BIBLE, FACT OR FICTION

Debunking or marginalizing the opinions of your competitors and opponents is often presented as scientific research. In Biblical archeology and research the competition is fierce and the battleground is limited and big parts of the Holy land are restricted. Archeological diggings are forbidden in and around the so-called “Temple mound” in Jerusalem. It could trigger the next “intifada”. Why? Because on the Templemound stands “the Dome of the Rock”, that was build in the 7^th century by the Islamic conquerors of the Holy City. The open structure protects “The Rock”. The place where God created the world, Abraham almost sacrificed his son and from which Mohammed departed for a visit to Heaven. Third holiest place of Islam! Are the Palestinians paranoid? I don't think so. They know, that the Jews want to build a Third Temple. Jerusalem is a hotspot, also for the Muslims. Jerusalem will become the capital of the (soon to come) 12^th Imam.

Archeological research and proof is very important for Christians and Jews. Not only to strengthen their faith, but als for (geo-)political reasons. In recent years a number of important archeological finds have been debunked as frauds. A ossuary of Jesus or an inscription, with a reference to “Salomon's Temple”, were carefully manufactured and politically motivated scams, who were often already accepted as important evidence. Sceptics state that there is no such thing as archeological and historical biblical evidence, everything is a fraud. They don't form the mainstream and don't get any funding; certainly when they say, that around the year 1200 – 1000 BC, the time of David and the building of the Temple of Solomon, Jerusalem was a tiny village, a couple of acres big, and that there were no signs of palaces and a big Temple (the one the orthodox Jews want to rebuild and the trucks are loaded with rocks and mortar, the Temple attributes are ready, Levites trained etc.). If there ever was a Temple, it was not that very big,it must be possible, I think, to find a place on the Mount, next to the Dome.

But there are other ways to descredit you opponents as Biblical fools. And that is by studying the scripture! Many scientists, from all kind of denominations, studied and study the Bible. Some claim, that the Bible is inspired by God and therefore true and should be taken by the letter. The Bible (Old and New Testament)is the dominating document in that timeframe (1200 BC – 100 ad), with a lot of references to historical figures (Nebudkadnezar, Cyrus the Great and Herod), cities(Babylon, Bethlehem, Damascus) and countries (Rome, Egypt). The 4 gospels describe the birth, life and death of Jesus, the Messiah and son of God. In recent years the number of, unofficial gospels, has exploded, due to “Death Sea scrolls”, the “Nag Hamady-library” and other finds. Next to Mark, Matthew, Luke and John, the gospels of Thomas, Peter, Judas, Simon and Mary Magdalene are available. How the Bible is composed and on which criteria, is still a mystery. The first complete New Testament dates from around 400 AD and was found in a Balkan monastery. The Bible is a product of a society without a printing press. Every gospel had to be copied, by hand. And because scribes or monks are people, they make mistakes (which are being copied etc.)

Bart Ehrman, an American professor, estimates, that, some 6 to 7000 manuscripts, have been discovered. The oldest one dated from the second half of the first century, to the elaborate medieval codexes. Many errors have been found. Many are not substantial, but some are. Mark's gospel f.i. was extended with some twelve lines, at the end of this book. Except through copying the Holy Bible, differences are due to translation. The Bible was written in Greek, translated into Latin and finally in all current languages. Indirectly Bart Ehrman proves the superiority of the Torah (Old Testament) over the New Testament. The Torah (as is the Qu'ran) has not changed over the centuries. A select and well-trained group of scribes carefully copied Gods word and there were several tests, to see if there are errors been made. If so, the scroll is burned. This is still common practice among Jews. Compared to this tradition, the New Testament is product of endless copying and translating, which might even have contaminated the message of Jesus.

Dr. Knolh had studied the period of the Roman occupation of Israel. Focussing on Jesus, he concludes, that the Messiah is one of several Jewish rebels, revered by his followers and fighting the Roman occupation. He suggest Jesus to be a copycat, who planned his own execution, to fit historic predesessors, who were supposed to be the expected Messiah.

According to the Jews, Jesus was not the Messiah. They await the real Messiah to come, but they have to rebuild Salomon's Temple first and start the necessary offerings. Knolh is a Jew. He turns Jesus into one of several Jewish rebels.

In a way, it is a battle of ghosts. Jezus was not a historic figure, but a spiritual messenger. The Temple, necessary for the return of the real Jewish Messiah, never existed and did not function as described in the Old and New Testament. Archeologically, there is no proof of its existence, as there is no historical evidence of king David,the wise king Salomon and Israel's holiest artefact “The Arc of the Covenant”.