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Davis has some humorous chapter titles: Hebrew 1 - Lions 0 (Daniel) and Jesus is Coming - Look Busy (Acts of the Apostles). He also rightly points out that Noah's Ark was a box and that "The Bible Code" is bogus. Davis also presents many cute quotes such as this from Mark Twain: "The Bible has noble poetry in it; and some clever fables; and some blood-drenched history; and a wealth of obscenity; and upwards of a thousand lies" [1]. But is this really the case Davis' sub-evangelical view of scriptural authority is unrelenting: "for centurires, scholars and thinkers... have been raising legitimate doubts about the Bible" [2]. Davis asks, "how strong is a faith that can't stand up to a few honest questions" [3]? Do we have the chutzpah to be skeptical about doubt and fight the future of despair by realizing that the truth is our there? TORAH TORAH TORAH! In a trial the accused is innocent until proven guilty. Are we at least open to the evidence for the Bible's accuracy?
Davis claims that "the Bible is a book of faith, not history, biology, biography, science or even philosophy" [4]. Says who? Is not faith founded on fact? And isn't the Resurrection the greatest event of history? Until archaeological verification in the 1800s, many scholars doubted the very existence of the Hittites mentioned in the Old Testatment. The Bible predicts history! Daniel foretold that Rome would rule the world, but they did not capture Jerusalem until 63 B.C. (Dan. 2:40,41). No scholar dates Daniel this late. Luke was a great historian (Lk. 1:1-4). Leviticus 17:11 tells us that "the life is in the blood" yet for many years people practiced "bloodletting." The life stories of Noah, Abraham, Moses, David and Peter show both their glory and shame. This demonstrates the brute honesty of scripture. Job said, "speak to the earth and it wll teach you, or let the fish of the sea inform you" (Job 12:8). The Word tells us that the earth is shperical and that it hangs in space (Is. 40:22, Job 26:7). The number of stars are "countless," yet Ptolemy in the second century said there were 1056 luminaries (Heb. 11:12). Solomon said, "Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise!" (Pr. 6:6).
God gave Solomon wisdom and very great insight, and a breadth of understanding as
measureless as the sand on the seashore. Solomon's wisdom was greater than the
wisdom of the men of the East, and greater than all the wisdom of Egypt. He was
wiser than any other man ... He spoke three thousand proverbs and his songs numbered a
thousand and five. He described plant life, from the cedar of Lebanon to the hyssop that
grows out of walls. He also taught about animals and birds, reptiles and fish. Men of all
nations came to listen to Solomon's wisdom, sent by all the kings of the world, who had
heard of his wisdom. (1 Kings 4:29-34, NIV)
Solomon was a scientist and also wrote a work of philosophy called "Ecclesiastes."
Davis believes that the present versions of the Bible "are only recent links near the end of a long chain of troubled, sometimes badly garbled, and often conflicting translations" [5].
The Isaiah A scroll from the Dead Sea is complete and is dated around 100 B.C. The earliest previous text of Isaiah was around 900 A.D. This is a gap of a millennium! The differences are insignificant and are listed in the margin of the NIV. The Isaiah B scroll from the Dead Sea is incomplete, but is more in agreement with the Masoretic text!
Davis doubts the Mosic authorship of the Pentateuch [6]. Davis claims that the kings of Edom listed in Gen. 36:31-39 lived atter Moses died [7]. The passage does not give the years of each reign, so how can thay be dated? Moses states that these kings ruled Edom before an Israelite king ruled over them. This may seem an odd expression, yet Moses andticipates the Jews' desire for a king in Deut. 17:14-20. The Hebrews were in Egypt for 430 years; maybe this was the period during which these kings ruled.
What evidence is there that Moses wrote the Torah? "So Moses wrote down this law and gave it to the priests..." (Deut. 31:9, NIV). "At the Lord's command Moses recorded the stages in their journey..." (Num. 33:2, NIV). Every seven years the Law was to be read (Deut. 31:10,11). Those who knew Moses wrote the Law would still be alive. Moses was the prince of Egypt, so obviously he knew how to write. "These are the commands, decrees and laws the Lord your God directed me to teach you to observe..." (Deut. 6:1). The Israelites were commanded to write the scriptures on their door (Deut. 6:9). They knew what Moses said and could write it down. Joshua copied the law of Moses on stones (Joshua 8:32). Jesus accepted the Mosaic authorship of the Pentateuch (Lk. 24:27 etc.). Trees and plants are mentioned in the Pentateuch that are common to Egypt but not Palestine [8].
While Abraham was in Canaan, why does Gen. 13:10 refer to a place in Egypt unless it was composed by an Egyptian resident to those who had lived in Egypt, possibly Moses? Numbers 13:22 tells us that Hebron was built seven years before Zoan in Egypt. Doesn't this imply knowledge of Egypt by the author and audience? The emphasis on the tabernacle, a mobile tent for the worship of Yahweh, in Exodus 25-40, is exactly what we'd expect if the Jews were in a transition period from leaving Egypt and entering into the Promised Land. Gleason Archer states that, "a far greater number of Egyptian names and loan words are found in the Pentateuch than in any other section of Scripture" [9]. If the Pentateuch was composed at a later date, why is Jerusalem, the future capital, not mentioned by name? Genesis 14 speaks of the "king of Salem" but there is no hint given that this town would one day be an important city. "The Lord of Hosts" is mentioned 67 time in Isaiah, 83 times in Jeremiah yet not once in the books of Moses! The extreme optimism about the complete conquest of the Promised Land indicates its pre-conquest date (Deut. 7:5, 12:2,3). The law demands stoning for idol worshipers, yet later in Israel's history this was tolerated (Deut. 13:2-11). If this law were enforced long after Moses, then a large portion of Israel would have been wiped out. Such idealism blongs to the early stages of the Jewish nation. ...
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