Re: paleonet cautions on biblical interpretation, from faith andskepticism

[Phil Bock <pbock@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I haven't contributed to this ongoing thread - talk.origins  is more 
appropriate
But - I have to emphasise that I think the main concern of the Christian 
fundamentalists is NOT about the scientific account of the history of 
the world.
It is about competing (theological) interpretations of the Bible. 
Particularly, the view that biblical studies should take into account 
the local context at the time of writing.
For example, modern studies show that the Hebrew Bible was mainly 
written/compiled in the late 8th/early 7th century BCE. Not only are the 
accounts of Eden and of the Flood mythological, but the stories of 
Abraham and the forefathers, and Moses and  Exodus, are written within 
the context of the geography of the 8th century - not 1500 BC or 
earlier. See "The Bible Unearthed" by Israel Finkelstein and Neil Asher 
Silberman. It is simply not possible to verify most of historical 
details prior to the 8th century - they may be "real" - but evidence 
suggests otherwise. The archaeological record shows that Jerusalem at 
about 1000 BC (very roughly the time of David and Solomon)  was a small 
hill village with no major buildings, or external influence.

In my view, science cannot ever negate the idea of god - but it is 
possible to narrow the field by making limiting statements about what 
types of god are not compatible with modern knowledge.

Peter Paul Smolka wrote:

(Snipped)

>The science in biblical times (e.g. about 2500 BC)
>might have been comparable to nomadic Arabians in Arabia before
>the discovery of oil. To what might, orally, have these nomadic goat
>ranchers referred to?
>  
>
-- 

"The world is a comedy to those that think, a tragedy to those that feel" - Horace Walpole

Phil Bock
mailto:bockp001@optusnet.com.au
Bryozoa Home Page http://www.civgeo.rmit.edu.au/bryozoa/default.html





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