[__ Science __ ] Fact-Checking the Bible

[AIG.com]

Does archaeological evidence line up with the Bible’s historical claims?

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[T. E. Smith]

Christians didn’t originally present their claims to a credulous and accepting audience; they had to defend their claims, often to hostiles, especially when speaking about events that happened in history that can be placed on a map and a timeline.

False. People were a lot less critical then. And you can just read the book of Acts and see that for the most part, the audience was very accepting. Sure, there were some skeptics, but a lot less than today.

(Of course, I think Acts is a fabrication, but I'm talking to Christians here.)

The Bible Wins the Debate with Carbon-Dated Camel Bones​

AiG is so hypocritical. Carbon dating also proves an earth older than 6,000-10,000 years in age. But AiG insists that carbon dating cannot be trusted there! But when carbon dating supports their view, then oh no, actually, it can be trusted!

However, archaeological evidence shows that the Israelites, at least some of the time, worshipped Asherah as Yahweh’s consort. Some scholars, who believe Israel started out as a group of Canaanites and that this history was later erased by priests to encourage monotheism, say that this evidence proves the biblical account of the history of Israel was at the very least edited by partisan individuals.

All true. That was the old view. Then it was edited and changed and condemned.

Another contention is that there is no evidence of the overall sophistication—for instance, that the golden age of Solomon would imply.

These are arguments from silence—we haven’t found evidence for those populations. But arguments from silence are inherently tricky, especially when it comes to archaeology.

Actually, arguments from silence are legitimate if we would expect to find evidence. For example, we'd expect to find evidence of a worldwide flood if it ever happened, which we do not have any evidence for. Thus it is likely that it did happen. Besides, what can be asserted without evidence can be dismissed without evidence. If one asserts a Solomonic golden age without evidence, it can also be dismissed without evidence.