Roger Pearse

The bible records Augustus as emperor. It also records Herod the Great ruling in Judaea; his family; the Roman rule over Palestine; and the Jewish state at that period.

Please indicate with reference to the primary historical sources for first century history just why you believe that it was wrong about all these things.

Alternatively you could just admit that your statement above, out of the box, is wrong. Your position is actually more nuanced than that. I suspect that what you meant to say was something like this:

"The narratives of Jewish history in the Old Testament and those giving an account of the life of Jesus and his followers in the New Testament are substantially fictionalised and cannot be taken as written as history in the same manner as Josephus and Tacitus write".

That would be wrong and involve some category errors, but it would not be insanely wrong.

I'm afraid that you will find relatively few crudely expressed positions in this forum.

All the best,

Roger Pearse

Adamu

Great, can you provide a resource which predates the OT and discusses so widely the histories of those mesopotamian cultures?

Pagandawn

Please, what is the point if the bible records a few obvious historical facts?

These historical facts are fully established as facts regardless the bible. These historical facts has nothing whatsoever to do with the bible.

Mageth

In the sense that I do not agree with the assertion "Everything in the bible is BS, when it comes to historical reality. Only one mayor event that is real is that the Jews spent some time in Babylon. Except for that, everything is BS," then evidently not.

I think there is a thread of historical reality that runs through the Bible, and that there is more real history there than just the Babylonian captivity. Furthermore, whether historically accurate or not (one question this forum addresses), the fact remains that the Bible was written, the myths were originated and evolved, and there is a "historical reality" behind that writing and behind the evolution of the myth.

This forum seeks to address that part of the "history" of the Bible as well. How did the Bible come to be written? It's not just about the historical reality of various events, nations, and people portrayed in the Bible.

The Bible is clearly not just a recordation of history. In fact, I'd say that's not its primary purpose or meaning - it was not written just to be "history". If all one considers is the historical accuracy of the Bible, then one is missing the whole picture. Why was the Bible written, by whom? How did the myths develop? Why did the writers blend fantastical elements, miracles and gods and devils, into their tales?

Pagandawn

Well, what about the state archives of Assyria?

Which BTW do not mention anything about king Salomon or David. Not a word of this supposed Jewish kingdom. In other words total BS. Did not exist.

Buck Laser

May I suggest that you read the Song of Solomon in the OT? It's probably the best bit of erotic poetry in the world.

Then check back with me. I may have one or two other suggestions as well.

Pagandawn

I assume you are meaning well. And I love poetry.

But I prefer not to read the bible. Because it is a reflection of a culture so alien and hostile to my European culture.

Adamu

Do you mean the archives found in Ashurbanipal's library at Nineveh, or more modern resources?

Mageth

So, from whence did the Legends of David and Solomon arise? How did they come to be? Why did the Hebrews invent such legends? Are the stories based on real characters, whose lives were greatly embellished? Or totally made up?

These are the types of questions that arise from your assertion just about these two characters found in the Bible...

Mageth

I guess I'm different, then. I like to read and learn about alien cultures, and even about cultures that are "hostile to" my culture.

I think we can learn a great deal from other cultures.