Read Ebook: Biology versus Theology. The Bible: irreconcilable with Science Experience and even its own statements by Julian

Font size: 10 px 15 px 20 px 25 px 30 px 35 px

Background color: BlackWhiteGrayLight GrayDark GrayDim Gray

Text color: BlackWhiteGrayLight GrayDark GrayDim Gray

Apply/Save settings

Ebook has 226 lines and 33580 words, and 5 pages

Presuming the Bible text to be correct, the three millions led by Moses into the wilderness would require daily for food 3,000 oxen and 30,000 sheep, that is allowing half-a-pound of food per head. Of course meat might be replaced by bread, but it would not decrease the difficulty to have corn to carry across the Red Sea. As it was 45 days before manna was supplied, the fugitives must have driven before them 1,135,000 sheep, and 135,000 oxen. Hence there were three million of men, women, and children, a mixed multitude of camp followers, more than a million sheep, and 135,000 head of oxen to lead in flight across the Red Sea, with the horsemen and chariots of Pharaoh in pursuit. Of course, on the reduced scale of 6,000 instead of 600,000, all this would be divided by 100; and although there would still remain above a thousand oxen and eleven thousand sheep, the numbers would be much more manageable; but the writer of the Book of Exodus is responsible for the larger numbers, and with them only are we concerned.

Akin to the above is the extravagant numbers given in Scripture of the fighting men mustered on several occasions by the petty kingdom of Israel before it was divided, and of the still more petty states of Judah and Israel after the revolt of the ten tribes. The whole undivided kingdom was nominally 60 miles broad, and 140 miles long, less than the county of Yorkshire. Much of this never came into the power of the Hebrews, and more than three-fourths was desert. After the division each kingdom was about the size of Norfolk and Suffolk.

Let us first take two examples of the undivided kingdom. At the close of David's reign, the number of fighting men is given as 1,300,000; and, after the revolt, Abijah, grandson of Solomon, is said to have headed an army of 400,000 chosen men against Jeroboam, who had 800,000 men under him. This gives 1,200,000 fighting men in two petty kingdoms, the aggregate of which was less than the principality of Wales. But what will be said of the sequel? the 400,000 men under Abijah slew 500,000 of the enemy! with swords and bows!!

The late unhappy, but gigantic contest between Germany and France, makes us pretty familiar with war, the size of armies, and the number slain by the most murderous instruments ever used by man. Suppose Gambetta had said 400,000 Frenchmen had slain 500,000 Prussians, should we believe it? Suppose he had said that 500,000 out of 800,000 had fallen by the sword, should we believe it? It is wholly irreconcilable with experience, and most incredible.

Come we now to an example or two of the divided kingdom. The kingdom of Judah was about equal in area to the two counties of Norfolk and Suffolk, but what are we told of its army?

Asa, grandson of Rehoboam, King of Judah, had 300,000 heavy-armed troops, and 280,000 light-armed, nearly 600,000, and "all mighty men of valour!!"

Jehoshaphat, son of Asa, had an army of 1,160,000 soldiers, "all mighty men of valour!"

Amaziah, King of Judah, had 300,000 "choice men, handling spear and shield, above 20 years old," and a mercenary contingent of 100,000 Israelites, which he hired for 100 talents of silver .

Uzziah's army consisted of 307,500 trained soldiers "under 2,600 chief officers."

No such armies as these correspond with our experience. Compare the armies of Europe with those of these petty princes, and see how wholly irreconcilable are these statements to the plain unvarnished statements of dry facts.

We have given one instance of slaughter under Abijah, king of Judah, and will now add one example of Pekah, king of Israel.

Pekah is said to have slain in one day 120,000 valiant men of Judah, and to have carried away captive 200,000 souls, with much spoil.

Where there is no motive for exaggeration the numbers are much more modest. Thus the army of Sennacherib, king of Assyria, no doubt, was very formidable, but it dwindles to nothing compared to the gigantic armies of Judah and Israel. The army of the "great king" amounted only to 185,000 men ; if Judah could muster its million or even half million of valiant men, all in the prime of life, there was no need of a miracle to lay the invaders in the dust.

