15
Jan
2011
History of the Bible
Submitted by Stephen Winters
When we look at historical events we need to realize
- There are the events that actually happened. There is a lot more happening, and a lot more people being affected by what happens, than anyone can ever know.
- Each person who ...... the event interprets it within the framework of his own past experiences, biases, prejudices, and his ability to understand and express what he knows or has learned.
- Written documents (of history, prophecy, poetry, psalms) etc. don't just get automatically written. They are written by educated people who have learned how to read, write, and to adequately express themselves.
- There are the perceptions of what happened of the people who actually lived through the events. They generally saw and interpreted the events by how those events affected them. They were also limited in their awareness and understanding by what they saw, heard, and experienced.
- There are the perceptions of what happened of
- Each person cherry-picks the bits of the event that happened that tends to (prove their case?).
- A true historian will thoroughly investigate, research, to find out what actually happened. He will also truthfully and accurately record events to the best of his ability and understanding. He will be truthful, honest, and ... in his writing out the record. Even so, he will only see what he sees from his limited perspectives.
How can we know if a written document is truthful and acurate?
- The document can be verified by what is known elsewhere. We probably won't be able to very every word and sentence in the document, but we should be able to verify bits and pieces of it.
- Our ability to recognize and understand whether or not something is true depends greatly on our awareness, education, knowledge ....
- Throughout history, when very few people could read, they depended upon those who could read.
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