Do you suffer from paraskevidekatriaphobia? It is the most widespread superstition in America, better known as fear of Friday the 13th.

People are so superstitious about the number 13, “the Devil’s dozen,” that tall buildings rarely have a 13th floor, but simply go from 12th to 14th.

Where did this fear of Friday the 13th come from? The Web site www.urbanlegends.about.com claims it has origins in the Bible, since Jesus and the 12 disciples made up 13 people who ate the Last Supper, and then Jesus was crucified the next day, on a Friday.
So should we fear Friday the 13th? Well, if we’re going to fear that day, maybe we should add Monday the 8th to our phobia file.

Yes, let’s fear Monday, the 8th. Since Genesis says God created mankind on the 6th day, the rested on the 7th, and then Adam and Eve took the forbidden fruit and fell into sin, I wonder if they did it the next day, on Monday the 8th? Maybe we should stay indoors on Monday the 8th!

Or how about February 17th? Genesis 7:11-12 says that beginning on the 17th day of the second month, the rains began to come for 40 days and 40 nights, flooding the earth. Sounds like we’d better batten down the hatches three days after Valentine’s.

Jerusalem was burned down by the king of Babylon on the seventh day of the fifth month, according to 2 Kings 25:8-9, so perhaps we should stay indoors on May 7th!

Now, just in case some reader takes me seriously and starts marking all of these dates on the calendar with black ink, let me hasten to say that even if Jesus did die on Friday, the 13th, it was not a Black Friday. In fact, Christians call the date of His crucifixion “Good Friday” for a good reason: his death paid for our sin so that all who believe can go to heaven.

So personally, I’m celebrating Jesus on Friday the 13th.

(Copyright 2011 by Bob Rogers. Email: brogers@fbcrincon.com. Read my blog at www.holyhumor.blogspot.com.)