Did Jesus walk on water - or ice?

One wonders if it has occurred to these scientists that this story might be fictional? Or that these stories have been rife in India and other places for centuries? Disciples of the Buddha, who is alleged to have lived six centuries prior to Christ, were claimed to have walked on water:

When the world-honored Buddha had left Savatthi Sariputta felt a desire to see the Lord and to hear him preach. Coming to the river where the water was deep and the current strong, he said to himself: "This stream shall not prevent me. I shall go and see the Blessed One, and he stepped upon the water which was as firm under his feet as a slab of granite. When he arrived at a place in the middle of the stream where the waves were high, Sariputta's heart gave way, and he began to sink. But rousing his faith and renewing his mental effort, he proceeded as before and reached the other bank.

Walking on a water has been a motif in several myths as well as in Indian folklore concerning numerous yogis. Within the solar mythos, it was said that the sun god walked on water when "his" reflection shone on the surface.

When it comes to religion and mythology, common sense seems to not be common at all. Do we believe that Hercules really and truly slew the hydra? Probably the scientists of the day found some sort of "logical" evidence that he did. As an archaeology student many years ago, I visited the site of Lerna in Greece, where Hercules traditionally slew the hydra. The scientific explanation for that myth is that there is a swamp there with many springs emptying into it; hence, a swamp monster - the hydra, from the Greek word for "water." There is even a spot at Lerna were this "water-snake" that Hercules killed is supposedly buried. Do these facts mean that Hercules was a real person and that he was truly at Lerna?

Did Jesus walk on water - or ice?

The Sea of Galilee - subject to a cold snap at the time?
Jesus may not have walked on water as the Bible claims but rather skated on ice formed through a freak cold spell, a scientific study has found.

Rare atmospheric and water conditions could have caused ice to form on the freshwater Sea of Galilee.

The research shows a period of cooler weather swept what is now northern Israel from 1,500 to 2,600 years ago.

Sub-zero temperatures could have caused the formation of ice thick enough to support the weight of a man.

'Springs ice'

The story of Jesus walking on water is recorded in three of the four Gospels, but Professor Doron Nof, an oceanographer from Florida State University insists his research points to a scientific rather than miraculous explanation.

'If you ask me if I believe someone walked on water, no, I don't,' Prof Nof told Reuters. 'I believe something natural was there that explains it.'

A person standing or walking on it would appear to a distant observer to be 'walking on water'
Prof Doron Nof, Florida University

The research involved a study of the surface temperatures of the Sea of Galilee along with air temperature and wind records.

Partially submerged in water, the ice patches, known as 'springs ice', may not have been noticed by observers standing at a distance.

'Because the size of the springs ice, a person standing or walking on it would appear to a distant observer to be 'walking on water',' Prof Nof wrote in the report's conclusion.

'Our springs ice calculation may or may not be related to the origin of the account of Christ walking on water,' he concluded.

'It is hoped, however, that archaeologists, religious scholars, anthropologists and believers will examine such implications in detail.' "