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

CHAPTER II

CONTENTS

VIEWS ABOUT THE BIBLE ARE FICTION

The Bible was written based on the facts that were known at the time. All Scripture is scientifically and historically accurate, and the scientific and historical implications of the Bible are constantly being clarified and confirmed by modern archaeological finds. In the 19th century skeptics and archaeologists accused the Bible of making fictitious statements when referring to the Hittites, because there is not a single extra-Biblical evidence for that nation.

One of the theologians, S Wismoady Wahono, in his book Here I found: instructions for studying and teaching the Bible, says that the Bible does have historical stories that are supported by facts. But in the Bible there are also stories that are difficult to find factual support. The stories about the ancestors of the Israelites are more of a saga than a historical one. Saga is a historical story that is not accompanied by facts. Saga reflects the intuitive internal understanding of a society regarding the facts of society's life itself. The saga reflects more on historical experience than official accounts of that history.

Higher Critism (High Criticism) they examine or test the Bible in terms of history, the form of the subject matter and the arguments of other books, where they criticize the writing of this Bible in the same way as criticizing other secular books. Basically this high criticism is also used correctly will establish and prove that the Bible is not the imagination of the writers and will lead to the true truth based on historical evidence, be it in the form of archeology, etc. However, in its development, this Higher Critical theological thought doubts the truth of the Bible as a record that actually happened and God is the author of that writing.

THE IMPORTANCE OF ARCHAEOLOGY TO PROVE THE VALIDITY OF THE BIBLE

The word archeology in Indonesian is the equivalent of the English word archaeology. The word in English comes from two Greek words, namely archaios which means old / ancient, and logos which means word, case, story, or saying. So it can be concluded that the meaning of the word archeology is a story / word / conversation about ancient things. However, the word archeology is more precisely when applied to historical sources that were not known before various systematic excavations/excavations by prioritizing archaeological principles to find them. Archeology is the branch of science that looks at ancient civilizations, and investigates their history in all fields through the remains of art, architecture, monuments, inscriptions, literature, language, tools, traditions and all other surviving examples.

Archeology has repeatedly confirmed the Bible's accuracy. In earlier years, before the rapid advances in archeology, skeptics argued that certain peoples and places were myths and never existed. But those doubts have been removed one by one through excavation and sweeping of ancient sites. About 200 years ago, a group of scientists collected 82 Bible "errors". Since then, archeology and the development of understanding ancient languages and cultural contexts have solved each of these “mistakes”. God's Word is proven true down to the smallest details.

Speaking of biblical archeology, in modern times many archaeologists are paying attention to searches throughout the Ancient Near East to prove the places – with people and events that took place – as recounted in the Old and New Testaments. In this regard, the Bible is a rich source of information regarding documentary material, but it is also often dangerous if excessive reliance on the texts in them because they involve faith will obscure access to neutrality from their archaeological value.

The Bible tells of events that are closely related to humans and certain places. Most of his teachings are based on personal experience or the history of the nation. So what is found in the Bible is not abstract truth, but the works and words of God in the history of His people. It is therefore impossible for us to understand the Bible properly without knowledge of the history and culture of ancient times. And to acquire this knowledge, archeology is absolutely necessary. Through archeology, experts find the remains of ancient relics, including writings in ancient languages. Thus, we get a variety of information about human life in the past, including in the Old Testament and New Testament times. So archaeological discoveries are needed to prove authenticity, historical and scientific facts.

Indeed, archaeologists are not absolute to state or prove that the Bible is Pharaoh God, but to understand the historical story recorded in the Bible about human life thousands of years ago, archaeological discoveries are very important to support the truth of the facts that the Bible has recorded.

HISTORY AND UNIQUE OF THE BIBLE

The Bible is a term for a collection of texts that are considered sacred in Judaism and Christianity. The word "Bible" used in Indonesian comes from Arabic, and is also used by Muslims to refer to the Qur'an. The Bible is a collection of scriptures written at different times, by different authors in different locations. Jews and Christians (Christians) view the books of the Bible (OT&NT) as the result of divine inspiration, and as an authoritative record of the relationship between God and man.

