How reliable are the ancient texts from Egypt, Rome, Assyria, Babylon, Persia, and Greece? If the same logic..

Question

That is applied to the Bible is applied to all ancient texts then could they not all be considered fiction since in many instances those texts are the only record of those events?

It is well-know the Egyptians exaggerated in their ancient texts and even did not mention several events because they reflected very negatively on them...(i.e. they lost a war).

The Roman writers exaggerated about the things concerning Rome and it's emperors...

It is that way for many ancient writers, so how reliable are they?

Can we trust what the Greeks, Romans, Egyptians, and other wrote?

Is much of what we consider ancient history actually fiction?

Follow up to my last question about the accuracy of the Bible....

Answer 1

Great question! Can we trust those documents? Seeing as though most of ancient Greek writing was lost for a very long time, re emerging when the spice trade started, and traders started coming back from the east with preserved texts from ancient greece. This was in fact the start of the Renessaince (all that knowledge surfacing. The Greeks calculated accurately the circumpherance of the earth using a stick and a shadow, that is how smart they were). However, these documents were translated into Latin. How do we know histories weren't changed? How do we know that Herodotus was accurate in depicting the events? Homer? Plato?
If you look at the way the Bible is writen, do you see any parallels? Is the Bible writen to entertain, to 'wow' the reader with adjectives and scandals? No. The layout throughout all these books is 'documentation'. First there was this, then there was that. How does this layout compare with other 'myths or histories'? It doesn't.
But in the scientific world, if it can't be seen or measured, then it does not exist. Scientifically speaking, one cannot 'proove' that Leonardo Da Vinci ever existed based on only what they see today as his 'works'.

Answer 2

One of the features of most of those other inscriptions is that they can be ckecked with other writings. In Ezra in the Bible there is an account of the war with Babylon. There is also an account that the Babylonians recorded. It is like reading an account of a modern war from both of the major combatants. Different facts are stressed, different reasons are given. The propaganda is consistent. Ezra is the only place in the bible that this happens. Most of the rest of the civilizations have accounts of wars, places and other events that are reflected in accounts from around them. Only the book of Ezra has this in the bible. Almost all of the rest of the bible goes against any evidence we have managed to find.
No slaves in Egypt building temples. No camels in the Eastern mediteranian until after the Arab Spice Traders began travelling through. etc.
One of the people mentioned Homer in answering your other question. It is actually a good point. Places can be located in Homer. It was the examination of the Illiad that led to Troy. The Illiad is a heroic tragedy though. It weas not meant to be a history of facts. As a document that gives an idea of Greek mores and values at the time it was written it is a treasure. Much like Hollywood movies are from the 1950s or Samuel Pepy's Diary.
One of the things about egyptian documents is that we know exactly when they wrote them, they put the history of every Pharoa onto the walls of his burial chamber. There is also large collections of material carved into caves and the graphitti. Even the erasures on public statues tell us a great deal about who wrote and why.
Now because there is nobody screaming about the undeniable truth of the Heiroglyphs people have been able to study them. Because you have so many people demanding the bible to be true it is very difficult to examine it. You have everyything from the lunacy of Ron Wyatt to the State of Israel denying what is on the ground in front of them because they are afraid it contradicts what they want the bible to say. The gastes of Solomons Temple are the wrong age for the site which they claim is the Temple, But because the claim is political nobody is able to comment.

The Bible is not reliable, and because the three religions claiming it are at war, it is not possible to examine the claims in it. Propaganda values rule instead of research values.

Answer 3

So you're saying that he got 1 through 6 all in the timeframe of about 1500 years, and in 2000 years he hasn't counted any of the activities of mankind - I guess that makes sense, considering nothing has really much happened over the last 2000 years... -------------------------------- Why don't you take a minute and think about the paranoid confusion this end-of-the-world conspiracy theory nonsense gives you...? Does that sound like something that your God would do to you? Or does it sound like something that money-grubbing writers and preachers would do, knowing that they have a built-in audience for their "interpretations" and will shamelessly engage in promoting this garbage as long as people like you live in this state of anxiety? You will one day be laying on your death bed and NONE of this BS will have come to pass. At that point you have a choice - free the next generation by admitting your gulliblity to fear-and-rumor-mongers, or spread the same madness you now embrace to the next generation. What would a Christian do? It may well define what Christianity becomes in the future - a religion of love, or a religion of fear and torment --------------------------------------... First of all, do your math again. If my interjection claims the Old Testament to New Testament information covers 1500 years, that means it is ADDED TO what came after, meaning I'm covering a period of approx. 3500 years (it's simple mathematics, you should have learned it in 1st grade). But even more important - Did you TOTALLY miss my point? How many nations have arisen in the past 2000 years SINCE THE BIBLE WAS FINALIZED? Why are NONE of them mentioned in your Biblical prophecies? Doesn't that seem a bit odd to you? Not at all? Doesn't the finalizing of the text NOT PRODUCING EVEN ONE PIECE OF REAL EVIDENCE BEYOND ITSELF bother you in the least? For all anybody knows the entirety of the Bible could have been written during the time of the Septuagint (for there were no Jewish sects that survived beyond the destruction of the temple except what has arisen afterwords), meaning that every bit of the "prophecy" presented in the Old Testament was written after-the-fact, and we all know Jesus's story was written in accordance with making the "prophecies" concerning his life in hopes of making him look like a fulfillment of such (why else would Matthew's ignorant reading of the riding in "on an @ss, the foal of an @ss" produce two jackasses? Was it because there were two animals, and the other gospel writers got it wrong? Or was it because the author of Matthew had no idea how to interpret the poetry of the original text while he was trying to make it fit? Which seems more likely? ). Therefore, if the Bible has such deep future insight - as you claim - why can't it produce ONE IOTA OF EVIDENCE for the 2000 years or so since it's finalization? Or is this the sort of question your ministers of fear-mongering frown on you for thinking about? So as far you thinking that this paranoid garbage is something only the "wise" understand, I ask you this - would a wise person continue down the path of rumor-mongering and fear-laden religious speculation, or would they want their religion to be worth something positive in their own generation?

