“The Bible’s Prehistory, Purpose, and Political Future”

Why Do We Have a Bible?
Emory University’s Jacob L. Wright examines the Bible as “road map to a brighter future”

www.biblicalarchaeology.org...

Why do we have a Bible from ancient Israel and Judah? Could something like it have existed among the Philistines, the Moabites, the Assyrians, the Babylonians or the Persians? If so, why haven’t they been transmitted throughout the ages and been translated into thousands of languages, as the Hebrew Scriptures have been? And why would such a sophisticated corpus of literature as the Bible have its origins in a remote region of the world (the southern Levantine hill country), rather than at the centers of ancient civilization (Mesopotamia and Egypt)? After all, these civilization centers boasted technological supremacy and military superiority. They were the ones who invented writing and easily conquered the population that produced the Bible. Finally, why has the Bible had such a huge impact on world history, shaping the identities of a very wide array of societies across the globe?

The course takes on this paramount question of the Bible’s raison d’être: its why and wherefore. The first two weeks of the class treat the history and archaeology of ancient Israel, and the subsequent weeks examine how the Biblical authors tell their history and interpret their past.

I have often seen the ridicule and hatred of the Biblical text, but this course takes us through past present and future, something that I always thought were lacking in the church.

The Bible's Prehistory, Purpose, and Political Future

How and why was the Bible written? Drawing on the latest archeological research and a wide range of comparative texts, this course synthesizes fascinating recent research in biblical studies and presents a powerful new thesis: Facing catastrophic defeat, the biblical authors created a new form of community—what today we would call "peoplehood." Their achievements bear directly on modern questions of politics, economics, and theology.


www.coursera.org...

reply to post by Stormdancer777


Same reason the Egyptian book of the dead was written, or the codex of Ur-Nammu. But of course you would say it's silly to invest in such archaic materials. Even though dozens of consecutive cultures borrowed elements from each other in the same manner that the Bible borrows from such materials as the Egyptian book of the dead and the codex of Ur-Nammu. Thorough research suggests the Bible is more an amalgamation of previous cultures than it is an original work of self-contained spiritual inspiration.

But with that said, I will leave others to decide for themselves.

reply to post by AfterInfinity



I have often wanted to do a Bible study instead of a Bible argument, together on ATS, this is a free course, I hope someone joins me.

If not I will just fill you guys in. Hopefully. If I don't forget.

Same reason the Egyptian book of the dead was written -

It was written but it didn't make the same impact on human history.

reply to post by Stormdancer777

It was written but it didn't make the same impact on human history.

It clearly did, since we're still using elements of it. Have you ever looked around and noticed that nothing is ever new, just relocated and reapplied, rejuvenated and redeployed? Same with the Bible. Nothing about it is new. Nothing about it is novel. Not even when the first copy was printed. The same old principles that have been floating around the globe in various languages and cultures were all amassed in one location, under a new name with the same goals and ideas in mind. That's how this stuff works.

reply to post by AfterInfinity


No it didn't , pleased don't derail my thread, I made it purposely for this study.
Thank you



The Bible's Prehistory, Purpose, and Political Future

How and why was the Bible written? Drawing on the latest archeological research and a wide range of comparative texts, this course synthesizes fascinating recent research in biblical studies and presents a powerful new thesis: Facing catastrophic defeat, the biblical authors created a new form of community—what today we would call "peoplehood." Their achievements bear directly on modern questions of politics, economics, and theology.


www.coursera.org... - See more at: www.abovetopsecret.com...

It was written but it didn't make the same impact on human history.

You mean except for the Bible right?

Interesting thread ...Not sure I can add anything to it but wanted to follow and maybe give my 1 cent hear and there .One thing I have come to discover as of late is how unique the Hebrew culture is compared to others .How they seemed to be able to remember their cultural feasts and how examining the details it resembles the New Testament . I really shouldn't be surprised though as I believe the Bible is the word of God ....peace

The course starts May 26

www.coursera.org...

