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Documentary filmmaker Simcha Jacobovici, co-author of the new book "The Jesus Discovery," discusses how a robotic arm was used to make archaeological discoveries during a New York news conference today.
Now that the word about "the Jesus Discovery" is out in the open, outside experts are weighing in — and many of them look upon the robotic exploration of a 1st-century Jerusalem tomb as a technological tour de force resulting in an archaeological faux pas.
On one level, the "Jesus Discovery" investigators saw this project as a follow-up on the sensational claim they made five years earlier in "The Lost Tomb of Jesus," that Jesus and members of his family were buried in what is now a southeast residential neighborhood of Jerusalem. On another level, they set forth what they said were the earliest known evidence of Christian references in the Holy City — in the form of an inscription referring to resurrection on one casket, and a fishlike design on another casket.
Today, several experts specializing in 1st-century Christianity said the investigators failed to make their case on either level.
"In my assessment, there's zero percent chance that their theory is correct," said Andrew Vaughn, executive director of the American Schools of Oriental Research, or ASOR.
Christopher Rollston, an expert in Semitic epigraphy at Emmanuel Christian Seminary in Tennessee, said that although the underground chamber is "a nice tomb ... it's hard to press it into service as an impressive find."
Some archaeologists were familiar with the project months before it came into the spotlight, but non-disclosure agreements kept them from commenting until today's press announcement at Discovery Times Square in New York. The project has already spawned a book by scriptural scholar James Tabor and filmmaker Simcha Jacobovici, titled "The Jesus Discovery," and a documentary about the find is due to air on the Discovery Channel this spring.
When today's embargo lifted, the criticism from outside experts hit with full force on the ASOR Blog.
"Nothing in the book 'revolutionizes our understanding of Jesus or early Christianity,' as the authors and publisher claim, and we may regard this book as yet another in a long list of presentations that misuse not only the Bible but also archaeology," Duke University biblical scholar Eric Meyers declared.
Jodi Magness, a religious-studies professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, said "it pains me to see archaeology hijacked in the service of non-scientific interests, whether they are religious, financial, or other." In her view, Tabor, Jacobovici and their colleagues set out to dig up evidence to support their earlier claims about a different tomb nearby, the so-called "Jesus Family Tomb" — and then rustle up a fresh round of media attention.
"Professional archaeologists do not search for objects or treasures such as Noah's Ark, the Ark of the Covenant, or the Holy Grail," she wrote. "Usually these sorts of expeditions are led by amateurs (nonspecialists) or academics who are not archaeologists. Archaeology is a scientific process."
Old and new claims
The main objection to the claims for the Jesus Family Tomb, like the claims themselves, retraces ground that's been well trod since 2007: Just because bone boxes are marked with the name "Jesus" and the names of his brothers and sisters, as mentioned in the Bible, doesn't necessarily mean these are the actual biblical figures.
Tabor and Jacobovici produced a statistical analysis looking at the frequency of names in ancient Jerusalem, and claimed that the close fit to the names on Jesus' family tree couldn't be just a coincidence. Last month, Tabor said further research has strengthened the case he and Jacobovici laid out in 2007.
The critics insisted once again that a statistical argument could never win the day. "Dramatic claims require dramatic evidence. ... The claims of Tabor and Jacobovici for this tomb are no more convincing now than they were then," Rollston wrote.
But what about the inscription in the more recently explored tomb, known as the Patio Tomb? And what about the fish? Rollston said the fish was more probably a type of ornamental design typically seen on Jewish bone boxes, known as a nephesh tower. Where Tabor and Jacobovici saw the "fins" of the fish, Rollston saw the eaves of the tower's roof.
Even if it was intended to be a fish, "it would most naturally be understood as simply a reflection of a nautical motif in a tomb," or perhaps representative of the deceased's occupation — for example, a fishmonger. Unlike Tabor, Rollston did not rule out the possibility that a Jew would have such a design engraved on the bone box.
