BIBLE,
FACT OR FICTION
Debunking
or marginalizing the opinions of your competitors and opponents is
often presented as scientific research. In Biblical archeology and
research the competition is fierce and the battleground is limited
and big parts of the Holy land are restricted. Archeological diggings
are forbidden in and around the so-called “Temple mound” in
Jerusalem. It could trigger the next “intifada”. Why? Because on
the Templemound stands “the Dome of the Rock”, that was build in
the 7th century by the Islamic conquerors of the Holy
City. The open structure protects “The Rock”. The place where God
created the world, Abraham almost sacrificed his son and from which
Mohammed departed for a visit to Heaven. Third holiest place of
Islam! Are the Palestinians paranoid? I don't think so. They know,
that the Jews want to build a Third Temple. Jerusalem is a hotspot,
also for the Muslims. Jerusalem will become the capital of the (soon
to come) 12th Imam.
Archeological
research and proof is very important for Christians and Jews. Not
only to strengthen their faith, but als for (geo-)political reasons.
In recent years a number of important archeological finds have been
debunked as frauds. A ossuary of Jesus or an inscription, with a
reference to “Salomon's Temple”, were carefully manufactured and
politically motivated scams, who were often already accepted as
important evidence. Sceptics state that there is no such thing as
archeological and historical biblical evidence, everything is a
fraud. They don't form the mainstream and don't get any funding;
certainly when they say, that around the year 1200 – 1000 BC, the
time of David and the building of the Temple of Solomon, Jerusalem
was a tiny village, a couple of acres big, and that there were no
signs of palaces and a big Temple (the one the orthodox Jews want to
rebuild and the trucks are loaded with rocks and mortar, the Temple
attributes are ready, Levites trained etc.). If there ever was a
Temple, it was not that very big,it must be possible, I think, to
find a place on the Mount, next to the Dome.
But
there are other ways to descredit you opponents as Biblical fools.
And that is by studying the scripture! Many scientists, from all kind
of denominations, studied and study the Bible. Some claim, that the
Bible is inspired by God and therefore true and should be taken by
the letter. The Bible (Old and New Testament)is the dominating
document in that timeframe (1200 BC – 100 ad), with a lot of
references to historical figures (Nebudkadnezar, Cyrus the Great and
Herod), cities(Babylon, Bethlehem, Damascus) and countries (Rome,
Egypt). The 4 gospels describe the birth, life and death of Jesus,
the Messiah and son of God. In recent years the number of, unofficial
gospels, has exploded, due to “Death Sea scrolls”, the “Nag
Hamady-library” and other finds. Next to Mark, Matthew, Luke and
John, the gospels of Thomas, Peter, Judas, Simon and Mary Magdalene
are available. How the Bible is composed and on which criteria, is
still a mystery. The first complete New Testament dates from around
400 AD and was found in a Balkan monastery. The Bible is a product of
a society without a printing press. Every gospel had to be copied, by
hand. And because scribes or monks are people, they make mistakes
(which are being copied etc.)
Bart
Ehrman, an American professor, estimates, that, some 6 to 7000
manuscripts, have been discovered. The oldest one dated from the
second half of the first century, to the elaborate medieval codexes.
Many errors have been found. Many are not substantial, but some are.
Mark's gospel f.i. was extended with some twelve lines, at the end of
this book. Except through copying the Holy Bible, differences are due
to translation. The Bible was written in Greek, translated into Latin
and finally in all current languages. Indirectly Bart Ehrman proves
the superiority of the Torah (Old Testament) over the New Testament.
The Torah (as is the Qu'ran) has not changed over the centuries. A
select and well-trained group of scribes carefully copied Gods word
and there were several tests, to see if there are errors been made.
If so, the scroll is burned. This is still common practice among
Jews. Compared to this tradition, the New Testament is product of
endless copying and translating, which might even have contaminated
the message of Jesus.
Dr.
Knolh had studied the period of the Roman occupation of Israel.
Focussing on Jesus, he concludes, that the Messiah is one of several
Jewish rebels, revered by his followers and fighting the Roman
occupation. He suggest Jesus to be a copycat, who planned his own
execution, to fit historic predesessors, who were supposed to be the
expected Messiah.
According
to the Jews, Jesus was not the Messiah. They await the real Messiah
to come, but they have to rebuild Salomon's Temple first and start
the necessary offerings. Knolh is a Jew. He turns Jesus into one of
several Jewish rebels.
In
a way, it is a battle of ghosts. Jezus was not a historic figure, but
a spiritual messenger. The Temple, necessary for the return of the
real Jewish Messiah, never existed and did not function as described
in the Old and New Testament. Archeologically, there is no proof of
its existence, as there is no historical evidence of king David,the
wise king Salomon and Israel's holiest artefact “The Arc of the
Covenant”.
