BETWEEN THE SCRIPTURES AND FICTION: THEOLOGICAL STUDY OF THE BIBLE (Background)

CHAPTER 1

PRELIMINARY

BACKGROUND

Talking about the Holy Scriptures, especially the Bible, there are many discussions that question the truth of the Bible as a Bible that is without error but has been proven to be true of the data it has written. However, it is not easy to accept this fact, as is the view of Higher Critics of the Bible, whether it is the truth about the author, the year, or even the story in the Bible is just a fairy tale or fiction. Was the Bible (OT & NT) a figment of the writers?

The holy books of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam contain many stories and wisdom that can be used as lessons and instructions for humans to always be on the right path. In this paper the author wants to discuss about the Bible which is believed by Christians. Where the stories recorded in the book deal with the destruction of humans for violating God's commands, worshiping idols, and persecuting fellow humans. Some of the stories of the destruction can be seen until now, such as the carcass of Noah's ark found on Mount Arart, Turkey. Likewise about other relics associated with the place of residence/city and the figures mentioned in the Bible.

One of the famous archaeologists Nelson Glueck boldly concludes:

“But in fact, it can be clearly stated categorically that not a single archaeological discovery has ever contradicted any biblical reference. Many archaeological discoveries have been made to confirm historical statements in the Bible with clear outlines or definite details.”

Fair judgment demands that the Bible be judged on the same facts as any other book. Academic speculation and accusations based on intellectual fantasy, rather than facts, are not a standard of fair judgment. Ignorance and groundless denial or immorality, which try to justify evil Actions by rejecting divine standards, are also not grounds for fair judgment. By looking at the evidence of archaeological discoveries that actually prove the truth of the Bible, all questions that arise regarding the facts of the story in the Bible will be proven by the archaeological discoveries themselves.

Christianity is a religion based on facts (events that actually happened), and it is very important that these facts be proven. An unbelievable fact would be a contradiction. Ancient science is providing more and more evidence that the facts in the Bible can be trusted, not just myths and stories.

In this paper the reader will see the evidence that may be only a few percent of the many evidences of the truth of the Bible which is a fact either historically, scientifically, etc.