We will conclude this part of our subject with a few examples of incredible statements, which cannot be classed under the foregoing heads.

Joshua, vi., 20.

A procession of priests is said to have walked round the fortifications of Jericho, and when they blew with their trumpets "the walls fell down flat."

Judges, iii., 31.

Shamgar, we are told, slew 600 of the Philistines with an ox-goad. Doeg, the Edomite , "with his own hand," slew in one day 85 persons "who wore a linen ephod," besides "all the men and women, children and sucklings, asses, oxen, and sheep," of the town of Nob. Abishai, David's brother-in-law , slew 300 with his own spear; but Adino, the Eznite, , slew with his own hand in one battle 800 men Impossible as these statements undoubtedly are, they dwindle into insignificance before the exploit attributed to Samson , who, "with a new jawbone of an ass," slew 1000 Philistines . A thousand men laid low by one with no other instrument than an ass's jaw ; but the marvel does not end here, for when Samson had thrown away his weapon, "there came water from a hollow place in the jaw," and the thirsty Samson drank thereof to revive his fainting spirit.

Ruth, iv., 21, 22.

Boaz was great grandfather of David, and the mother of Boaz was Rahab the harlot. In this brief space is to be crowded all the events recorded in the book of Joshua, the book of Judges, the book of Ruth, and part of the First Book of Samuel, a period of about 400 years.

We are informed by the writer of the book of Kings that some of the routed host of Benhadad fled to Aphek, when a wall fell, and by its fall crushed to death 27,000 of them .

Elijah is said to have brought fire from heaven by his bare word, and by this means were consumed two companies sent to arrest him, each company consisting of 50 men.

Jonah.

The prophet Jonah is said to have been swallowed by a whale. Presuming it possible for a whale to swallow a man, no man could live three days and three nights in the belly of a fish, and then be cast by it on dry land.

Deuteronomy, viii., 4.

Moses tells us that in forty years' time the "raiment of his three million wanderers" waxed not old, and though marching all that time about the hot desert, "their feet did not swell" from the scorching sand.

Hanun of Ammon sent 1000 talents of silver to Mesopotamia, for the hire of 32,000 chariots . Is not this wholly at variance with sober history? Is it credible? In the parallel account given in 2 Sam. x., 6, there is no mention of these 32,000 chariots of war.

It is stated that Mareshah, in Judea, was invaded in the reign of Asa, by a million Ethiopians and 300 chariots .

These are a few specimens of the unhistoric character of the history of the Old Testament. We will add one or two instances of the equally incredible statements of the wealth of Bible Kings.

Hadarezer's army is represented to have been furnished with shields of gold. We read occasionally of some rich prince, like Glaucus, having golden armour, but never of a whole army being equipped with golden shields. We are told also that Solomon made 300 shields of gold for the temple; but these were mere ornamental plates, "3 pounds of gold went to one shield," the value of these was not above half-a-million of English money, they were mere playthings compared to those in Hadarezer's army .

At the dedication of the temple, we are informed that Solomon "offered in sacrifice 22,000 oxen and 120,000 sheep." Compare this with the sacrifice of Hezekiah, "70 bullocks, 100 rams, and 200 lambs" .

This profusion of wealth, unexampled as it may be, is wholly eclipsed by king David, who laid up for Jehovah about 7,000 millions sterling ; that is to say, a million talents of silver and 100,000 talents of gold; in English money 342 millions sterling in silver, and 5,500 millions sterling in gold. Truly the principality of Wales could never compete in wealth with this Pactolus of a kingdom! Come we now to our last division.

We shall subdivide this head into two parts. Under the first we will bring forward biblical blunders or misstatements, and under the second positive contradictions.

As the errors of Scripture are very numerous, nothing like an exhaustive list can be included in a small pamphlet like this, but every end will be served by the instances subjoined, which we have arranged in groups, for the purpose of preserving something like order.

