Our Top 10 Favorite Bible Characters
Introduction
by Gowdy Cannon
No tournament we have ever done here at Rambling Ever On has produced the drama and upsets as has Favorite Bible character. It also had its fair share of scurrilous, caustic debate, and none of us will forget the Luke vs. Elijah blow out of 2015 any time soon, but that kind of controversy happens in all of our tournaments.
Here’s how it shook down: 68 names (Jesus was excluded for obvious reasons), seeded 1-68. Four play-in match-ups then a one and done, win or go home, best out of nine votes tournament. And none of the Top 4 seeds made it to championship. We were one vote away from the Final Four being the 3, 7, 8 and 13 seeds. The Championship, both Final Four match-ups and two of the four Elite Eight match-ups were decided by a singular 5-4 vote. The championship was 4-1 after five votes and the character down ended up storming back and winning. If this were an NCAA tournament, it would easily be the best ever. Does it matter more what a Bible character did or how much Scripture they wrote? Is it more important to have a lot of verses written about you, or a direct connection to Jesus? And should you be docked for unrepentant sin when seeding? Those are the questions; below are the answers.
The results may surprise you. They did some of us. But if you disagree, let us know!
10. Ruth
by Gowdy Cannon
Humans are drawn to and impressed by power and leadership. Even our list to some level proves that. But in the midst of patriarchs, kings and apostles, you find this poor, widowed, immigrant woman. God told his people to take special care of people like her (Leviticus 19:9-10) but she was the one who ended up setting the example of how to serve and provide, so much so that her book is named for her. Her life and her book are a breath of fresh air of sacrifice, humility and godliness, coming right after 21 of the worst chapters in Israel’s history in Judges. She is to be mimicked and praised, a woman with dirty hands and a clean heart. And for that she earned a place in our Top 10.
9. David
by Joshua Crowe
Shepherd boy turned king, David was the fulfillment of many promises. A man of passion, faith, and fearlessness, he appears on the scene when he’s needed most and converts a tribe of nomads into the most powerful kingdom in the area. Was he perfect? Of course not. Sometimes his passion flared unchecked and the results were disastrous. But being one known for seeking God’s heart, he knows there’s unending grace waiting. How else could he start a song begging for forgiveness and end it thanking God for hearing him? He simply knew the answer would be “yes, I forgive.”
8. John
by Ben Plunkett
John’s prominent place in the Gospels puts him as one of the closest friends of Jesus. He was so dear to Jesus, in fact, that even while Jesus hung on the cross He gave His mother into John’s care. After the resurrection and ascension of Jesus, John helped lead the early church. Tradition says that John penned The Gospel According to John; John 1,2, and 3; and Revelation. Tradition also says that he is the only disciple not to die the death of a martyr. Instead, it is said that after his exile on Patmos, he served the rest of his days in Ephesus where he mentored some of the next generation of church leaders.
7. Daniel
by Phill Lytle
Everyone knows the stories: lions in a den, prophecies, obedient prayer life. You name it. Daniel’s life was full. Like many other famous biblical characters, we know about his great triumphs – his amazing moments of faith and obedience. Unlike most other famous Biblical characters, we know nothing about his failings. Surely he did fall, he was human after all. Yet, there is no Bathsheba in his story. No moments of dishonesty. No disobedience revealed. Daniel, from all appearances, was a truly faithful and righteous follower of God. That might not be completely relatable to most of us, but it is inspiring and challenging. But who are we kidding though? That lion’s den story is flippin’ awesome and Daniel handled it like a boss.
6. Moses
by Ben Plunkett
Moses was raised to be a leader. Adopted by the daughter of Pharaoh, he was brought up as royalty. Yet this was the guy who didn’t think he was good enough a speaker to amount to any kind of leader at all. Fortunately for Israel, that didn’t matter to our God who can use anyone. Driven from Egyptian society, he would return to free the children of Israel from their Egyptian bondage. And by God’s hand, Moses would dedicate the rest of His life to leading them to the Promised Land and to truly establishing them as a nation governed under the law of God.
