The Bible Is History

Rating:
Summary: Through a Glass, Darkly
Review: Ian Wilson is a capable writer, and The Bible is History is a fascinating and balanced account of the historical underpinnings of the Old and New Testaments.

Although Wilson readily concedes that he is a believing Christian, he does not take a "fundamentalist" view of the history of Israel and early Christianity. For him, the Bible's stories were inspired by real people and events--though the details of what truly happened have been garbled by time, trauma and translation.

Wilson describes a number of archaeological finds that support, at least in general terms, the historical accuracy of the Bible. In his rationalist approach, for example, the Flood happened because of the collapse of a natural, prehistoric dam that separated the Mediterranean from the Black Sea; the fall of Jericho was probably caused by an earthquake; and the rise and fall of the Kingdom of Israel was a product of the power politics of the time.

The book is beautifully illustrated, and the author's passion for his subject is palpable. My only quarrel with The Bible is History is that Wilson allows his faith to carry him off a bit in the last chapter. There, he asserts that if the reader isn't persuaded that Jesus Christ is "death-transcending," then "both the Bible and this book have been a waste of time and effort." This is a bit much. Although I remain agnostic, I found Wilson's book to be well worth reading, and I commend it to both the faithful and the skeptical.

For those who enjoy Wilson's work, you might want to know that he will soon release "Before the Flood," which will explore the collapse of an ancient, natural dam that gave rise to the Flood legends of the Middle East. (Ryan & Pittman's Noah's Flood is probably the best treatment to date of this fascinating subject.)

Rating:
Summary: The Case for History
Review: Ian Wilson's new book, 'The Bible Is History', is an important contribution on the side of those who accept and look for historical truth in the Biblical text. Almost half a century ago, Werner Keller put together a text entitled 'The Bible As History', and Wilson states that it is his intention to carry on in that tradition, with updates from recent discoveries.

Write a book on the Bible, and you must expect people to throw rocks at you.

This is particularly true of this kind of book. On the one hand, it comes closer than most academically-acceptable histories of accepting the Bible as an historically accurate text. And yet, almost at the same time, Wilson undercuts the audience which may support his work most enthusiastically by agreeing with archaeologist William Dever, who once remarked that 'No archaeologist in his right mind would go searching for the Garden of Eden.'

Wilson explains the source-text theory of the Bible (with sources such as E, J, P, D, possibly others), basic archaeological and geological ideas, and flatly rejects what he terms (several times in the text, in fact) 'extreme fundamentalist' views such as the 4004 BC calculation for the date of creation, etc.

Having gotten past the hurdles that would fell many who would read and take this book seriously, he begins to explore the Bible as a primary source, and reconciles much with modern discoveries and interpretations in archaeology, history, and science. For instance, he talks about the recent Black Sea discoveries which may hold keys to massive flooding (as stated in Genesis). He unfortunately omits the discussion of the new satellite data which show a dried riverbed below the sands of the Saudi peninsula which could be a third of the four rivers from Eden (as two rivers mentioned are well known, Tigris and Euphrates, why should the other two be fictional? Ancient writers usually went to great lengths to make accurate markers, and probably are preserving ancient knowledge that they assumed would still be known to future readers.).

His discussion of evidence, and lack thereof, of various contentious points such as the Exodus, the conquest of Canaan, the warfare with the Philistines and the House of David itself, are compelling and interesting, if not entirely convincing.

The text is beautifully illustrated with drawings, pictures, and maps. He provides many useful tidbits throughout the text, like a handy chart which shows the parallel and development of alphabetic and pictogram characters, including Proto-Sinaitic, Byblos tomb script, Moabite stone script, Aramaic, Dead Sea Scroll, Hebrew Bible, and Greek alphabetic script. Wonderful pictures of recent archaeological finds are included; satellite photos of regions are set next to geopolitical maps; all of this is used to support the various parts of the Bible Wilson sets forth.

This book will most likely irritate more than satisfy historians and scholars of all schools of thought, including the minimalists of which Wilson is most likely one. But it is a good read, with a lively style and interesting layout, brief chapters to tantalise and stimulate debate. With equal care for the sanctity of the text and the ever-changing nature of modern evidence, Wilson has given us a good volume for study and reflection. Given the illustrations, it would also make a good 'coffee table' book.

Rating:
Summary: From the movements of waters to the myths of ancient peoples
Review: Modern scholars see the Bible as a mix of myth, mistakes, history and misinterpretation: this examines the latest findings of Biblical archaeologists to provide new perspectives on arguments surrounding the Bible's contents. From the movements of waters and earthquakes to the myths of ancient peoples and relics which prove Biblical scenes, The Bible Is History provides an intriguing examination.