The first example we would bring forward refers to Saul's daughter Michal, who is called in the book of Samuel "the wife of Adriel." Now, Adriel did not marry Michal , but Merab. Michal married first David and then Phalti.

This will be evident by a reference to 1 Sam. xviii., 19, 27, where it is said: "When Merab, Saul's daughter, should have been given to David, she was given to Adriel to wife. And Michal, Saul's daughter, loved David; and Saul gave him Michal, his daughter, to wife."

During the persecution, David fled from the presence of the king, and Saul then "gave Michal to another husband, whose name was Phalti" . It is, therefore, an historical error to call Michal the "wife of Adriel."

Speaking of Asa, king of Judah, the chronicler says, his "heart was perfect all his days, the high places were not taken away out of Israel." Where Israel obviously ought to be Judah. The kingdom of David was divided into Judah and Israel, and Asa had nothing whatever to do with the latter.

A similar blunder occurs in 2 Chron. xxi., 3, where Jehoshaphat is called "the King of Israel," whereas he was King of Judah, as will appear evident from 1 Kings, xxii., 41, where it is said "Jehoshaphat, son of Asa, began to reign over Judah in the fourth year of Ahab, king of Israel."

And again, 2 Chron. xxviii., 27, we have the same error repeated; for, speaking of Ahaz, king of Judah, the writer says, "they buried him in Jerusalem, but brought him not into the sepulchres of the Kings of Israel," meaning the kings of Judah.

Here we have a very glaring error. Elijah is represented as sending a threatening letter to Jehoram, king of Judah; but the Tishbite had been "taken up to heaven in a chariot of fire" during the reign of Jehoshaphat, Jehoram's father; and the prophet alluded to should be Elisha, and not Elijah.

The blunder arises from a confusion in the mind of the chronicler between Jehoram king of Israel, and Jehoram king of Judah. This will be understood by turning to 2 Kings, viii., 20, where the revolt of the Edomites, which preceded the "threatening letter," is narrated. The translation of Elijah is given six chapters further back, viz. 2 Kings, ii., 11.

Matt, xxvii., 9.

The writer is speaking of Judas, who returned the money casting it down before the priests. This money was used for the purchase of a field to bury strangers in, and the Evangelist adds: "Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy the prophet, saying: 'They took the 30 pieces of silver . . . and gave them for the potter's field.'" These are not the words of Jeremiah at all, but of Zechariah.

Mark ii., 26.

Here we have an historical error made by Christ himself. The disciples had been blamed for plucking ears of corn on the Sabbath day; whereupon Jesus retorted--"Have ye not read what David did when he had need and was an hungered . . . how he went into the house of God in the days of Abiathar, the High Priest, and did eat the shew bread?" The High Priest alluded to was not Abiathar, but Ahimelech. The account will be found 1 Sam. xxi., 1-6. "Then came David to Nob, to Ahimelech the Priest . . . and said to him . . . give me five loaves . . . And the priest answered . . . 'There is no common bread under mine hand, but the hallowed bread, . . . So the priest gave him hallowed bread."

Acts, vii., 15, 16.

Here again we have an unpardonable historical error. The writer says: "So Jacob died, and our fathers, and were carried over into Sychem, and laid in the sepulchre that Abraham bought for a sum of money of the sons of Emmor." This was not Abraham, but Jacob. Abraham bought of Ephron the Hittite, the field of Machpelah ; it was Jacob who bought the "parcel of a field at the hand of the children of Hamor , Shechem's father, for 100 pieces of money."

These are so numerous it is universally allowed that no dependence is to be placed upon them; but the instances subjoined are sufficiently striking, and in any book except the Bible would be termed errors.

Joshua, xv., 21-32.

Here the writer says that twenty-nine cities towards the coast of Edom were awarded to the tribe of Judah, and he gives the names; but if any one will count the names set down he will find they amount to thirty-eight.

Share on: WhatsApp @Hash Facebook Tweet