The Bible Is History

by Ian Wilson

Book Overview

The question of whether the Bible contains any element of historical truth has been the cause of one of the most compelling debates of this century. Ian Wilson looks at the latest findings of eminent... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0895262509
• Release Date: April 2000
• Publisher: Regnery Pub
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 2.62 lbs.
• Dimensions: 10.8" x 0.8" x 8.3"

Customer Reviews

Fantastic Book, A MUST READ for EVERYONE

The author does nice job of compiling thought provoking question and answers which are backed by hard facts and brilliant deduction. The photos and illustrations are full color and used appropriately. The book is big, but not long. It reads easy and is highly interesting, which made it a 2 - 3 day read for me. A MUST HAVE FOR CHURCH LEADERS, ESPECIALLY HARDCORE PROTESTANTS.

The Case for History

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 mos

From the movements of waters to the myths of ancient peoples

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.

A Journey Through Biblical History

This reader highly recommends Wilson's latest work. THE BIBLE IS HISTORY takes the reader on an archaeological journey through Biblical history from Noah's Deluge to the early Christian Church. Wilson informs the reader in the preface (p.9) that he wishes the book to be a replacement for Dr. Werner Keller's classic THE BIBLE AS HISTORY, and this work may very well acheive this stature with time. Keller's book has become somewhat of a historio-archaeological classic in itself, but, is now quite dated. The best part Wilson's new work is the presentation of the latest archaeological discoveries which, over recent years, have repeatedly confirmed the Bible as a genuine aperture for viewing ancient historical events. Some of these discoveries include: The finding of the Nile Delta Asiatic statue that may indeed depict the Biblical Joseph of the Old Testament (See also the book PHARAOHS AND KINGS by Egyptologist David M. Rohl who supports this interpretation); recent re-linking of the Theran/Santorini volcanic catastrophe with the Biblical Plagues in Egypt; the latest on ancient Jericho and the Conquest; the 1993 Tel Dan fragment discovery that confirms the historicity of King David (to the dismay of Mimimalists!); Leen Ritmeyer's research on the location of Solomon's Temple Most Holy upon the present es-Sakhra under the Dome of the Rock; The latest on the Dead Sea Scrolls; The Capernaum `House of Peter;` the 1986 discovery of the Galilee Boat; the 1990 discovery of the ossuary of Caiaphas, the High Priest who sentenced Christ; and of course, Wilson's long project, the Turin Shroud. The only weakness this reader found disturbing was that Wilson dismisses out of hand the revolutionary revison of ancient historical dating made by David Rohl (and others), claiming that the discovery of a scarab of Nefertiti in an ancient shipwreck of Turkey has disproven the re-dating of Rohl and others. To the contrary, scholars have already addressed this issue, and there are explanations for the Nefertiti discovery within the revisional framework. All and all, if you are a Biblical believer, or just fascinated by ancient Biblical history, this is a book you must have in you library!