No other book is as controversial as the Bible. One of the most controversial questions is whether the Bible can be used as a historical document.
1. Mask of the mummy
Are people reading the correct version of the Bible now? Until recently, the earliest known copies of the Gospels date from the second century AD. But in 2012, there was a sensational data leak - it turns out that a much earlier fragment of the biblical text was found on a sheet of papyrus that was used to make a mummy mask.
As you know, funeral masks for pharaohs were made of gold. Ordinary people were content with papyrus masks. But even the papyrus was so expensive that people often used second-hand sheets on which business agreements, personal letters, and sometimes fragments of the Gospel text were previously written. Radiocarbon analysis of a papyrus leaf from a burial mask, which turned out to be the "Gospel of Mark", was found to date back to 80-90 years (ie, 1st century).
2. Lawsuits in Biblical Archeology
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In 2007, the documentary The Lost Grave of Jesus was released (directed by Simha Jakobovichi, executive produced by James Cameron). It claimed that a grave was found in Israel, in which the remains of the biblical Jesus and his family, including the son of Judas, are buried. Unsurprisingly, this statement led to intense religious controversy.
Many people believe that Jesus was resurrected, so bones simply cannot exist. Many also believe that he never married or had children. The archaeologist Joe Zias was especially rampant, and he launched an entire campaign against "slander and forgery." As a result, Iakobovichi filed a lawsuit against Zias, claiming that he lost more than $ 2 million in revenue as a result of Zias's actions. In 2015, a Jerusalem court found Zias guilty of libel and ordered the Iakobovichi to pay $ 260,000 in damages.
3. Ophel's inscription
There is an ongoing debate among biblical scholars whether the Old Testament was written "in real time" or centuries after the events described. Until 2008, it was believed that the Old Testament was written in the sixth century BC because there was no evidence of Hebrew writing before that time. But at Khirbet Qeiyafa, a fragment of a clay tablet with an inscription in Hebrew, dating from the 10th century BC, was discovered. This means that the Kingdom of Israel already existed in the 10th century BC, and that some of the biblical texts were written hundreds of years before the supposed date.
Then in 2013, the so-called Ophel Inscription, a 3,000-year-old fragment of an earthen jug with an inscription in Hebrew, was discovered near the Temple Mount (in the Ophel area of Jerusalem).
4. God's wife
Citing a number of archaeological finds and quotes from the Tanach (Hebrew Scripture), some archaeologists and Bible students believe that God had a wife named Asherah, and that the ancient Israelites worshiped both of them. The idea that ancient Jews worshiped a married couple was first expressed by the historian Raphael Patay in 1967. Then in 2012, researcher Francesca Stavrakopoulou confirmed his theory. Ashera (or Astarte) - this was the name of the powerful goddess of fertility of the Ugaritic culture (the territory of modern Syria). Not so long ago, a clay tablet was found in Sinai, which contains the phrase "The Almighty and his Asher." Stavrakopoulou also claims that in the Old Testament, despite repeated editorial cleansing and corrections, references to a female deity have been preserved.
5. Where was the trial of Jesus
Despite the fact that the trial of Jesus is one of the most important scenes in the Bible, archaeologists cannot agree on where it took place. During the expansion of the Tower of David Museum of the History of Jerusalem in the early 21st century, archaeologists discovered the entrance to the sewers and foundations of the ancient palace of Herod the Great. Many believe that the trial of Jesus was held in this very palace, because at that time Herod was the king-procurator of Judea, appointed by Rome. The alleged ruins of his palace were found under an abandoned prison next to a modern museum.
6. Hidden column
In 2013, Israeli guide Benjamin Tropper found a real historical artifact - a proto-Aeolian capital (the top of the column was so named because of its resemblance to the later Greek Aeolian style). This pillar, it turned out, stood at the entrance to a huge 160-meter system of tunnels, which may have been used to supply water to a palace or a large farm from biblical times. But the political situation in the country makes the excavation very difficult. The land is currently privately owned by a Palestinian.
7. The New Testament is forged and deceitful
The book by biblical scholar Bart Erman, Forgery, which was published in 2011, caused a storm of controversy. Ehrman stated that about half of the New Testament was fabricated by the churchmen of the ancient world. They allegedly wrote the texts in their own interests, signing them with the names of the apostles. Ancient Christian leaders used a similar method to emerge victorious in religious strife with each other.
In his book, Erman cites examples of Paul's writings in the New Testament that differ greatly in style. Some of the statements even contradict each other. Finally, Erman argues that the apostles Peter and John were illiterate fishermen, so they simply could not physically write anything from the New Testament.
8. Biblical attitudes towards homosexuality
In 2012, an anonymous group published The Queen James Bible (QJB), which is based on the most popular English translation of the Bible, the so-called King James Version (KJV). A similar name was chosen because King James, who approved the KJV, was allegedly a homosexual. As stated by the QJB authors, they have corrected an incorrect translation that caused the Bible to become a homophobic book. In this version of the Bible, 8 passages from various books were corrected that described homosexuality as a sin.
9. Book of Exodus and abortion
People often argue about the meaning of Exodus 21: 22-25. It said “If a pregnant woman is accidentally hit in a fight and she gives birth prematurely, but neither she nor the child is harmed, then the guilty person must pay a fine, the size of which is determined by the husband women and court. However, if the future mother or her child physically suffers, the guilty person is subject to punishment - an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, hand for hand, leg for leg."
Proponents of abortion interpret this phrase as follows: the unborn child does not have the same status as the life of an adult woman. If a child dies as a result of a miscarriage, then the guilty person is liable to a fine. And if the mother dies as a result of the blow, then the guilty must die. Opponents of abortion do not agree with the interpretation of the word "miscarriage" in the Bible. They argue that abortion is a deliberate deprivation of life and that the perpetrator must be punished.
10. Conquest of Jericho
Jericho is considered to be the oldest city in the world, which has been constantly inhabited. At various times, 23 civilizations called Jericho their home. As stated in the Bible, Joshua led the Israelites to Jericho, to the very heart of the Promised Land. He walked around the city wall for 6 days, holding the Ark of the Covenant at his chest, in which were the stone tablets with the Ten Commandments.
On the seventh day, Jericho had to go around 7 times, and then stop and wait for a powerful trumpet signal. During the sound of the trumpet, the Israelites had to utter a loud cry, for "God was passing the city into their hands." At the sound of the trumpet, the city walls fell, and Joshua and his army rushed into the city. But the archaeological site does not support the biblical story of the conquest of Jericho. According to the excavations, Jericho did not have a wall at that time.