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Jan. 31, 2005 Apparently I'm a little behind the times in the matter of Biblical archeology. I didn't realize that a tablet mentioning the House of David had been unearthed in 1993. At the time when I was studying the Bible, say in the early 80's, I was given to believe there was no archeological evidence that substantiated the existence of David and Solomon. But it didn't really matter. I've always assumed that David, Solomon and most of the subsequent kings were probably real people. I wouldn't go so far as to say I believe every last word written about them in the Bible. There's undoubtedly much legend and myth mixed in with the facts. But there's not very much that's really incredible about their stories. That a tablet mentioning David has been found doesn't surprise me in the least. I perhaps wondered whether David was real, but I never claimed that he was imaginary. From my readings in those days, I got the impression that many historians had approximately the same opinion I had, which is a very reasonable opinion if you read the Books of Kings, and other books of the Bible from that period. I can't say that I recall anyone who argued that there was no David at all. Even the Great Soviet Encyclopedia recognized the existence of this 'petty bandit king', as they put it. It is the wild tales of Noah, Abraham, Moses, Joshua and Samson that are utterly fictitious, and for which no evidence has been found or ever will be found. The account of Joseph in Egypt is fairly credible, if you discount the decipherment of the Pharaoh's dream, which is not unlike much similar hocus-pocus from antiquity, but Joseph's time is so remote that I'm very dubious of the tale, especially in view of anachronisms in the Book of Genesis, which betray the fact that it was written many centuries later. I see though, that some Christian writers are trying to hijack the House-of-David Stone, making it a precedent for declaring all kinds of Biblical phantoms historical. Here is their line of reasoning: "Ha! All the skeptics and atheists have been saying that there ts no extra- Biblical evidence corroborating the Bible. Now we have the House-of-David Stone that proves the historicity of David." The implication is that skeptics and atheists were wrong in denying the reality of David and their being wrong shows how untenable their views are with respect to Noah, Moses and the lot of them. The only problem is that few ever doubted David in the first place, and the fallacy is thinking that the House-of-David Stone provides evidence for Biblical figures in general and not just for King David himself. Furthermore, everyone knows that there is evidence for subsequent parts of the Bible, for example, Babylonian tablets corroborating the Exile. That there was an Exile does not prove that there was a Flood, however. Undoubtedly, there are some historical scraps in the gallimaufry that is called the Bible, but separating them from the vast porridge of pure bunk that they're swimming in would be a superhuman task. For me, the proof that there is no God, if God is defined as an all-powerful, all-merciful being, is as follows: 1.) 50,000,000 to 75,000,000 people died in WWII in hideous scenes of bloodshed and agony. 2.) If there were an all-merciful God, he surely would have prevented the war, if he had been able to do so. Therefore, if God is all-merciful, he is not all-powerful. 3.) If there were an all-powerful God, he surely would have prevented the war, unless he were totally indifferent to suffering. Therefore, if God is all-powerful, he is not all-merciful. 4.) So, there is no all-powerful, all-merciful God. Until you can explain this paradox to me, all the scrolls and tablets in the world mean absolutely nothing to me. ------------ About the author Thomas Keyes: I have written two books: A SOJOURN IN ASIA (non-fiction) and A TALE OF UNG (fiction), neither published so far. I have studied languages for years and traveled extensively on five continents. Email: udikeyes@yahoo.com Tell a friend about this site! ------------ All articles are EXCLUSIVE to Useless-Knowledge.com and are not allowed to be posted on other websites. ARTICLE THIEVES WILL BE PROSECUTED! |
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