The Bible as History
The Bible as History The question of whether the Holy Bible is an actual historical account of what happened since the beginning of humanity, or merely stories that man has come up with over time has long been considered. Many choose to believe the Bible literally and take everything word for word. Others believe the stories in the Bible are a way of showing
God 's love for us, but think of them as stories and lessons on how to follow the "way of
God." Others think the stories in the Bible are false, and have no basis in truth at all.
Some people want to have a clear picture of what early Palestine was like without ever having reference to the Bible, and "this may be an equally one-sided approach as using the
Bible [as] complete factual history" (Porter 16). More and more archaeological digs are uncovering tangible evidence that some of the stories in the Bible actually do have a factual basis. Most people are still undecided, as there hasn 't been much evidence found supporting that either side of the argument has a strong lead over the other. "Previous generations of scholars often linked archaeology very directly with the Bible: they spoke of Biblical Archaeology ' and saw it as a means of establishing the credibility of the
Scripture" (Porter 16). The Bible is a historical account, in some areas, because there is proof. In other aspects, however, the Bible may turn out to be just stories. Archaeologists undergo many excavations in the Palestinian area, because this is where most of the stories in the Bible took place. Many books and inscriptions have been uncovered providing information on events and people both Israelite and Non-Israelite alike (Porter 16). Several buildings, pottery, tools, and weapons have revealed what the daily life of the Palestinians may have been like. Archaeology has also confirmed many of the sites referred to in the Bible (Porter 17). Even though there have been various excavations of
God 's love for us, but think of them as stories and lessons on how to follow the "way of
God." Others think the stories in the Bible are false, and have no basis in truth at all.
Some people want to have a clear picture of what early Palestine was like without ever having reference to the Bible, and "this may be an equally one-sided approach as using the
Bible [as] complete factual history" (Porter 16). More and more archaeological digs are uncovering tangible evidence that some of the stories in the Bible actually do have a factual basis. Most people are still undecided, as there hasn 't been much evidence found supporting that either side of the argument has a strong lead over the other. "Previous generations of scholars often linked archaeology very directly with the Bible: they spoke of Biblical Archaeology ' and saw it as a means of establishing the credibility of the
Scripture" (Porter 16). The Bible is a historical account, in some areas, because there is proof. In other aspects, however, the Bible may turn out to be just stories. Archaeologists undergo many excavations in the Palestinian area, because this is where most of the stories in the Bible took place. Many books and inscriptions have been uncovered providing information on events and people both Israelite and Non-Israelite alike (Porter 16). Several buildings, pottery, tools, and weapons have revealed what the daily life of the Palestinians may have been like. Archaeology has also confirmed many of the sites referred to in the Bible (Porter 17). Even though there have been various excavations of
Cited: Porter, J.R. The Illustrated Guide to the Bible. New York: Oxford University Press, 1995. Sheler, Jeffrey L. "Is the Bible True?" US News and World Report. 25 Oct. ‘99: 50-9