5. Job
by Gowdy Cannon
The American Church at times speaks in cliches and throws platitudes at pain. The Bible, however, does not. And perhaps no book cuts through the superficial spirituality of the “right way” to respond to suffering the way Job does. Any time someone says God won’t give you more than you can handle my mind is drawn to Job 6 where Job wishes God would take his life. The issue of righteous suffering can be as big an obstacle to faith as there is and Job is about as clear an answer as the Bible gives. His life is not a formula for how to deal with suffering; just a transparent, raw, unfiltered example. But beyond this, we still find some of the greatest words of faith in Scripture. “I know my Redeemer lives…even after my skin is destroyed, apart from this flesh I will see God.” Bitterness, complaining, depression and all, he never let go and he very much saw God. And that is why he ranks so high on our list.
4. Abraham
by Michael Lytle
He was chosen by God to be the father of a great nation. We remember his willingness to abandon everything to follow where God was leading. Years later, when he thought he had a clearer picture of God’s plan for him, he was still willing to sacrifice his own son if that had been required. He interceded for Sodom and Gomorrah when no one else would. Despite the many great things he did, Romans tells us that Abraham believed God and that faith was counted to him as righteousness. He did have a problem with lying and he foolishly attempted to “speed up” God’s timing by having a son, but anybody who has a song written about them that can keep children entertained for hours deserves a place on this list. So let’s just praise the Lord.
3. Paul
by David Lytle
Many readers will be outraged that Paul is not number one on this list. What could we possibly have against the man who went from violent persecutor to radical evangelists? This is the guy who spearheaded the equal inclusion of gentiles into the Christian faith by traveling and starting churches throughout the empire, arguing with Jewish Christian leaders who insisted on gentile circumcision, and defending the theology of Jesus’ New Covenant in his letters that make up a third of the New Testament. Paul changed history like few others human beings ever have. Yet, we are still confused as to why he held that grudge against John Mark for as long as he did. Come on Paul, I’ve still never heard a full apology to Barnabas and Mark.
2. Joseph (Old Testament)
by Phill Lytle
Joseph the dreamer. Joseph the favored son. Joseph the faithful steward of God’s gifts. He was all of those things and more. There is no Old Testament person that more clearly points to Christ than Joseph. He was wrongfully sold into slavery. He was punished and mistreated for things he did not do. Through it all, he remained true to the God of his father and the teachings of his childhood and in so doing, he saved countless lives. Joseph is another convicting reminder that most of us fall very short of the mark too often. We relate more to Peter and David. We should strive to be more like Joseph.
1. Peter
by David Lytle
No significant figure in the New Testament is as relatable as Peter. While he is always first in the lists of the apostles and the first person that Jesus wants to hear the news of his resurrection, he is also prone to be impulsive, rash, bold, and even cowardly. Peter is first to declare Jesus to be the “Messiah, the son of the living God.” He swears his undying loyalty to Jesus, and even cuts off an ear for Jesus. Then he is found cursing as he denies Jesus at his hour of crucifixion. We don’t love Peter’s cowardice; we love that we can relate to it. We love that even after the denials and curses, Jesus didn’t give up on Peter. The resurrection and Pentecost transform him into the fearless church leader we find in Acts and the patient shepherd we encounter in his epistles. Despite his metamorphosis, we can still relate to him, especially to the fact that Paul’s letters confused him.
There you have it. Based on the last time we posted a Top 10 list, I’m sure there are plenty of you that disagree with the results. Fine. Tell us who we left off the list, who we ranked too low or too high.
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Ben was a founding member of Rambling Ever On and a regular contributor and editor until his untimely death in April 2020.
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If anyone is interested, the following characters were the other 6 in the Sweet 16 round: Elijah, Jeremiah, Samuel, Nehemiah, John the Baptist and Joshua.
This list was so predictable. Why does no one ever pick Huldah the prophetess?
She was kind of a weasel.
I think the list of 10 is somewhat predictable, but the order is not. They were seeded 1) Paul 2) Moses 3) Abraham and 4) David just to start. You can see that didn’t hold at all.
