kh (03/28/83)
The Encyclopedia Brittanica's article on Biblical Literature is worth reading if you're interested in the various arguments that are being waged about biblical inerrancy, translations of the bible, missing books in the bible, etc. It was written by quite a few different people and reviewed by many others. The encyclopedia has made a considerable effort to reflect the mainstream of modern biblical research and religious study. The sections on Jesus Christ, Judaism, and other religous topics are also helpful. Each has a bibliography for further reading. It may answer quite a few of the questions that have been posed in this newsgroup. For example, the two different versions of God creating Man are interpreted as being the versions from 2 of the 3 main sources for the early books of the Bible. The three main sources are called "E" for the parts that call God "Elohim", "J" for the parts that call Him "YHVH" (Yahweh or Jehovah), and "P" for the priestly sections. These were merged \much/ later than they were originally written. As another example, the problem of Jesus being born during the government of Quirinius *and* during the reign of Herod is reconciled by deducing that Quirinius ruled twice, the evidence being an inscription in a museum stating that there was a man who ruled Syria twice (no mention of names or specific dates). Kenny Hirsch duke!unc!kh kh.unc@UDel-Relay Chapel Hill, N.C.