Psalms 3:16 and the Mandela Effect

Back in 2014, I wrote a blog post about how a baseball player had autographed a baseball with the phrase “Psalms 3:16,” when he really meant to say “John 3:16.” Here’s a link to that original post.

But here’s the strange thing. I wrote that post seven years ago, and in the past few days, it’s gotten thousands upon thousands of clicks and looks. Many more than I normally get for a blog. Especially one that was originally hosted on a more visible platform back in the day.

And after much thought, I think I figured out why this is getting so much attention.

My blog post was a by-product of the Mandela Effect, also known as a “false memory,” in which you think you remember something correctly, but what you remember isn’t completely accurate.

Case in point.

Do you remember that movie “Shazam,” that starred actor/comedian Sinbad as a genie? Of course you do. It was a great film.

No, it wasn’t. There was a movie named “Kazaam,” which starred actor/basketball star Shaquille O’Neal as a genie. But somehow, people mis-remembered this original film, and eventually equated the film under another name, with another actor in the role. Thus, the Mandela effect.

In fact, it’s actually called the Mandela effect because a famous person, upon being interviewed, claimed to remember that Nelson Mandela died in prison in the 1980’s, and even claimed to recall news reports of this. That person later found that others had mysteriously “remembered” these same details (never mind that Nelson Mandela lived to become President of South Africa, and died in 2013), and thus, the “Mandela Effect” was born.

Trust me, we all know the famous Bible passage of John 3:16.

But there is no Psalms 3:16. There is no 16th verse in the 3rd chapter of the Book of Psalms. Not in the King James Bible, not in the Rheims-Douay Bible, not in the NIV or any of the other translations.

You know what else isn’t in the Bible? This 3:16.

That’s the Mandela Effect for you.

But here’s the thing. There may come a day, whether tomorrow or ten years from now, when I’m out with my cameras and I get this incredible photograph. Something that just stirs the heart and the soul.

And I’m going to name that photo “Psalms 3:16.”

And I’ll let everybody else wonder what in the name of the Old Testament it means.

Which is totally fine by me. 😀