Personally I am glad Paul is not top of the list. I do not wish to engage in sacrilege but since I am not speaking of Holy things this should not fall into that category. Paul is like the New York Yankees. He has so many fans and is so prevalent in Scripture when picking a favorite I feel compelled to go the other way.
I agree Jonathan. That’s probably why he didn’t make it. We all hate the Yankees
I think it would be really, really hard to overestimate Paul’s importance to Christianity. If I had done the list by myself, he would have definitely been in first place. This is the guy who under divine inspiration wrote at least 13 books of the New Testament.
Sounds just like those Yankee fans and their 26 championships.
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Those in the top 2 are my favorites. Both guys are very relatable in some ways. Both are inspiring. Peter (personally I think he brightens up the New Testament otherwise it would be boring without someone like Peter) is inspiring in that despite his weakness, he remained loyal to Jesus. Joseph is inspiring not only in terms of being resilient, faithful and forgiving but what I like most about Joseph is his being emotionally authentic and wasn’t embarrassed to show his vulnerability which for me is one of the attributes of a real man and a lesson for men that its OK to cry. (Boys DON’T cry but Real men DO cry)
Jackie, thanks so much for the comment! If you don’t mind my asking, how did you find this article?
David is my man any day any time, I would have given him the first place.
Hello holy friends. what an interesting list indeed. please be blessed during these troubling yet faithful times.
Sometimes I truly feel as a kindered spirit to John of the Bible. Jesus is a dear friend!
Interesting that I don’t see Mary listed anywhere here. I’m not catholic, but heck, they revere her as near deity. Virgin mom’s gotta rank you up there somewhere. Love it that she and a few of her buddies (plus John) were the only ones that stuck out until the end, hanging out at the foot of the cross despite the risk.
I’ll take responsibility for that. This list was determined from a 68-entry, 1-loss-and-you’re-done, voting tournament. Mary went up against Peter (the eventual winner) in the 2nd round. So she may very well have done a lot better if she’d been seeded in the other half of the bracket. I was the main person who seeded them and seeded Mary in the middle. Others offered suggestions and critique of my seeding but ultimately it was me. Since then i’ve begun to realize through many discussions how much even Protestants really appreciate her. So I’d surely have seeded her more highly in 2019 than in 2015 or whenever it was that we did this.
Yeah, it’s all Gowdy’s fault. 🙂
David is a rapist, why is he on this stupid list? I’m here for a project, but apparently I need to go to a different site.
They’re going to moderate it, aren’t they, oh well.
Yes, David was a sinner, just like the rest of us. If we eliminated everyone who sinned from this list, there would be no one on it.
Thanks for reading, though. I’m curious what project you are working on and why that brought you to Rambling Ever On.
If you are planning on some sort of project for school, this is probably not the best article on our site to use for an academic study. I think we did a great job on it, but it is pretty subjective. We have a lot of article that have much more meaty and objective material.
I would also suggest a little patience as regards our replying. All of us are busy with other matters during the day.
my favorite character was the snake because he was crowley
Is the full field listed somewhere?
It’s not. I can try to track it down.
Peter
Joseph (Genesis)
Abraham
Paul
Daniel
Job
John the Beloved
Moses
David
Elijah
Jeremiah
John the Baptist
Joshua
Nehemiah
Ruth
Samuel
Barnabas
Deborah
Esther
Gideon
Hosea
Inner Circle James
Isaiah
Jacob
Jesus’ brother James
Jonathan
King Hezekiah
King Solomon
Mary Jesus Mother
Matthew
Noah
Stephen
Aaron
Adam
Boaz
Caleb
Elisha
Elizabeth
Enoch
Eve
Ezekiel
Ezra
Hannah
Isaac
John Mark
Jonah
Joseph (Gospels)
King Jehoshaphat
King Josiah
King Saul
Lot
Luke
Mary Magdalene
Melchizedek
Miriam
Mordecai
Phillip
Rachel
Rahab
Rebekah
Samson
Sarah
Timothy
Zechariah
Boa lista! Posso usar em https://bibliotecadopregador.com.br/personagens-biblicos
Absolutamente!