James Tabor / UNCC
James Tabor, a religious-studies researcher at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, outlined these designs found in various contexts, including "nephesh" images that have been found carved on 1st-century Jewish caskets, a fish drawing found in a Christian catacomb, and the "Patio Tomb fish" design seen in the tomb that Tabor and his colleagues explored using a camera-equipped robotic arm. Tabor's critics say the fishlike design is actually a variant of the nephesh tower design.
As for the inscription, Rollston said the resurrection connection was questionable. Tabor, Jacobovici and their colleagues suggested that it could be interpreted as reading, "Divine Jehovah (Yahweh), lift up, lift up," or "The Divine Jehovah raises up from [the dead]." But Rollston said the first letter in the word that was said to refer to Jehovah — IAEO — looked like a T rather than an I.
"This can't be an iota," he told me, "and that's the one letter that has to be there."
He also questioned the interpretation of the inscription's key word, "UPsOO," or "hupso," which would be a form of the verb "to lift up." Even if one assumes that's what was intended, the word wouldn't necessarily refer to raising up in the resurrection sense, he said. And even if one assumes it was indeed meant as a reference to resurrection, there were some Jewish sects back then — such as the Pharisees — that believed in a general resurrection.
"For someone to state that this is an early Christian tomb, there really has to be some clear and decisive evidence to back up that statement," Rollston told me. "And it just really isn't here."
In a follow-up email, Tabor told me that the "tower will not float" as an alternate explanation for the fishlike image. He also pointed to the comments he posted on the ASOR Blog, taking further issue with the nephesh tower interpretation. In a comment addressed to Rollston, he said, "We have much to discuss, but I look forward to doing it face to face."
On the positive side...
Not every outside expert was totally critical: The Israeli newspaper Haaretz quoted Yuval Baruch, an archaeologist with the Israel Antiquities Authority, as saying that Tabor and Jacobovici may well be right about the fish. Baruch noted that the fishlike image was not photographed "in the best light," but added: "If it is indeed a fish, it is fantastic. It has no parallel."
Baruch cautioned against reading too much into a single decoration, however. "Different decorations are being discovered all the time," he told Haaretz.
Rollston and ASOR's Vaughn both said the robotic-arm exploration technique that Tabor and his colleagues used to explore the 1st-century tomb held promise for future digs. Israel's religious and civil authorities are reluctant to have ancient sites disturbed, and even if the excavations are approved, they can create huge disruptions for residential areas like the one where the tomb currently in question is located. Tabor and his colleagues circumvented many of those typical problems by using a camera-equipped robotic arm that they snaked down through a pipe going into the tomb.
"The robotic-arm technology used by James Tabor is truly amazing," Vaughn said. "To be able to explore in a relatively non-invasive way, and to respect the artifacts and bones that may be present there, is certainly of much value."
Magness, however, stressed in her blog posting that robotic-arm video couldn't take the place of a full-fledged dig.
"The archaeological endeavor involves piecing together all available information, not just one artifact taken out of context," she wrote. "Context is the reason that archaeologists go to so much trouble to document the provenance of every feature and artifact dug up on an excavation. The current claim is based on finds that have no context, as they have not been excavated. All we have are photos taken by a robotic arm of objects (or parts of objects), the dates and identification of which are unknown or unclear."
Rollston said further analysis could well shed more light on the central question raised by the current controversy: How did the first Christian communities emerge and manifest themselves? But the process of getting definitive answers doesn't necessarily match the typical time frame for a television production or book project.
"The wheels of scholarship, like the wheels of justice, grind slowly but surely," he told me.
More about biblical brouhahas:
- New find revives 'Jesus Tomb' flap
- Claims about tomb stir tempest
- Messianic message stirs debate
- Return to King Solomon's mines
- Help scientists decipher 'lost' gospel
- Gallery: The archaeology of Christianity
- Experts stumped by markings in Jerusalem
Alan Boyle is msnbc.com's science editor. Connect with the Cosmic Log community by "liking" the log's Facebook page, following @b0yle on Twitter or adding Cosmic Log's Google+ page to your circle. You can also check out "The Case for Pluto," my book about the controversial dwarf planet and the search for other worlds.