By the 2nd century BC, Jewish groups had referred to the Bible's books as "scriptures" and called them "holy" or "holy". Christians call it "The Holy Bible". In Indonesia generally use the term "Bible". Stephen Langton divided the Bible into chapters (or chapters) in the 13th century, and a French printer named Robert Estiene divided it into verses in the 16th century. Currently, the Bible is generally divided into books, chapters, and verses. The oldest complete copy of the Bible still preserved today is an early 4th (fourth) century parchment book kept in the Vatican Library, known as the Codex Vaticanus.

There is no other book like the Bible, which was written over a period of about 1,500 years; written on three continents, in three languages – Hebrew, Greek, and Aramaic; its writers come from all walks of life, from kings to farmers, and the Bible deals with a variety of issues. However, the Bible exhibits an amazing unity, consistency and continuity, a logic that is impossible for human beings to achieve, so it is clear that the source of this Bible is God Himself. Nor is there a book in the world which has been translated into the many languages of the world, which remains today the world's best-selling book, no other book which has been so carefully studied, which gave birth to so many songs, liturgies, meditations, sermons, has been heavily attacked, which has stirred up a grand defense, etc. Dr. James Orr, General Editor of the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, he expressed the interest of scientists in this book (the Bible). The thing that makes this book catch everyone's attention is that it is these amazing facts about the things the Bible provides that encourage a constant search for Bible truth.

THE EXISTENCE AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE BIBLE

The Bible was written by people who lived in a particular environment and whose culture and ideas were shaped by that environment. The nations mentioned in the Bible are included in the cultural area where agriculture is the main priority. Palestine is located at the southwest end of the area known as the Fertile Crescent which forms a curve from the Persian Gulf to the Mediterranean/Mediterranean Sea along the hills at the foot of the low mountains surrounding the Syria-Arab desert. Today what is known as the Land of the Bible is an area that includes the states of Israel and Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Iraq, Iran, Egypt, Sudan, Turkey, Greece, Cyprus, Italy, and Malta.

The first Bible texts were written on papyrus, a type of paper made from papyrus. Each papyrus was glued together and rolled up as a scroll. The discovery of the Bible passage which is named as the “Dead Sea Scroll” believed to be written on papyrus around 125 BC in the Qumran cave, is a clear proof of the validity of the Bible. Comparison of the kangundan manuscript (handwritten) complete Hebrew text of Isaiah on the scroll with the Old Testament where there are not many significant differences except spelling. While the New Testament has also been documented as many as 24,633 manuscripts whose original language was written in Greek. There are approximately 5,500 copies that still exist today. Most of the collected New Testament manuscripts were written between AD 150-200.

On the material side, the Bible as a whole is a book of history, and the great truths about Christianity are based on historical facts revealed in the Bible. The statements in the New Testament are based on the Old Testament, so the accuracy of the Old Testament is important. Regarding the inerrancy of the Bible, Free continues “Biblical believers do not think that the translation of the Bible into other languages is inerrant. Hundreds of manuscripts have been passed on to their readers and the differences in the manuscripts h is so small that none of the differences alter a very important Christian truth. The surviving Hebrew Old Testament manuscripts show very little difference. These manuscripts have been written with great care so as to show less variety of readings.” Thus the differences that occur in each translation cannot be a benchmark that the Bible is the author's work.

ARCEOLOGICAL EVIDENCE ABOUT THE BIBLE

In the Bible, readers will always encounter names, objects, and circumstances that date back to ancient times in Palestine, Syria, Egypt, Babylon, etc. Then the question of how the things written in the Bible look like? etc. For example, the stone knives came from the hill of el'Oreme (on the shores of Lake Genesaret). The Bronze Age was preceded by the Stone Age; these flint knives date back to the younger stone age or neolithicum. Such flint knives were used by Joshua, when he took stone knives to circumcise people (Joshua 5:3). Likewise Zipporah took a stone knife to circumcise her son (Ex. 4:25).

