only affect

cows and sheep. The Doctors believe

that this is what killed the hoofed

livestock of the Egyptians. Culicoides

don’t fly very well so, they probably

wouldn’t have been able to fly to the

Hebrew land of Goshen and affect the

Jewish slaves livestock.(1)

Sheep with the

Bluetongue Virus

Boils and SoresDr. Marr searched for a

reason why the Egyptian

people suffered from boils

and sores and he

discovered that it could

have been caused by a

bacterial disease called

Glanders. It is very

contagious as an airborne

disease and is spread by

flying insects and it also

can be spread by eating

contaminated meat.(1)

Fire from the

SkyThis is believed to have

been a severe lightening

and hail storm that

destroyed much of the

Egyptian crops. Which they

described as fire in the

sky.(1)

Swarms of

LocustsThen came the swarms of

locusts that would have

eaten the last of the crops

as well as any newly

planted seedlings.

According to the Doctors

the ancient Egyptians

would have been afraid to

lose the food left for them

to eat. They had already

lost the fish in the river and

the cattle to the bluetongue

virus so they would have

tried to save what little food

they had left.(1)

Three Days of

Darkness

Dr. Marr and Dr.

Malloy believe this was

caused by a huge

sandstorm.

Sandstorms produce

scorching winds

allowing the bacteria

and molds to grow.(1)

Death of the

Firstborn

Because the hail would have

broken and beaten the crops.

Laying on the ground they

would have been contaminated

with locust feces full of

microorganisms and bacteria.

The Egyptian might have taken

the contaminated grain to their

granaries allowing microtoxins

to grow. According to the

Doctors the eldest child in an

Egyptian family got the largest

portion of food at meal time

therefore causing them to get

the largest portion of

microtoxins causing their

deaths.(1)

What Do You Believe?

Science

1) Algal Bloom ( Pfisteria )

2) Frogs

3) Cuilicoides

4) Flies

5) Bluetongue Virus

6) Glanders

7) Hail and Lightening

8) Locusts

9) Sandstorm

10) Microtoxins

Religion

1) River turned to Blood

2) Frogs

3) Lice

4) Flies

5) Death of the livestock

6) Boils and sores

7) Fire in the sky

8) Locusts

9) 3 Days of Darkness

10) Death of the Firstborn

Questions

• Why did these events

happen?

• Was this just a tragic but

scientifically explained

series of events?

• Could this ever happen

again?

• Could God have chosen to

use nature in his

punishment of the

Egyptian Pharaoh a self

proclaimed “ living God”

for not freeing the Hebrew

slaves?

• Did the Egyptian Pharaoh

cause these events by his

lack of his pride and lack

of faith?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XacD-PTMtFs

Bibliography

• Works Cited

• 1)Malloy, Dr. John Marr and Dr. Curtis. "New York Times." 11 2 2002.

Epidemiologic Analysis of the 10 Plagues of Egypt. 11 3 2011

<http://www.nytimes.com>.

• 2) Office, DHHS Public Affairs. What Should You Know About

Pfisteria and NC'S Waters. 22 September 1997. 11 3 2011

<http://www.enr.state.nc.us/files/pfies.htm>.

• 3) Ravers, Anne. Biblical Plagues: A Novel Theory. 4 April 1996. 11 3

2011 <http://www.nytimes.com/1996/04/04/garden/biblical-plagues-a-

novel-theory.html>.

• 4) The Reaping. Dir. Stephen Hopkins. Perf. Idris Elba Hillary Swank.

2007.

• 5) Worrall, Jim. "National Agricultural Library." 6 June 2002. Review

of Systems for Early Detection and Rapid response. 11 3 2011

<http://search.nal.usda.gov>.

•