Leave a Comment:
There were no bones buried in a box, these people are skipping the greatest history book ever written. Must not be sensational enuf to know he ascended to Heaven just like he said He would, MUST find a fancy box and say Jesus has bones in there. So very sad.
Maybe they can get Snooki & her gang to play in the movie version of this.....
It is sooo cute to see so many Biblically ignorant people talk about Christianity. First, having a relationship with Christ requires faith, and knowledge - and everyone puts some faith in something in some manner in
their lives everyday. Secondly, for over 2000 years, people have been trying to discredit Christianity, they have even tried killing us off, and in some places they still do – Christianity is still here. This “finding” means nothing to those of us that know the Word, and to those of you that don’t know the Word – have fun.
Studies of who has the most knowledge of the bible have consistently shown that atheists are the most well versed population. Ironic really.
You are sooo cute. It's not just a matter of having knowledge of the Bible, but also understanding it.
You are so cute.
Studies show that atheists donate the least amount of time and money to charitable causes.
RP, the statistics are different when you remove deductions to churches from the list of what is a charity. I still cannot understand how a church could be considered a charity... *sigh*
Lol. 'Studies show' that Christians always have an ulterior motive when donating to charitable causes (ie: 'converting' others).
Christians also have selfish motives as well b/c they think they're 'building up treasure' for themselves in heaven.
It's very easy to discredit Christianity....people aren't born of virgins, and people don't die for three days then come back to life. It's that simple.
Part of the reason it's still around (along w/other faiths) is simply b/c people are still afraid of dying and long to see dead loved ones again....and aren't willing to admit that when they die, they're likely just worm food.
Which is oftentimes the exact reason WHY we are atheists.
Eng
But an art institute or school is.
RP, Ive been doing more research into this and you are indeed correct. On average secular people are less likely to give to charities than religious people. And while the discrepancies narrow when you remove religious donations, it still favors religious people as more charitable.
Interestingly, however, a secular person is more likely to support a governmental program for the social malady even if that person's taxes are directly impacted.
It'sinteresting. And I concede this point because evidence supports your position.
Thank you, I'll be more understanding myself.
Jesus probably existed.....they may have found his bone box......and bones scattered in the tomb which have been buried again......room for anybody to believe as they will......multiple boxes in the tomb.....I suspect that Jesus was as real as us.........we are all God's children.....extensions of God....which is probably everything eternally evolving......how else could we exist? In an eternally evolving condition our combination of atoms will eventually happen, and happen repeatedly.....
Been here done that
The only thing I see for sure in this article is a bunch of nae Sayres. I thing you will never be able to prove anything regarding Christianity to the scientific world because if you did, you would disprove the other religions and you would also disprove evolution which is held so dear to the science communities heart. Bottom line, if you prove without a shadow of doubt or as a Christian would cal faith, you would put the scientist and a whole lot of theorist out of a job. Point blank, Jesus Christ himself could stand in front of these people and they would deny his existence as not enough proof.
Your deeply ignorant of science.
Great post True
Greg
I suspect that you are desperately trying to disprove Jesus because the spirit is working on your heart and getting your attention. If you can somehow prove that God is not real then you can get rid of that longing that you are experiencing. There is another way, accept the spirits prompting and come to Jesus.
Nobody scientist or not has proven to me that your deity exists much less a jesus. You would be the first if you could.
Again there has been no evidence found that god exists.
Flagged as myth advertising.
Greg
Something is obviously tugging at you. Why else would you be here looking for God? Don't worry Greg God will accept you just as you are sins and all. God is love and wants you to make the choice to love.
LOL
Greg
Where have you gone? I bet you are praying to our Holly God right now. You act tough but I know it is just a front.
You know its a front. Just like you know everything else. Ooookkkkkkkkaaaaaaayyyyy.
Greg
Give it up it will be Ooooookkkkkkkkaaaaaaayyyyyyyyy. God is waiting patiently.
