...ABSTRACT John Oswalt, in his book The Bible Among the Myths, presents his position to the reader that the bible is different and separate from other writings of the Ancient Near East. He asserts the Bible is both historically accurate and theologically sound. He makes the defense the Bible was divinely inspired and revealed to humanity and unique from other Ancient Near East literature. There was a time when the Bible, and the Israelite religion was different from its neighboring societies. But as times have changed, many people now lump the bible with other Ancient Near East myths. The book is broken up into two sections. The first half of the book, “The Bible and Myth,” Oswalt takes the time to define what a myth is and what differentiates the Bible from a myth. He then describes the different between the worldview of the Ancient Near East and continuity is different from the Bible’s transcendence. The second half of the book, “The Bible and History,” examines several philosophical thoughts proposed by others that attempt to explain the Bible’s relevance separate from historical validity. Oswalt provides excellent arguments against the new age philosophies. Oswalt provides an articulate argument for the veracity of the Bible’s history and theology by providing several convincing points to affirm the Bibles varicity. Introduction John N. Oswalt, in his book The Bible Among the Myths, provides the reader with a brief, yet comprehensive view of the differences and similarities...
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...Bible Among the Myths Malcom College English 093 Ms. Smith 01/23/2012 Introduction The book is an analysis of the Biblical view of the world and compares it other works in the Ancient Near East of that time with the development of the Bible. This is done by an in-depth analysis of the underlying beliefs inherent in mythology and the Biblical text. Of primary significance is the author's portrayal of the Biblical insistence on monotheism and divine transcendence compared to the polytheistic underpinnings of mythology. The author compares the ethically based Biblical view of the divine/human relationship with the ritualistic and magical view of that relationship found in mythology. With these and other comparisons (and with due consideration given to the various similarities between Israel and her neighbors), the author gives an excellent overview of the subject matter of the thought. In The Bible Among the Myths,Oswalt takes the conversation further by illuminating the fact that Israel's faith couldn’t have simply evolved out of nowhere. Oswalt shows that the surrounding Ancient Near East cultures had a worldview known as Continuity. This view maintained that all things that exist are a part of each other (such as the gods, nature, and humanity), the existence of polytheism, that the gods could be manipulated through nature and natural artifacts(which was the point of idol worship), the significance of magic, the obsession with fertility which led to sexual...
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...Liberty University THE BIBLE AMONG THE MYTHS A Book Summary Submitted to Dr. Daniel Warner in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for The Course OBST 510 Liberty University Baptist Theological Seminary by Sunday September 20th, 2015 Table of Contents Introduction 1 Chapter1--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2 Chapter 2 3 Chapter 3 4 Chapter 4 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6 Chapter 5 7 Chapter 6 8 Chapter 7 10 Chapter 8 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11 Chapter 9 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 12 Chapter 10 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 14 The Bible Among the Myths: Unique Revelation or Just Ancient Literature?. By John N. Oswalt. Grande Rapides, MI: Zondervan, 2009. Introduction Oswalt begins by discussing the origins of this book. How that at the close of the Second World War people had begun to re-evaluate some of their long held beliefs. As Oswalt would have said their paradigms began to shift. As this shift began people such as Albright and his students say a major difference between Jewish religion and the other religions of the ANE. As time passed this pendulum began to swing...
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...The Bible among the Myths Book Summary Introduction The author, John N. Oswalt, attended Asbury Theological Seminary for his undergraduate studies. He attended Brandeis University in the Mediterranean Studies Department for his graduate degree. Mr. Oswalt has taught at Asbury Theological Seminary, Trinity Evangelical Divinity, and Wesley Biblical Seminary. According to Oswalt, serious questions about the evolutionary paradigm inherent in the philosophy of Idealism were the result of the economic depression in the late 40’s. Since there was little separation from Idealism and the standard higher critical views of Old Testament that had prevailed for the past fifty years, there was cause for some rethinking about the Old Testament and the associated religion. This rethinking was led by William F. Albright, G. Ernest Wright, and others of the Harvard Divinity School. Sixty years later, it is widely accepted that Israelite religion is just one more West Semitic religion and that its characteristic features can be fully explained on through evolutionary change. Oswalt writes that no new discoveries led to this dramatic change in thinking. Because of the work of Karl Barth in 1950, the scholarly world was ready the idea of revelation in ways not found in the last couple of generations. Revelation assumes that this world is not self-explanatory and that some communication from beyond the world is necessary to explain it. Oswalt states that this idea is distasteful...
