IS THE BIBLE HISTORICALLY TRUE?

Is the Bible right after all? Is it historically accurate? This is an important question; because, if the Bible is not true in the historical details it records, then it may also be false in other things.

The question is addressed in the book The Bible as History by Werner Keller. In the postscript by Joachim Rehork, whereas he writes:

"It is full of problematical statements with the consequence that representatives of the most diverse disciplines, 'schools' and opinions have racked their brains again and again over contradictions, repetitions and inconsistencies in the Biblical text—inconsistencies of which the following are a few examples.

Then Rehork lists some examples of which I number three here:

1. In the Bible there are two accounts of the Creation (Genesis 1: 1-2, 3; and Genesis 2: 4ff). In the first of these two accounts of the Creation, God created man last; in the second, however, God created him first, that is to say, before all other creatures. In one case God created mankind from the beginning as “male and female”; then, however, only the man came into being from “the dust of the ground”, while woman was formed subsequently from a rib of the man.
2. The name of Moses’s father-in-law has been transmitted in three different forms, once as Jethro (Exodus 3:1; 4:18; 1-12), once as Reuel (Exodus 2: 18) and finally as Hobab (Judges 4: 11).
3. How could Moses describe his own death (Deuteronomy 34)? Or to put the question another way: can the first five books of the Bible really have been written by Moses when they tell us of his death?

After listing such problems, Rehork continues: “These are only a few examples of inconsistencies in the Bible.”

The Bible is not history as we are accustomed to think about history. It is more akin to mythology; or, as may more correctly be said: it is historical fiction.

This does not mean that some of the lessons in morality are not beneficial; quite the contrary, the Bible wouldn’t have lasted so long if it wasn’t quite beneficial. However, because it was written by humans it is just as prone to error as any other book—regardless of how divinely inspired you may think that the writers may have been. Therefore, the Bible should be read just as critically as any other book.

Long ago, I was advised by a wise friend to never be a slave to anyone or anything. Today, I understand his words much more than I did then. I don’t think anyone should be a slave physically or mentally to anyone (past or present) or any book (regardless of who wrote it), or any idea (whether it be a religion, a god, perfection, or patriotism).

Yes, I believe many of the moral principles stated in the Bible. For example, here is something from First Thessalonians 5: 13b-22 English Standard Version (ESV) that has inspired me:

• Be at peace among yourselves. And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all. See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone. Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies, but test everything; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil.

The words “test everything” may be understood to mean think critically about everything—including what’s been written in holy books. Even though people who wrote them may have been inspired by godly thoughts, they may also have been dead wrong about some things that they themselves believed to be true.

Here’s an inspirational message from First John 4: 1 (ESV):

• Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world.

In order for me to accept this message, I redefined the key terms: spirits and God. I also changed the word prophet to sage.

1. I define spirit as a thought and/or an emotion.

2. I define God as being my supreme ruler; for me God is a trinity—that is, three elements integrated as one:

a. Nature is god of the universe.

b. Humanity is god of the earth.

c. My own mind is god of my own body.

3. And, I change the word prophet to sage, because sage means having or exhibiting wisdom and calm judgment. Unlike the word prophet, sage doesn’t mean that the person is always right and never wrong; it only means that he or she has a lot of wisdom, knowledge and understanding from which others can learn.

The following scripture is from Job 34: 4 (ESV):

• Let us choose what is right; let us know among ourselves what is good.

I take this to mean: reserve the right to think for yourself.

Ephesians 5: 10 in the Good News Bible says:

• Try to learn what pleases the Lord.

As I stated above, for me the Lord (or God) is a trinity: nature, humanity, and my own mind. To have integrity, I must figure out and do what would harmonize with all three, which together constitute my Lord. For me, trying to please (or harmonize) all three elements is a constant balancing act as well as a constant search for more wisdom, knowledge, and understanding.

I could, of course, go on and on quoting inspirational scriptures; the Bible is loaded with them. But, let me quote just one more passage, found in Ephesians 5: 8b – 15 in the Good News Bible:

• So you must live like people who belong to the light, for it is the light that brings a rich harvest of every kind of goodness righteousness, and truth. Try to learn what pleases the Lord. Have nothing to do with the worthless things that people do, things that belong to the darkness. Instead, bring them out of the light. …. So be careful how you live. Don’t live like ignorant people, but like wise people.

To me, this means that human beings should be intelligent (the light is wisdom, knowledge and understanding). And, I already told you who and what the Lord is to me—the trinity of nature, humanity, and my own mind conceptualized as one.

So, as you can see, I believe in much that has been written in the Bible; I just don’t believe everything that I’ve read in it. Of course, I am not the first one to selectively believe the Bible; Thomas Jefferson, just to name another, believed as I do that the ethical system that was allegedly taught by Jesus is the finest the world has ever known; however, Thomas Jefferson also sought to separate those ethical teachings from the religious dogma and other supernatural elements that are intermixed in the Bible.

Even as beneficial as religion has been to the humaneness of humanity, it has also caused much ignorance, suffering, and death to many people.

Notice also how typical it is for people to think that their religion is all right and all others are all wrong. People can clearly see the mythology in the religions of others yet they have chosen to maintain blind faith in their own religion even when the inaccuracies within it should be obvious.

Nevertheless, I don’t prescribe an abandonment of religion; some people are much better off with it than without it. Nonetheless, it is okay to be an atheist as long as one is also a moralist. A moralist is one who follows a system of humanitarian principles. And, such a system can very well be created by and for yourself.

However, one humane problem that tends to exist in organized (or institutionalized) religions is that they tend to separate people into groups. People typically care about people in their own religion but tend to care less about people who are not. In this regard, religion tends to build walls that spiritually separate people from each other. And, I believe as did Isaac Newton that “We build too many walls and not enough bridges.”