Greg, you are not going to get anywhere even taking to these about religion. They believe I am going to hell because I am a Jew. I got news for them we don't believe in hell. If there is a hell, I am going to ask Jesus when I get there how he feels about it. You know he was a Jew.
Well, I'll give you that...lol.
just believe in what you believe in ,but don;t push it
You are exactly right. Same path just different streets to get there.
We may have already been granted intermittent immortality, and we may be already with God...my guess only
Every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord !!
Nut nut post of the day. Thanks!
Greg
Amen
People have a hard time with that because they are proud.
I hope the atheists are right for their sake. But if they're wrong ...
French mathematician Blaise Pascal put it best: "If God does not exist, one will lose nothing by believing in him, while if he does exist, one will lose everything by not believing."
Something doesn't come from nothing. Where did the first monkey come from? What caused the big bang? Scientists cannot answer these questions.
Just because animals have similarities -- a fish has two eyes above a mouth -- that doesn't mean we evolved out of a fish. It just means our creator found a design he liked and stuck with it.
The theory of evolution is just a theory.
How does physical matter evolve and leap into the non-physical? How does logic come out of a rock?
The evolutionists cannot explain the existence of logic, love, justice, beauty and truth.
Saying that matter and energy in motion over millions of years accidentally results in a human body is like finding a Rolex watch out in the woods and saying "Look what an accident made."
According to the book "The Case for Christ" within weeks of the crucifixion of Jesus, thousands of Jews began abandoning Judaism and other key social practices and becoming Christian. This is just one example of a reason to believe the resurrection really happened. Why would the masses of people all start converting? Something happened.
What if you are wrong? What if you picked the wrong God to believe in? It seems your problem with atheists is that they believe in one less God than you do.
How does logic come out of a rock? So, how does a sea get parted? How does a bush miraculously stay burning?
OK, OK, explain this to me - God put Adam/Eve here on earth. They weren't married in any eyes of any church, yet they procreated - therefore, God must have no concept of marriage or be concerned with it at all, yet the church you follow is all about some sanctity of marriage? Adam/Eve had kids who must have procreated with each other, also while not married. So add, God must be OK with incest and by reasoning of him being all-knowning, he promotes it by populating the world this way. God caused a flood that killed all, so God must be ok with murder, but wait, how can a commandment say - thou shalt not kill, when God himself has killed many? Does this make God a hypocrite?
If my family told you I died and was resurrected, would you believe it or question it? Would you believe and have faith it was possible that they put me in a tomb for 3 days and then I walked out? Or would you want proof?
So when there's miracles, It's not God...but, when someone murders someone, it's Gods fault.
Sounds logical.
You people have way too much time on your hands. Concerning both sides of the argument, nobody seems to be saying anything that is informed or well researched. Everything I am reading in the comments are just the same hasty generalizations that have been recycled and regurgitated by everyone's favorite news channel. No one here is a student of science or a well-read Christian. So stop bickering and stop pretending to be authorities on the subject. A quick Google search, glance at Wikipedia, or dust off of the old family Bible shouldn't merit any attention and doesn't give anybody any credibility. It just proves you are either passionate about something you know nothing about or you are just passionate about being "right."
Just making my contribution to society, one thoughtless post at a time. ;)
You are right. My house is bigger than yours, my way is better than yours and on and on.
We can't say it's the Jesus box with no bones about it.........
Alan, What is your take on all this?.......What does it all Boyle down to?
I would simply like to know why it's in the Science section.
Simcha Jacobovici is one of my favorite archaeologists and his shows are educational and entertaining. He invites you in and while presenting his findings allows you to make your own determination. Most other archaeologists want their opinion to be the definitive answer (as evidenced in this article - ASOR, etc.) while I find Simcha applies the principle of Acoms Razor to most of his findings. Congratulations Simcha on another exceptional find!
To all those who wonder where all the intermediate species (the "Missing links") went to, I have good news. To paraphrase Pogo, "We have seen the missing link, and he is us!" Every creature, plant or animal (including human) that you see is a member of an intermediate species! We are are all connections between species that came before, and those that will follow. Evolution hasn't stopped, its still going on .
