[Ponyexpress9790]

I’ve always thought it was more division than multiplication, take one loaf and divide it, hand one half to someone and the other to another, then they continue to do the same, the miracle is in faith, each time the loaf is halved it becomes like the original half, and everyone does the same until all are fed, at the end the fragments are more than the five loaves they started with. Jesus always does things abundantly. My 2 cents.

[thecodont]

That’s how I envisioned it also.

[Iscool]

I’ve always thought it was more division than multiplication, take one loaf and divide it, hand one half to someone and the other to another, then they continue to do the same, the miracle is in faith, each time the loaf is halved it becomes like the original half, and everyone does the same until all are fed, at the end the fragments are more than the five loaves they started with. Jesus always does things abundantly. My 2 cents.

Actually it was subtraction...It was a matter of 1 minus 1 equals 1...

[faithhopecharity]

thanks much for your thoughts!
i claim ZERO expertise at interpreting Greek scriptures or non-scriptures, its all Greek to me, ha!

however,
the clear purpose of the author was to instill faith in the reader by relating a “miracle”....
and while any reader is of course free to “believe” that the miracle took place, or not....it just surprised me to hear the pope questioning it, if indeed he did so?
I retire from this controversy as I was not there when Pope Francis spoke ... but he sure does get a lot of press coverage that at least indicates some questions about his faith commitment or principles, imho. Either he does indeed have spiritual issues or else the press has been misquoting or maligning him... like the press does to PDJT maybe?

i cannot know, but the reading, at least, is concerning