# Is the Bible a pack of lies? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [May 14, 2003, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-bible-a-pack-of-lies/175195 "2003-05-14T13:43:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2003, 5:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-bible-a-pack-of-lies/175195/41 "2003-08-07T05:58:47Z")
Silberman, I mean not “Sibler.” (How did THAT typo get by me?) ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2003, 7:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-bible-a-pack-of-lies/175195/42 "2003-08-07T07:04:42Z")
Posted by **Diogenes the Cynic:** > [@](#): > > The archaeology in Israel show that there was never any migration of Israelites into the region from the outside. Israelite culture arose organically in the region and expanded. In his review of the book, Dan Lazare asserts that in Biblical times, a people’s title to their land was more firmly and reputably based on conquest than indigenous occupation; and I think this is probably true. So the Israelites and/or Judahites, at some point in their history, contrived a history that included their invading Caanan from the desert and taking it by force, and in some cases, genocide. This was intended to increase their status and legitimacy as a nation. It has been noted in this thread that _The Bible Unearthed_ undermines modern Israel’s “historical” claim to the Occupied Territories, etc. But consider: By the standards of today’s international community, Finkelstein and Silberman’s theory – that the Hebrews, or Jews, are the original people of Caanan/Palestine/Israel – actually strengthens their claim to the region – doesn’t it? (Just ask the Basques and the Kurds!) And they do note that some of the earliest archaelogical remains in the Jerusalem area are those of a tribe that, unlike its neighbors, never kept or ate pigs. I forget how old those remains are, but the authors say they offer the earliest known documention of a Jewish custom. At some point, a group of Bronze-Age-or-earlier people in the region of Jerusalem, who might have been ancestors of the modern Jews, decided not to eat pork. ---
**Author:** ![Noone\_Special](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/noone_special/32/2863_2.png) [@Noone\_Special](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Noone_Special)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2003, 7:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-bible-a-pack-of-lies/175195/43 "2003-08-07T07:41:37Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by C K Dexter Haven \* > \*\*It should be noted that Finkelstein and Silberman do not represent the majority of archaeologists – they are a school called “minimalists”, claiming that all of biblical history prior to about 700 BC was theological fiction, written during the Persian or Hellenistic era (say 500 - 400 BC). > > \*\* Just a note on Finkelstein’s credentials: He is the [Director of the Institute of Archaeology](http://www.tau.ac.il/humanities/archaeology/faculty/finkelcv.html) at Tel-Aviv University. TAU is a HIGHLY respected university - worldwide, not only in Israel - not, by any standard, a diploma-mill or quack-infested institution. So, while Finkelstein may be somewhat maverick in his views, he is not, by any means, a lone rider out in left field. I know Dex didn’t mean it, but to me his remark intimated that our friends here are “a shard short of reconstructing an ancient pot” :), so I just felt I had to point this out. Now, Silberman I don’t know from Adam… ---
**Author:** ![LudditeAndroid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8baadc/32.png) [@LudditeAndroid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LudditeAndroid)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2003, 8:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-bible-a-pack-of-lies/175195/44 "2003-08-07T08:04:52Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by BrainGlutton \* > \*\*Is the Bible a pack of lies? \*\* I wouldn’t say “a pack of lies” so much as “a hodgepodge collection of dubious assertions and rambling grandpa-simpson-esque stories.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-bible-a-pack-of-lies/175195.md?page=2)