Answer 4

As far as the religious texts go they are all fiction, with some history mixed in. All local history is biased, I don't care which culture it is from. All culture exaggerate their stories and hide many of the negative stories, especially when it comes to the stories of god.

I have no doubt that the flood story in genesis is the same story as the epic of Gilgamesh, however the Jewish myths seem to have been blown the story into different proportions. The original is of a massive local flood of the Euphrates river about 4600 years ago. The hero builds an ark that a god tells him to build as a massive flood is coming. The stories are extremely similar. However in the epic the hero takes only a few animals as well as craftsmen and artisans, seeds and other things to restart society. The story in the epic is exaggerated, the genesis story is over the top. The stories are similar down to the 3 birds and the sacrifice.

As I mentioned in your other post all cultures also borrow heavily from other cultures where possible (obviously this only applies to each regions known world).

Answer 5

What is your definition of reliable? Are you taking into account the various re-writings of the Bible across the centuries? Taints of political leanings that have been imparted to it by various parties?

If you are saying the Egyptians exaggerated their writings, what about the Apostles and various authors of the Bible?

Answer 6

Historians approach any text/documentary source with a certain degree of skepticism. Documentary sources have to be placed in their historical and social context to analyze there particular accuracy. Ancient texts were not necessarily intended as "historical" accounts in the same way most modern people regard "history" but tended to have their own particular functions, as propaganda, as religious testaments, etc., and all historical texts no matter how hard the author may try to avoid it are subjective to some extent and reflect the social, political, and personal context of the author.
Thus, historians attempt to confirm events presented in ancient texts by comparing multiple sources of information, rather than relying on a single source when that is possible. When it is impossible, responsible historians make it clear that there is no corroborating evidence and attempt to present arguments for or against the reliability of the facts as presented in a particular source.
For example, I imagine you are referring to the Battle of Kadesh during the reign of Ramses II when you say that the Egyptians "did not mention several events..." On the contrary, Ramses mentions the battle of Kadesh (to excess, some might argue), but he does exaggerate what happened in the text. In the accompanying figural scenes, however, he presents something a little closer to what probably actually happened. And we know that he was exaggerating because we are able to compare his account to that of the Hittites (who also, incidentally, exaggerate and claim that *they* won the battle).
Indeed, when you think about your statements that we "know" that ancient writers exaggerated, how would we *know* that if historians were not careful to analyze their sources adequately and compare them to other accounts rather than blindly accepting them at face value?
It is a stretch to regard such texts as "fiction," rather all such texts should be regarded with a certain degree of skepticism and efforts made to establish the accuracy of accounts of events. Despite this occasional problem with "facts" in documentary sources, they are still extraordinarily valuable for other lines of inquiry. We can use such texts to analyze social norms, the use of propaganda, how "official" accounts were supposed to be presented, the use of language and presentation of information, the role of religion, and a variety of other lines of information that are not entirely related to when events occurred or how precisely they may have occurred.
Ancient history is based on multiple lines of evidence, carefully analyzed by experts and constantly reanalyzed and reinterpreted as new information or new ways of interpreting information comes to light.

Answer 7

There are mythological stories which are much more useful than bible or koran ... You need education....Man only writes when there is a problem or conflict.... Saudi Arabian peninsula has ever been a place of conflicts.... That is why they produced a lot of literature....more than anyone all over the world. ha ha ha ha

Answer 8

Decode this lyrics " You don't have to be a star"
Ever wonder how our creator left behind " Three coins in the fountain" for the good of mankind vital for the survival and advancement of living human kind out there.
Ever wonder after the creation of the pyramids as landmark in Egpyt.
The gifts of life was lost with time.
Ever wonder how the "Hanging garden of Babylon and the Colosseum of Rome as landmark expose the loss of the missing X-files with time.
Decode this lyrics " Dirty old man"
Ever wonder how Sin-bad the sailor got kick on the butts as casualty of the dead Mummy in not worshiping God?
While Aladdin had the magic lamp?
When Ali Baba was left with two empty hands and pants down with leftover bones while the Forty thieves walked away with all our creator's universal gifts of life in all different direction that was lost in time.
John.8.44, Matt 23.27
Decode this lyrics " I started the joke"
Ever wonder how our creator expose where to search for the original that is still out there.
Luke 19.9-10
Ever wonder how the "Dirty old men" all got themselves kick on the butts as casualty of the dead Mummy in not worshiping God.
Luke 9.60.
Ever wonder how our creator expose the dead Mummy with the best kept dirty little secrets hidden in their graves being expose in time in the new millenium after the mystery of us-911.
Luke 10.24
Ever wonder how Indiana Jones with Raiders of the Lost Ark all took for granted the ghostly stories were the originals when it was just ghostly stories hidden all over Israel without anyone being aware of getting kick on the butts as casualty of the dead Mummy in not worshiping God?
Ever wonder who were climbing up the coconut trees and still look green?
Luke 6.39,40,41-45,46-49
What do you think?

Answer 9

When Jesus came here as the poorest of the poorest and sacrificed his life to us- it is for all.

We love Jesus not because of ancient text but the message of Life until this day Jesus remains.

Answer 10

The Bible is more reliable, for me, it's the foundation for my faith in Christ. And I tgink those other writers had some reliability also (history)