The Bible As History
The Bible as History
The question of whether the Holy Bible is an actual historical account of what
happened since the beginning of humanity, or merely stories that man has come up with
over time has long been considered. Many choose to believe the Bible literally and take
everything word for word. Others believe the stories in the Bible are a way of showing
God's love for us, but think of them as stories and lessons on how to follow the "way of
God." Others think the stories in the Bible are false, and have no basis in truth at all.
Some people want to have a clear picture of what early Palestine was like without ever
having reference to the Bible, and "this may be an equally one-sided approach as using the
Bible [as] complete factual history" (Porter 16). More and more archaeological digs are
uncovering tangible evidence that some of the stories in the Bible actually do have a
factual basis. Most people are still undecided, as there hasn't been much evidence found
supporting that either side of the argument has a strong lead over the other. "Previous
generations of scholars often linked archaeology very directly with the Bible: they spoke
of Biblical Archaeology' and saw it as a means of establishing the credibility of the
Scripture" (Porter 16). The Bible is a historical account, in some areas, because there is
proof. In other aspects, however, the Bible may turn out to be just stories.
Archaeologists undergo many excavations in the Palestinian area, because this is
where most of the stories in the Bible took place. Many books and inscriptions have been
uncovered providing information on events and people both Israelite and Non-Israelite
alike (Porter 16). Several buildings, pottery, tools, and weapons have revealed what the
daily life of the Palestinians may have been like. Archaeology has also...
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