[papertyger]

So you're simply content to undermine the veracity of the Bible in a generalized, non-specific way?

[Elsie]

So you're simply content to undermine the veracity of the Bible in a generalized, non-specific way?

That's how we learned it in college!

[Accygirl]

I'm not undermining the Bible. I believe that it's absolutely true from a moral standpoint, and it provides great cultural/ anthropological insight into the lifestyle of semi-nomadic peoples in the Near East during the 9th/ 8th century B.C. However, it is not a history book, and anyone making that assumption is reading it wrong. The Hebrew Bible is an amalgam of works written at different times in the Israelites history. And most of the writings were shaped by the geopolitical/social situation occurring during the author's era more than they were an accurate representation of what happened in the past.