Freethought & Rationalism Archive

Shanefield · 03-01-2006, 08:53 AM

Biblical (and anti-Biblical) scholars might be interested in reading my short "Jensenhurst" story at
http://oldnnew.blogspot.com , and the summaries of book reviews that are tacked on at the end.
Dan Shanefield
Retired Engineering Professor, Rutgers U.

ziffel · 03-01-2006, 09:31 AM

What I came away with from your blog is the knowledge of Matthew Sturgis' book, "It Ain't Necessarily So". Which has me intrigued, to say the least. However, at nearly $33 for a 312 page book (and that's large print, btw), I won't be purchasing it. The customer review states that this book has been "largely ignored". Uh, duh. Lower the price!

I will check half.com, and my local library for it, however.

Shanefield · 03-01-2006, 10:39 AM

Actually, that one is easy to read, but Sturgis is not an archeologist, so it's second-hand science (tho quite good). The book by William Dever ("Who Were the Ancient Isrealites... ?") is more authoritative (he's an American archeol. prof.) and excellent. Or try "The Bible Unearthed" by Finkelstein (an Isreali archeologist), but not as clearly written as Dever's).
Dan Shanefield

Toto · 03-01-2006, 01:42 PM

Sturgis has a promo for his book on the secularweb here

Shanefield · 03-01-2006, 02:45 PM

The book is much more skeptical than the publisher's summary would have you believe. Sturgis ends up saying that the OT is just fiction, up until King Josiah's reign, in 620 BC. In other words, Abe, Moe, Josh, Sol --- all just made up by Josiah's scribes. (Dever, Finkelstein, and other authors say this also.)
Dan Shanefield

03-01-2006, 08:53 AM	#1
Shanefield Junior Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Piscataway, NJ, USA Posts: 75	A very short story Biblical (and anti-Biblical) scholars might be interested in reading my short "Jensenhurst" story at http://oldnnew.blogspot.com , and the summaries of book reviews that are tacked on at the end. Dan Shanefield Retired Engineering Professor, Rutgers U.

03-01-2006, 10:39 AM	#3
Shanefield Junior Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Piscataway, NJ, USA Posts: 75	Sturgis book Actually, that one is easy to read, but Sturgis is not an archeologist, so it's second-hand science (tho quite good). The book by William Dever ("Who Were the Ancient Isrealites... ?") is more authoritative (he's an American archeol. prof.) and excellent. Or try "The Bible Unearthed" by Finkelstein (an Isreali archeologist), but not as clearly written as Dever's). Dan Shanefield

03-01-2006, 02:45 PM	#5
Shanefield Junior Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Piscataway, NJ, USA Posts: 75	Sturgis is much more skeptical than that. The book is much more skeptical than the publisher's summary would have you believe. Sturgis ends up saying that the OT is just fiction, up until King Josiah's reign, in 620 BC. In other words, Abe, Moe, Josh, Sol --- all just made up by Josiah's scribes. (Dever, Finkelstein, and other authors say this also.) Dan Shanefield

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03-01-2006, 09:31 AM	#2
ziffel Veteran Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Florida east coast, near Daytona Posts: 4,969	What I came away with from your blog is the knowledge of Matthew Sturgis' book, "It Ain't Necessarily So". Which has me intrigued, to say the least. However, at nearly $33 for a 312 page book (and that's large print, btw), I won't be purchasing it. The customer review states that this book has been "largely ignored". Uh, duh. Lower the price! I will check half.com, and my local library for it, however.

03-01-2006, 01:42 PM	#4
Toto Contributor Join Date: Jun 2000 Location: Los Angeles area Posts: 40,549	Sturgis has a promo for his book on the secularweb here

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