History provides ample evidence that the Bible's description of life in Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Medo-Persia, and others corresponds to reality. Several kings of these various nations are mentioned in the Bible, and not one is presented in a way that does not match the known historical facts about these kings. Archeology also provides ample evidence to corroborate the biblical record. The clay tablets found in Babylon contain the account of the flood which bears a great deal of resemblance to the biblical account. The Nuzi sheets, explain the actions of Sara & Rahel in giving their female servants to their respective husbands. Ancient Egyptian scripts & alphabets show that people were able to write more than a thousand years before the time of Abraham. Archeology also confirms that the Israelites lived in Egypt, that they were enslaved there, and that they eventually left Egypt. The Tel-el-Amarna tablets prove that the book of Judges is trustworthy. It is important to note that no archaeological discovery has ever proven the falsity of a biblical statement.

In fact, more than 25,000 locations have been found and documents that confirm the accuracy and reliability of the Bible's record of events, community groups, chronology of events, and so on. Archaeological research continues today, and many archaeologists actually use texts from the Bible to help them find historical places.

In line with that view, the view of Dr. Criswell examines the Bible and its history with evidence: no greater miracle has been found on earth than this, which has not been unearthed by archaeologists but has been confirmed by the Bible. They have excavated each mound and then described ancient sites on the Fertile Crescent plain from Babylon down to Egypt. And every artifact they have ever dug up and found, every potsherd (such as a jar), every inscription, every cuneiform, every hieroglyphic fragment, all of them without exception support the truth of the Bible. Previously they had said, "When the Bible says: Moses wrote, it is something "impossible", impossible, because at that time no writing had been found, or at that time people could not write. Then the archaeologists started digging, the sand dunes in Egypt, they dug and found the Tel El-Amarna Tablets. Then in southwest Syria they dug and found Ugaritic literature at Ras Shamra. Then they finally found a library containing many Cuneiform Tablets in Ebla. And now we know that the found writings show that more than a thousand years before Moses, many people had already started writing.

Regarding the Hittites who were attacked by the skeptics that the tribe was not real. Then the archaeologists began to dig, and they found the ruins of this Hittite empire. The great empire before Egypt was the Hittite kingdom, then the Egyptian kingdom, then the Babylonian empire, then the Assyrians, then the Babylonians again, then the Persians, then the Alexander or Greek empires, and then the Romans. But the first great empire that ever existed was the Hittite kingdom.

They (skeptics and critics) mock and ridicule the Book of Daniel which records that the last king of Babylon was Belshazzar. They believe they have solid evidence that this historical record in the Bible is wrong. Because no name of Belshazzar ever lived to be the last king of Babylon. And they have cylinder K ores they found in their excavations. They took it as evidence. In Cyrus' list of all Babylonian kings, the last king was Nabonidus. Then the archaeologists started excavating the earthen mounds in Babylon, and they found all the tablets written in Cuneiform. And found a biography of Belshazzar. His father, Nabonidus, did not like to be in court, and he lived by springs in the Arabian desert, and his son, Belshazzar, reigned as king of his kingdom.

The Bible has proven itself to be true again! Then all the scholars scoffed and said that John could not possibly have written the fourth Gospel. His theological thinking was too advanced to be written in the first century. It could not have been written before two hundred and fifty years after the time of Christ. And while almost all faithless academics and false theologians were shouting, on a mound in Egypt a papyrus was found written about 95 A.D. and this papyrus quotes the 18th chapter of the Gospel of John. Archeology will always prove the truth of God's Word. And when archaeologists dug in, they found out that it actually corroborates the truth of God's Word, the Bible.

Some examples of the many archaeological discoveries that confirm the Bible's accuracy include:

1. Notes on Events:

a. The walls of the temple of Amun confirm the attack of the Egyptian king Sishak, against Israel in 1 Kings 14:25-26

b. The Mesa inscription confirms Moab's resistance to Israel recorded in 2 Kings 3:4-27.

c. The walls of the Palace of Sargon II confirm Ashdod's defeat recorded in Isaiah 20:1

d. The record of the food rationing that took place in Babylon confirms the arrest of Joachiah recorded at 2 Kings 24:15-16; 25:27-30

e. Cyrus Cylinder's liberation of the captives of Judah (supporting Ezra 1:1-4) is confirmed by Cyrus Cylinder.