The problem is our short lifespans. If we lived a million years, we would see evolution going on all around us. It is, after all happening constantly. As the environment (earth, weather, etc) changes, lifeforms change to adapt, or they go extinct. We just live such a short time, we can't detect the changes. If you can't wrap your head around it, sorry, but that's the way it is.
No, the problem is their dumbness.
Big Ed
Yes it is very convenient. You can say what you want now and the future can say you just didn't have enough information.
Kind of like global warming. The definition keeps changing to stay in front of skeptics. The earthers won't live long enough to see if they were right, so they have to scare you into believing now.
In that way, it's similar to religion.
Jesus built my Hotrod...
Archaeologists and clergymen in the Holy Land derided claims in a new documentary produced by James Cameron that contradict major Christian tenets, but the Oscar-winning director said the evidence was based on sound statistics.
"The Lost Tomb of Christ," which the Discovery Channel will run on March 4, argues that 10 ancient ossuaries — small caskets used to store bones — discovered in a suburb of Jerusalem in 1980 may have contained the bones of Jesus and his family, according to a press release issued by the Discovery Channel.
One of the caskets even bears the title, "Judah, son of Jesus," hinting that Jesus may have had a son. And the very fact that Jesus had an ossuary would contradict the Christian belief that he was resurrected and ascended to heaven.
The discovery channel is about as informational as my 10 year old son. I like how you quote the discovery channel, well like it is the Bible or something.
I feel sorry for your son.
Greg
He will pray for you tonight!
I'm sure you will make him.
As jesus said, " narrow is the way to life and few take that road, but wide is the road to destruction and many are taking it" PEOPLE, now everyone who labels themselves as a christian are not a christian. As Jesus said "watch out for the wolves in sheep clothing" " you know a tree by it's fruit, a good tree bears good fruit and a bad tree bears bad fruit". 'a christian is someone who has THE LITERAL SPIRIT OF GOD (JESUS) living inside them. when this happens, a new nature is born within him. he struggles with sin (the morally wrong things he use to do in action and thought" compared to before salvation, he would just do wat he wants (lie, lustful thinking, gossip, deceit, pride, etc) without a second thought. The very nature of Jesus (love, patience, kindness, gentleness, not keeping an account of wrongs, forgiveness) is now being lived out through the believer in Faith. Look at the life of Jesus not a person who called themselves "christian"
Justin your comment have no value to me. Try posting in a religious forum. I'm sure you will find more cult memebers that will agree with you.
As for "The Big Bang". The theory was developed by noticing that all other galaxies seem to be moving away from us. But, why are we special, that they all move way from us? We're not. The galaxies are flying away from each other. If you imaging the universe as a movie, you would see it expanding.
So, what would happen if we ran the movie backwards (to see how things used to look)? Answer, the universe starts out at a point, way back in time. Its not magical, and you don't need faith in anything but your common sense. ( If you see someone stumble and fall, and you see the person next to them quickly withdraw their foot from the other's path, you rightly conclude that the one person tripped the other.) We use this kind of logic a thousand times a day. We call it common sense. The Big Bang theory isn't mumbo-jumbo, imaginary, nor high tech science, at base its common sense. If your faith can't tolerate common sense, sorry, but that's the way it is.
So what is your point?
big ed, if I may.. I think the point is that literalism in religion is incredibly stupid. If you want to stay religious in the modern day, you'd better take a more expansive and figurative approach to it. You'll still be stuck on a big fiction, but at least there'll be room for some facts within it.
You have to forgive havinfun yet. She/him/it is having a problem following logic.
Oh I get it now...The universe is expanding outward and planets just form from nothing...These round objects come together from?....Then moons mysteriously orbit them because?...water and life came from?...
Yes I get it now...You want me to believe some science fiction story...I saw Star Wars does that count?
What a religiotard
Yes, we should expand our minds and all be our own gods. That is the true meaning of life...LOL
LOL. Why are you unwilling to try and learn? You're doing yourself a disservice.