Course Syllabus
Week 1: The Riddle That Has Yet To Be Solved
The Bible's Purpose
Books in Ancient Religions
Between "Church and State"
Theologies of the Bible
A Shared Text
The Bible as a "Pedagogical Program of Peoplehood"

Week 2: The Rise and Fall
Israel's Place in the World of the Ancient Near East
The Emergence of Two Competing Kingdoms
Military Triumphs
The Onslaught of Imperial Powers
Defeat and Deportation
Conditions of Conquest

Week 3: The Making of the Bible as a Response to Defeat
Diaspora and Divided Communities
Creating a Shared Past and Common Ancestors
The Pentateuch and Historical Narratives
One People with Multiple Law Codes
Creating a Collection of National Songs and Laments
Reinterpreting Prophecies
Comparative Cases: English and German History

Week 4: Reinventing the Hero
Martial Valor, Masculinity, and Martyrdom
Long Life versus Glorified Heroic Death
The New Role of the Family
From Battles to Building
Comparatives Cases: From the Crow Nation to Jane Austen

Week 5: A Wise and Discerning People
The Role of Education
National Education Programs: From 19th Century Germany to the Dalai Lama
From Deuteronomy to Ezra-Nehemiah
Freedom of Information and Open Access
Making Priestly Knowledge Public
The Attempts of the State to Control Prophets
Divine Knowledge for the People, Not Solely the King
The Reason Why Biblical Writings Survived Catastrophes

Week 6: Covenant and Kinship
The Rise of Empires
One God
A New "Political-Theology"
Covenantal Ethics of Peoplehood
The Power of Law
Protecting the Individual and Defending Difference
Caring for the Land

Week 7: The Bible's Future
The Bible's Pedagogical and Political Purpose
The Bible's Radical Theology
The Bible as an Attempt to Unify Rival Communities
The Bible's Impact on Political Identities Throughout the World
The Bible's Role in the Public Sphere and in Secular Society
The Bible as a Model for New Forms of Community

Not much I can add either, until it starts

I haven't delved into the links you've posted so won't comment on the source material, but will offer this comment, as to why the Judaic Bible has persisted where earlier religious texts (Assyrians, Sumerian, Egyptian, etc.) have perished. The ancient Rabbis learned to transmit their bible orally, and "built in" certain safeguards to prevent the text from morphing with each passing generation. That is the numerical "coding" used in the Hebrew script, like a modern-day "checksum" that assured the text remained unaltered. It was a safeguard against alteration the other cultures lacked. Those cultures religious texts varied greatly over time, and without that "Rabbinical devotion" to preservation, eventually died out.

reply to post by Stormdancer777


Oh sorry, I thought you were providing material for discussion, not plugging a religious seminar.

reply to post by Stormdancer777


The Bible contains a great deal that was lifted from the Egyptian Book of the Dead, including the 10 Commandments and much of the Book of Psalms. It contains a great deal of Babylonian law and the flood myth, which was also taken from Babylonian mythology.

The only reason we use the Bible, and its mythology as it exists today, is because other texts were destroyed, labeled as heresy or otherwise co-opted.

reply to post by Blackmarketeer


Good point . The embedded codes are a study in themselves .Not to be used a prophesy in themselves but as a way of confirming it .The numeral sequence's works like a dna self correcting code , and would take a very large computer to attempt to duplicate .(many layers )

reply to post by windword

Well that is a very big statement to say the bible comes from documents that don't exist anymore .A fact that is impossible to prove . The fact that we have a document might suggest that it influenced other cultures and be as equally valid as your's or have even greater status to say so .I wonder why you would use a inferior text considering you have the book of the dead .Sorry op for going ot for a sec ..I did say I might add my 1 cent hear or there :>)

reply to post by the2ofusr1


What are you talking about? We have the texts of the The Book of the Dead. He have the Epic of Gilgamesh and the Code of Hammurabi.

reply to post by windword

Oh well I didn't know that .It's great you have the books in order to read and study much like we have the bible to read and study .Isn't it great ? ....Now if someone wanted to make a thread to compare the different books that might be a good thing too ...it's all great :>)

reply to post by the2ofusr1



There are tons of comparative threads on the Bible and ancient texts here on ATS.

Personally, I'd rather read the originals that study skewed and biased forgeries.