Rating:
Summary: Great information for a layman
Review: This book may be readable and full of color pictures, but it is a disappointment to those of us who expected a dispassionate review of the subject, containing not only existing information but the latest developments.

What the informed reader will find instead is an author who passes himself off as dispassionate but has culled the available archeological evidence to a group of facts which support Biblical detractors. Christians may actually be offended by the book. A few examples should illustrate the point.

The first sentence in Chapter 1 states "No archaeologist in his right mind would go searching for the Garden of Eden." Mr. Wilson must certainly be aware that the Smithsonian magazine used LANDSAT images to define the boundaries of the Garden and reported it in their May 1987 issue. After all, the names of the four rivers flowing through the Garden are listed in the Bible.

Further-on in Chapter 1 the author repeats perhaps the favorite story of detractors with regard to Noah's Ark -- the story of Ferdinand Navarra who in 1955 found a piece of wood on Ararat that he thought might be from the Ark. Subsequent carbon-14 dating showed it to be from the 7th or 8th century A.D., which is consistent with the construction of a monestary on Ararat by Byzantine monks. That's the sum total of evidence in support of the Ark. Omitted is the account of Berossus (as quoted by Polyhistor), records from Nicholas of Damascus (as cited by Josephus), all of the local knowledge, as was painstakingly recorded by Marco Polo while on his way to China, and so forth. Although there is disagreement among these sources regarding the exact location of the Ark, all of the historical records indicate that the Ark is located in the Ararat region, just as the Bible states. The author implies that the Biblical Ark account is a myth, but to successfully do so he ignores volumes of information.

In Chapter 2, the author forgets that he is writing a book on Biblical archaeology and gets lost on an extended tangent into pagan rituals, going so far as to describe genitalia in sufficient detail so as to be inappropriate for young children. Further-on in Chapter 2, Abraham is described as a "hillbilly," although he came from the great Sumerian city of Ur.

Enough said. The point is made.

Biblical detractors will enjoy this book, but it would not be advisable to rely on the scant information contained therein for any debate with an informed archaeologist, or an informed Christian for that matter.

I gave the book one star because I expect works on Biblical archaeology to be objective explanations of all the available information pertaining to the Bible. This book does not pass the test.

The reader would be well advised to stick to the classics if an understanding of all available information is desired. In the case of Biblical archaeology, these are "Archaeology and the Old Testament" by Alfred Hoerth, and "Archaeology and the New Testament" by John McRay. Both books have recently been updated to unclude the latest information and are full of pictures, although the pictures are black and white -- a small price to pay for accurate and complete information.

Rating:
Summary: Historically plausible
Review: This book's purpose is to take a look at the historical evidence supporting the Biblical narratives and also takes a fresh look on the various theories wrought with imperfect information that have either advanced or hindered the perspectives many take toward the Bible. Although it is nearly impossible to eliminate preconceived bias, this book does approach the subject as well as anyone ever has. Not only does he advance the plausibility of certain events that have been questioned from a historical perspective, but also challenges some long-standing notions of "proof" for certain events with more practical notions of reality that don't discredit the Bible. This author very clearly challenges the notion of a strictly literal reading in instances yet does so in a non-combatant style. This book does a nice job of leaving out religion per se and focusing on the evidence supporting historical plausibility. If nothing else, to come away from this book and think the Bible is pure fantasy with just smatterings of reality would be irrational.

Rating:
Summary: Entertaining and informative - but use some perspective
Review: Whatever subject Ian Wilson deals with, he is thorough and well reasearched. He usually sides with one point of view or the other, not being merely a surveyor of previous arguments, but never forgets that there are other perspectives, possibly equally as persuasive as his own.

A balanced approach like this is always going to be difficult medicine for fundamentalists (both religious and scientific) but for the reader with a suitable interest in the given subject, it usually means time well spent.

His thesis in this book is that there may be rather more historical veracity in the bible (particularly the Old Testament) than has it has recently been fashionable to acknowledge.

The book is a mixture of various intriging possibilities and is generally an invitation to think, which can never be a bad attribute for a book.

This book will not change your life, or fundamentally alter your view towards the bible, but you will enjoy the writing, the illustrations and may be encouraged to read around the subject further.

Rating:
Summary: Good Book For Everyone
Review: Wilson's text provides a very readable survey of the archaeological and historical evidence that offers confirmation of events and places described in the Bible, particularly the Old Testament. The reader does not need to be religious or well-read in Biblical studies to enjoy the unique historical perspectives of this book.