The Bible's Buried Secrets

[Azrael]

Yeah and a bad one at that..............

[stahrwe]

The Bible very clearly states that Moses did NOT lead the Israelites into the promised land.

Who cares what the bible says? What makes you think it's an accurate depiction of history? I'm already aware it's not accurate, so I couldn't care less. What I'm concerned with is why you believe this rubbish.

My tone would be completely different if you were analyzing the bible through the context that it's part truth, part fantasy, and loaded front to back with culture, rather than explanation. It's a story, that's all.

You miss the point which is that the statement about Moses is incorrect. Whether the Bible is right or wrong is not the issue. Nova did a SHOW claming to have unearthed secrets about the Bible and is asking viewers to invest their time in watching it. The circumstances surround Moses and the reason that he did NOT enter the promised land are not trivial. They are part of the text which Nova is using as a foundation for its attacks. My question is, who did the reseach for the show? Who did the fact checking? Who read the Bible sections to decide that only a handful of Canaanite slave left Egypt? I always get very critical when I see an error in an easily checked statement. It makes me wonder what else got 'messed' up. You defense is no defense, it isn't even relevant and I am suprised you used. it.

[Interbane]

Nova did a SHOW claming to have unearthed secrets about the Bible and is asking viewers to invest their time in watching it. The circumstances surround Moses and the reason that he did NOT enter the promised land are not trivial.

I know, it's important to you, sorry for being harsh. Your healthy skepticism should apply to everything, don't exclude the bible itself. Apply your skepticism to the claim that every human on Earth was only evil. If you are skeptical, where would your conclusion lay?

I don't know who Nova is, but I'll trust they aren't accurately representing the biblical story, per your critique.

[DWill]

Nova did a SHOW claming to have unearthed secrets about the Bible and is asking viewers to invest their time in watching it. The circumstances surround Moses and the reason that he did NOT enter the promised land are not trivial.

Okay, their bad. Moses only got them on the cusp of entering the Promised Land. And your thinking here as elsewhere is that any error of this sort disqualifies everything else the offender may say. It's like saying that your spelling errors disqualify your ideas from being considered. A balanced critical approach is to first evaluate the degree of success in achieving main objectives, whether it's a book or film documentary. It's fine to point our errors, but this comes last, and then always in the context of whether it weakens the main argument, and if so, how badly.

[stahrwe]

Nova did a SHOW claming to have unearthed secrets about the Bible and is asking viewers to invest their time in watching it. The circumstances surround Moses and the reason that he did NOT enter the promised land are not trivial.

Okay, their bad. Moses only got them on the cusp of entering the Promised Land. And your thinking here as elsewhere is that any error of this sort disqualifies everything else the offender may say. It's like saying that your spelling errors disqualify your ideas from being considered. A balanced critical approach is to first evaluate the degree of success in achieving main objectives, whether it's a book or film documentary. It's fine to point our errors, but this comes last, and then always in the context of whether it weakens the main argument, and if so, how badly.

It isn't only Moses, Nova ignores events described in Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy. The idea of a few Cannanite idealists seeking freedom does not explain the raging conflict described as taking place withing the Israelite camp, the longing to go back to Egypt and bondage, the rebellion against Moses and his authority, a reversion to idol worship. It's easier to ignore this than to explain it. That was my objection to TEoG and the fact that Nove is doing the same thing presents me with some disturbing possibilities. The first is that I can't trust Nova to accuratedly present the Bible as the Bible is presented to us, even allowing for skepticism. The second is... worse.

[DWill]

In other words, the events depicted in the Torah books have for you a substance and a feel of authenticity that you can't conceive as being merely legendary. I see the Gospel books in somewhat the same way, regarding whether or not Jesus existed. There is too much that wouldn't be included if story-telling was the only purpose; there's an attempt to preserve events and facts, although in my view this still results in a mixture of the real and the desired. Similarly, in the family history of Jacob, there is a lot that has the feel of life to it, contrasting with the different quality of legend and fable. Or perhaps the writers were novelists ahead of their time, I don't know. Obviously where I differ is that I think that a good deal of the Bible is in the heroic or epic mode common to the founding literatures of many peoples. That people back in those early days of the race lived to a prodigious old age is only one way that the origins of the Israelites were glorified.

By the way, does the bible mention specifically the age at which a woman died?

[stahrwe]

In other words, the events depicted in the Torah books have for you a substance and a feel of authenticity that you can't conceive as being merely legendary. I see the Gospel books in somewhat the same way, regarding whether or not Jesus existed. There is too much that wouldn't be included if story-telling was the only purpose; there's an attempt to preserve events and facts, although in my view this still results in a mixture of the real and the desired. Similarly, in the family history of Jacob, there is a lot that has the feel of life to it, contrasting with the different quality of legend and fable. Or perhaps the writers were novelists ahead of their time, I don't know. Obviously where I differ is that I think that a good deal of the Bible is in the heroic or epic mode common to the founding literatures of many peoples. That people back in those early days of the race lived to a prodigious old age is only one way that the origins of the Israelites were glorified.

By the way, does the bible mention specifically the age at which a woman died?

If Nova did a SHOW on Middle Earth, I would expect them to deal with it based on what Tolkien wrote. If Nova is going to do a SHOW about the Bible it needs to base its discussions on what is recorded there otherwise don't call the SHOW Buried Bible Secrets. Instead call it, Buried Secrets We Made Up While Ignoring the Material in the Bible. I don't require that Nova state the Bible is true but the approach they took is a joke. Talk about the Texas Sharpshooter Fallacy.