2. Places where events occur:

a. Kuin Baal at Shechem

b. Pools of Gibeon, Heshbon, and Samaria

c. The water tunnel under Jerusalem that King Hezekiah dug

d. The magnificent palace of King Belshazzar in Babylon

e. Susan's magnificent palace (with memories of Esther and Mordecai).

3. Some of the Characters that were confirmed:

a. Yehu

b. Hazael

c. Sargon II

d. Esar-haddon

e. Merodakh-Baladan

f. Darius I

g. Herod Agrippa I

h. Pilate

i. Caiaphas.

Scientists confirm archaeological and philological (linguistic) evidence that the Bible record is accurate. Archaeological discoveries continue to astonish skeptics who claim that the Bible is full of errors, even though he has little knowledge of the Bible record or historical knowledge.

INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL EVIDENCE BIBLE GOD'S WORD

Even though the Bible is basically composed of sixty-six different books, written on three continents, in three languages, over a period of ±1500 years, and by more than 40 authors from various different backgrounds. The Bible remains a unity, from cover to cover, without contradiction. This unity is different from other books and is evidence of the divine origin of the words of the Bible as God moved people in such a way that they recorded what He said.

Other internal/internal evidence indicating that the Bible is truly God's Word can be seen in the detailed prophecies recorded in the Bible. The Bible contains hundreds of prophecies spoken in fine detail relating to the nations, the nation of Israel, the future of certain cities, the future of mankind, until the coming of Him who is the Messiah, the Savior of mankind not only for Israel, but for all. people who believe in Him. Unlike the prophecies found in other religious books, the Bible prophecies are very detailed and have never been unfulfilled and will certainly be fulfilled. In the Old Testament, there are approximately three hundred prophecies concerning Jesus Christ. Not only was it prophesied where He would be born and from what family, but also how He would die and rise again on the third day (see the book of the prophet Isaiah). There is absolutely no logical way to explain the fulfillment of Bible prophecies except that the Bible is from God. No religious book has the level and type of prophecy as contained in the Bible.

In addition to internal evidence that the Bible really is God's Word, there is also external evidence (from outside) that shows that the Bible really is God's Word. One of those evidences is the history of the Bible. Because the Bible provides details of historical events, its veracity and accuracy can be proved just like any other historical documentation. Through archaeological evidence and other writings, historical stories in the Bible have been proven to be true and correct his father. In fact, all the archaeological evidence and manuscripts that support the Bible, make the Bible the most documented book of the ancient world. The Bible has been repeatedly attacked and attempted to be destroyed, more often than any other book in history. From Roman emperors like Diocletian, to communist dictators and modern-day atheists and agnostics, the Bible has withstood all attacks and is still the most widely printed book. Over time, skeptics have regarded the Bible as a myth, but archeology has proven the history of the Bible.

Opponents attack Bible teaching as primitive and outdated, but the moral and legal concepts and teachings of the Bible have had a positive influence on cultures and societies around the world. The Bible continues to be attacked by science, psychology, and political movements, but it is as true and relevant today as it was when it was first written. The Bible is a book that has changed countless lives and cultures in these 2000 years. No matter how opponents try to attack, destroy or demean the Bible, it remains solid and true and relevant before and after being attacked. The Bible's accuracy that persists despite various attempts to damage, attack or destroy it is a clear testimony that the Bible is truly the Word of God. It is not surprising that however the Bible is attacked, it will escape and remain unchanged. Didn't Jesus say, "Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away" (Mark 13:31). After seeing the evidence above, we will be increasingly confirmed that the Bible is a fact that really happened, if there are many questions about the 'error' of the Bible, then the Bible itself will answer either through archaeological discoveries or from other things.

So, the evidence that the Bible is a fact based on archaeological discoveries and the truth of world history from the information it contains is proof that the Bible is the Word of God written by so many writers in different places and times but with one source, namely God Himself.