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36 of 36 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
enjoyable reading that leaves one wanting more recent info, June 22, 2004
This review is from: The Bible as History (Paperback)
Each chapter of this book begins with a quote from the Bible and then takes off with the author's narrative punctuated by the finds of archeology. Evidence for the Flood begins the correspondence between the Book and scientific findings. A lively account of the Israelites as they wandered in the desert and lived through the period of the kingdoms is dotted with possible, often plausible, explanations for seemingly miraculous events such as that of manna falling from heaven. The closer this book gets to current times, the more the Bible and known history from other sources begins to track until the end of the Old Testament. Frequently the author pulls back to take a broad view of what was happening in the wider world at a given time, Troy being attacked by the Greeks at about the time that the Israelites stood at the Jordan River ready to cross into Canaan, for example. Most of the archeological work cited dates from the 19th century through the 1930's. The Dead Sea Scrolls, discovered in the 40's are treated in detail, but I found myself wondering about all that must have been discovered since that time. There is a section near the end that attempts to bring the reader up to date with what was known by the 1970's including an account of the Shroud of Turin. The writing reveals the time in which the book was written, with the flavor of being directed at Boy Scouts; very earnest and with a sense of adventure. This doesn't mean it's a bad read. It's never boring, frequently educational and it keeps moving from start to finish. Keller doesn't mention something only to drop it; he follows a topic by examining different possibilities that might explain what the Bible relates. I enjoyed the book for the perspective it gave on the history of the Jews as they lived among many other peoples in the area, sometimes conquering, sometimes being conquered, sometimes being left alone, sometimes being evicted. A whole list of peoples that I had heard of, but would have had difficulty placing, (Hittites, Amorites, Scythians, Samaritans etc.) have been put like pieces into a puzzle by the 3500 year tapestry that Keller presents. The section on the New Testament reveals how virtually nothing can be said about Jesus by archeology, or written history from the time in which he lived. Keller properly points out how difficult it is to find evidence of a single life, contrasted with architectural constructions of cultures that lasted centuries. Good reading.
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23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Good little book for after-hours history buffs, June 4, 2001
This review is from: The Bible as History (Paperback)
I have read the other reviews on this site and I think a few miss the point. Keller admits he is a journalist with a well-developed fascination with biblical history, and this is meant as a book for the masses, not as an archaeological tome. As such, Keller doesn't make grandiose claims or conclusions, but rather sensibly, where there is evidence he points it out, and where there is conjecture, he points it out. I found it quite a useful little 'filler-inner' in my library, because there are lots of nifty little tid-bits that I haven't seen referenced in bigger, glossier books. For instance, I didn't realize that in Ur of the Chaldees several millenia ago, they were brewing beers, Pilseners, lagers, and dehydrating them for use on long journeys! If Keller was some fundamentalist moralist he wouldn't be 'brewing' on that subject at all... but as it is, he is pragmatic and states things as he sees them. And why not? Good luck to him! The only reason I didn't give it more than 3 stars was because the illustrations are predominantly from the 1955 edition, which I have also read... and the new little one doesn't have as many in-depth photos as that one did. With the wealth of modern visual imagery available, an effort on behalf of the publishers to cross-reference with landsat images and more modern photos would be appreciated and necessary I'd think. Anyhow... I enjoyed it, and there is no one book that can please everyone.. so my 'advice' is buy it (only 7 bucks!), and let whoever you get it for make up their own mind about it.
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21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Beginning weak, stick with it., August 10, 2002
This review is from: The Bible as History (Paperback)
I will admit that the first few chapters of this book were rather disappointing to me. The common thread seemed to be 'Archaeological Dig X gave incredible confirmation to this bible story. It's amazing! But then we discovered that we were wrong all along, and there was no confirmation after all." Next Chapter "Archaeological Dig Y gave incredible..." etc. etc. I decided to stick with it, though, simply because the way the history is presented is far more interesting than any textbook I've ever seen, and as such, more readable, easier to remember and learn. I'm glad I did, as after the first few chapters, there are some amazing discoveries that are written about. The best thing is that Keller takes nothing for granted. He's not the kind of scholar to ignore any evidence to the contrary, nor does he ever try to force any preconceived notions on the findings. Due to this, when he does present some amazing stories of corroborations between biblical and extrabiblical discoveries, it is easy to take on face value. Personally, I'm a suspicious reader, so I looked into some other books in the same field and was pleased to see that although the book does not always go into specifics, it never ignores the important ones to prove an erroneous point. Not only Christians can enjoy this, either. The skeptic will still gain a lot. The purpose of this book is not to prove or disprove the existence of miracles, nor is it really sufficient to prove truth in the Christian faith. All it does is allow you to look at the Bible as a historical document, and evaluate its validity from unbiased grounds, whether you agree with the religion or not. From this point of view, it is quite amazing, and should be respected as one of the most complete and continually corroborated pieces of history we have.
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