Greg
Good job! Forgiveness is a characteristic of Jesus. You are catching on. Brilliant!
Outward expansion is fron the big bang and its acceleration is somewhat of an enigma. We'll figure it out in time. Planets are formed from matter that is in space from supernova suns and collisions.
All mass has gravitational force. Enough mass coalescing will always become round in shape as a result.
Any object that passes by another object at the proper speed and trajectory goes into orbit. Our moon was likely the result of a collision of our planet with a mars sized planet.
Water is the formation of oxygen and hydrogen combustion. Water is found in abundance in a number of comets, and can be generated if these gasses are released from other compounds. There are a number of theories for life formation. We'll figure that one out too, in time.
You don't really answer the question!
I'm sorry, what specifically would you like explained? Also, note that there are sizable gaps in our understanding of the universe. In no way, however, is a lack of understanding proof of god.
The same argument was used in ancient times, people did not know the earth was round and in orbit, ergo they believed the sun was a charioted god circling the earth.
The sound of crickets can be heard.
Eng
Save yourself the time and effort. There are those who have figured it out, and those who keep chasing an elusive reason for their being.
Those arguments were often used to deflect criticism back in the 60s and 70s, but with scientific advances, only the truly hardheaded haven't come around.
The more discovered about space, the more it looks like a plan of a designer. Only the most ardent atheist scientist are closed minded to a design. They'll never come around.
False. Provide me any such statistical evidence, proof, or logical argument fora designer. The Hubble telescope and all background radiation studies support a singularity and expanding universe that is consistent with mathematical models for the big bang. The observations and mathematical proofs generally bolster current theories.
Atheism is the largest growing segment of the US population when compared to religions. Coincidentally, this coincides with an increase in general education levels.
Sure
the easiest way is to google proof of design of universe.
Here's a site www.godandscience.org/apologetic/quotes.html Most of the scientist seemed to be atheist at one time.
Good luck with you're exploring.
This claim does seem to be a bit premature. I agree that more excavation and examination should be done on the site before people get too excited. I do worry that will be difficult to achieve however, if there are too many hoops to jump through in order to access the tomb. But even if it's not the tomb of Jesus, all finds are significant and worth study, not just the easy-to-publicise ones.
There is no actual PROOF that humans evolved from apes. Does that mean it isn't true? There's ALWAYS that Missing Link that can't be fit into place. BUT it's out there somewhere, so they say.
towards Greg2438150: I'm neither a religious zealot nor a diehard atheist. What I find comical about your posts is that you are as much a my way or the highway Mr. Intellect in your opinion as the religious nutjobs are in theirs.
Lets just let it be what it is. Lets stop trying to prove one thing over another. Our religion is this, yours is that. Ok Jesus was a jew. In every religion there different sects. Jewish religion has orthadox, conservative and reform. I am sure he was talking about what g-d wanted us to do. Just like all other religions. Not starting a new religion just his interpretation of the text. Face it, we are all on the same path just different streets to get there.
That is exactly what they are priming you for in this country. There is no real truth, it is all relative right? Wrong! Truth is exactly what it is.
So true havin
Oh, by the way, if and when Jesus comes back. You are all invited to any synagogue or temple to worship with him, because he knows nothing about yours. After services we will have a oneg. It is not a jewish event without food.
Some church people came to my door once and said that Jesus had already come back sometime in the 1940's in Korea, so be sure to have some asian food there.
Wow, the man responsible for Christianity will know nothing about it.... great post david...really on the ball.
RP
Please prove he is responsible for Christianity. Oh I know you can't. He was a rabbi teaching what god wants us to do. Not another religion. Period. All the thing Jesus did also were done by other is the original text. Raising of the dead. Healing. Oh by the way, we believed in resurrection before he supposedly was.
