Was Jonah Alive in the Fish?

"Now the Lord had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights." Three days and three nights in the belly of a fish! But how? Was he alive during that three day entombment, as the consensus has always been among students of the Bible? Or is it possible that he was dead, and that the church has been in error on this point? I should like to begin with a few general observations. First, we are not questioning the fact as such that...