French Dominican biblical scholar and archaeologist Roland De Vaux said, “If the historical faith of Israel is not founded in history, such faith is erroneous, and therefore our faith is also.”
William F. Albright, an early 20th century biblical archaeologist and scholar said as well: “[A]s a whole, the picture in Genesis is historical, and there is no reason to doubt the general accuracy of the biographical details.”
The first time I read these words I was impressed with the boldness of the message and did not think then and still do not believe any truer words could be spoken about the relevance of the Bible and the accuracy contained within its recorded history. But these words had been rooted in a belief that the findings would support their literal theological belief. Would these same men have made these same bold assertions should it had been discovered at their time of investigations, what the current archaeologists and professors such as Israel Finkelstein, Amihai Mazar and Neil Silberman have learned and shared through books such as The Bible Unearthed, David and Solomon, and The Quest for the Historical Israel?
It is their assertions that the patriarchal, exodus and conquest narratives cannot be read as a straightforward historical account, but should rather be seen a compilation of memories from the past, with assorted folktales and myths. And that the biblical stories compiled in the 7th thru the 5th century BCE belonged more to the world of the authors so as to serve their own ideology.
It seems that faith or trust in one’s religion is paramount. Could it be that the mind is not prepared to make the necessary changes lest it be discovered our dearly held theologies may be skewed as we have come to understand them? Is it the fear of loosing one’s faith after having made a life-long investment in it?
These are some of the questions I ponder, having left the faith...
I've heard it say that individuals such as Israel Finkelstein have their own agenda (a negative one of course) and therefore cannot be trusted. This is a convenient way of denying reality and many will insist the same or similar rather than dealing with facts.
ReplyDeleteThank you Dena for your comments, and I had also heard similiar reports about the Professor being motivated by a negative agenda. After finishing the book "The Quest for Historical Israel" I felt that the writings within the Preface provided the best voice on behalf of both he and Amihai Mazar, the two leading archeaologist of the southern Levant. An honest perspective as he writes that attempts at rationalizing the biblical stories the way many scholars have tried to do, in order to "save" the Bible's historicity is not only folly but an act of infidelity.
ReplyDeleteA quote of his (beautifully spoken I feel) as part of a personal summary. "What I am trying to say is that faith and historical research should not be juxtaposed, harmonized, or compromised. When we sit to read the Hagadah at Passover, we do not deal with the question of whether or not archaeology supports the story of the Exodus. Rather, we praise the beauty of the story and its national and universal values. Liberation from slavery (as a concept) is at stake, not the location of Pithom. According to the Bible, the God of Israel stood behind Moses and there is no need to presume the actual occurrence of a high or low tide in this or that lake in order to make His acts faith-worthy."
Preface
This book contains the papers that were delivered at an important event. That event was the Sixth Biennial Colloquium of the International Institute for Secular Humanistic Judaism in Detroit. The Institute is the intellectual arm of the worldwide movement of Secular Humanistic Judaism.
Humanistic Judaism depends on science for the story of the Jewish people. With regard to the early history of the Jews it depends on archaeology. It was our great desire to bring together two of the most famous Israeli archaeologists to thrill our audience with the revelation of their recent discoveries. We were not looking for final answers to our questions. We were looking for believable answers.
With the help of Professor Brian Schmidt of the University of Michigan, we were able to bring together Israel Finkelstein and Amihai Mazar to dialogue before an English-speaking lay audience for the first time. The results of the 2005 colloquium lectures entitled "Digging for Truth" were spectacular. This book is the consequence of a quite wonderful weekend.
Sherwin T. Wine, Provost
International Institute for Secular Humanistic Judaism
@Sheila
ReplyDeleteIf I didn't say it before, I should say it now. Better late than never! Your post was very nice. Thanks so much for your contribution.