Moreso than you think. There weren't Christian churches with crosses on them in his time. There wasn't Christmas or Easter for him either. So many "traditional" Christian habits would be very foreign to him (i.e. decorating trees, hiding eggs, etc.) According to religious texts and snippits of history, he spent much of his time teaching in the Jewish temples and what-have-you. He was Jewish in every sense of the word, other than the fact that he believed the messiah had come: himself. (If we are to believe the Bible. There is always the chance that he did not believe this at all, but rather believed that he was a spokesperson for God's word, ammending old rules and traditions with new ideas.)
Just so I understand...the son of God, for whom a religion was named after , wouldn't know what Christianity was?
Proof he is responsible...They named a religion after him, Da.
It's like saying Marx wouldn't know marxism if he came back. Or Elvis wouldn't know rock n roll.
if we did not have a bible or some belief we would be A" holes to one another can't we all just have faith that may be god is real , lets just let it be with out having to prove with science that any thing relating to god is true or false
with out any kind of belief what are we really? look we all in our time of despair look to the heavens and ask some one just hear our words of prayer , faith in some one or something is what we need but often we tend to be too busy for just a couple minutes of our time to hear some enlightenment is too much for us to bare
but for us to say god is fantasy or fable uless we have proof ( i call foul on you )
being that I was raised in a Christian home I am a believer. Not to say I don't question my religion or religion in general.
I do believe we will each stand before our maker and answer for our deeds in life. But what others do or don’t do is not for me as a Christian to judge. It’s between each individual and there maker what ever name they give it. Not to say I don’t use it as a tool to teach my children the difference between wrong and right to help hone there morals. I have said to my kids many a times “Hey do you think that’s a good idea.? Do you feel square with God in choosing to ***”
I think one has to remember religion and the Bible or the Koran or scrolls or what ever it be were all created by man. They are flawed as humans are. They have all been highly influenced by the powers that be (Churches, Leader's, Kings, Men of power) throughout history. The Bible for one is only pieces of books or doctrine. It's what we've been allowed to have, as not to see the whole truth and to be steered (like sheep)to believe in the Church it's self rather than religion (thank the Pope for that one) . I am a believer but I also feel that you have to read between the line's, make room for human error, (it has been translated many times) & influence. Is it the Red Sea or the Read Sea? There are things to be learned from it all and it should be taken into account. Put it on your list of things to read weather you believe or not. Just to broaden your perspective. I have also of my own free will and time (not in a class room) looked at many other religions. Silly as it my sound they all seem to start with the same story of how life began weather the Creator blew life into existence or spit in his hand mixed with dust. Same story different take on the actual happenings. If you had to give what scientists know now in lowlest of form or dummy it down for those who couldn’t fully comprehend it 2000 years ago, what do you think the story of creation would sound? Like a fairy tail? Any way, They (religions) all seem to have the same basic message. Treat others the way you wish to be treated (respect) and to always work for self-improvement (Jonathan Livingston Seagull)
I also feel that a lot of the stories we’ve read or heard were relevant in past times more so than in the now. Making it hard for people to relate to things like a guy being swallowed by a giant fish.
Science is a work in progress. The clues are all there but they are being tinkered with. There are things yet to be proven. Maybe the Bible and science can go hand in hand. Why is that so imposable? If all things made by God are perfect yet we see life evolving before our eyes why can’t we say God created Adam & Eve and they were primitive and evolved into men & women as we now know them to be today Homo-erects. Maybe the beauty in creation it’s self is what is perfect not the cemeteries of it all. Hey maybe his name was Adam because its code for atom (a basic unit of matter) life’s fundamental unit of structure and function. Maybe Eve is code for a bridge of chemistry. The enzymatic reaction between the two = life.
People here in these comment pages are trying to discount and debunk the history of a book & it’s stories that were written & told so that they could be comprehended by the masses of the time some 2000 years ago.
Science, Religion, Education, common or uncommon sense. What ever it be. Can we not all just get along?
Science that is motivated by religious belief just isn't doing science. All that brainwashing only results in a distorted mindset. You can't be completely objective which real science demands. Even scientists with no religious motive fall victim to tainted objectivity with the promise of such things as sound funding. Take a look at the pharmaceutical industry. Who's pulling the "scientific strings" there?