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...Book Review Summary of Oswalt, John, N.“ The Bible Among the Myths.” Anglican Theological Review (Spring 2003): 341-360. OBST 590 LUO (Summer 2013) Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary Lee B Yarbrough (ID# L5943213) June 2, 2013 CONTENTS INTRODUCTION 1 PART I. The Bible and Myth Chapter 1. The Bible in Its World 2 Chapter 2. The Bible and Myths: A problem of Definition 3 Chapter 3. Continuity: The basis of Mythical Thinking 4 Chapter 4. Transcendence: Basis of Biblical Thinking 5 Chapter 5. The Bible Versus Myth 6 PART II. The Bible and History Chapter 6. The Bible and History: A Problem of Defition 7 Chapter 7. Is the Bible Truly Historical? The Problem of History (1) 8 Chapter 8. Does It Matter Whether the Bible is Historical? The Problem of History (2) 9 Chapter 9. Origins of the Biblical Worldview: Alternatives 10 Conclusions 11 Introduction Oswalt starts with a concise and well-written introduction that is compelling reading. He shares some very revealing personal information dating back to the 1960s, when he attended Asbury Theological Seminary. Oswalt quickly points out that one of the main points the book will focus on is determining if “the religion of the Old Testament [is] essentially similar to, or essentially different from, the religions of its neighbors...
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...Myth and Scripture resources for Biblical Study Susan ackerman, Old testament/hebrew Bible editor number 78 Myth and Scripture conteMporary perSpectiveS on religion, language, and iMagination Edited by dexter e. callender Jr. SBl press atlanta copyright © 2014 by SBl press all rights reserved. no part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by means of any information storage or retrieval system, except as may be expressly permitted by the 1976 copyright act or in writing from the publisher. requests for permission should be addressed in writing to the rights and permissions office, Society of Biblical literature, 825 houston Mill road, atlanta, ga 30329 uSa. library of congress cataloging-in-publication data Myth and scripture : contemporary perspectives on religion, language, and imagination / Dexter E. Callender, Jr., editor. p. cm. — (Society of Biblical literature resources for biblical study ; number 78) includes bibliographical references and index. iSBn 978-1-58983-961-8 (paper binding : alk. paper) — iSBn 978-1-58983-962-5 (electronic format) — iSBn 978-1-58983-963-2 (hardcover binding : alk. paper) 1. Myth in the Bible. 2. Bible. old testament—criticism, interpretation, etc. i. callender, dexter e., 1962– editor of compilation. ii. callender, dexter e., 1962– author. Myth and Scripture : dissonance and convergence.. BS520.5.M98 2014 220.6'8—dc23 2014002897...
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...LIBERTY UNIVERSITY BAPTIST THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY Book Summary Submitted to Dr. Erik Mitchell, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the completion of the course OBST 510-D10 Introduction to the Old Testament by Stephen Corbett November 10, 2013 Table of Contents Introduction 1 The Bible and Myth 2 The Bible in Its World The Bible and Myth: A Problem of Definition Continuity: The Basis of Mythical Thinking Transcendence: Basis of Biblical Thinking The Bible verses Myth The Bible and History 9 The Bible and History: A Problem of Definition Is the Bible Truly Historical? The Problem of History (1) Does it Matter Whether the Bible Is Historical? The Problem of History (2) Origins of the Biblical Worldview: Alternatives Conclusion 15 Introduction “The Bible Among the Myths” begins with the author, John N. Oswalt, establishing his credibility on the topic discussed. Following his studies at Asbury Theological Seminary and Brandeis University, Oswald went on to teach courses at multiple seminaries on the subject of the Old Testament. Due to his years of teaching, he followed the current thought in the scholarly world in reference to the Bible and the subject of myth. In a sixty year gap, scholarly thought went from a popular view of the Israelite thought being completely separate and unconnected to the ancient near eastern thought to currently...
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...important role in our understanding of a religion. Therefore, Ways of knowing (WOK) such as memory through cultural knowledge form the fundamental premise of religious knowledge systems. Cultural memory is a memory that is recalled by more than one person. This is also quite an effective way of knowing, as sharing a memory among people makes it more likely for the memory to be accurate. The problem with this type of memory is that it is not always true. Details of experiences are often distorted over time, often influenced by personal view and bias, showing that a memory is not always the truth. For example, in Christianity, the myth of a white Jesus is ingrained throughout Christian history. As early as the Middle Ages and predominantly during the Renaissance era, Western artists portrayed Jesus as white man- often with blue eyes and blondish hair. Perhaps these depictions were driven by some Biblical verses associating lightness with purity and righteousness and darkness with wickedness and evil; thus, crafting a sterile Son of God. Therefore, due to cultural memory, the problem of bias was introduced through misinterpretation of symbolic language in the Bible; hence hindering our understanding of religions. However, a counterclaim might be...
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...ANCIENT NEAR EASTERN THOUGHT AND THE OLD TESTAMENT BOOK SUMMARY by JOE VALENTI Old Testament Introduction OBST 590 B06 Dr. Randy Haney March 1, 2013 TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER 1 1 CHAPTER 2 2 CHAPTER 3 3 CHAPTER 4 5 CHAPTER 5 7 CHAPTER 6 9 CHAPTER 7 11 CHAPTER 8 12 CHAPTER 9 14 CHAPTER 10 15 CHAPTER 11 17 CHAPTER 12 19 CHAPTER 13 20 CHAPTER 14 22 POSTSCRIPT 23 WORKS CITED i CHAPTER 1 The opening chapter begins by orienting the reader to the idea of "comparative study," or the area of study that strives to understand things within their broader cultural context. In the case of this book, the goal is to understand the Old Testament within the context of the Ancient Near Eastern milieu. Walton explains that over the years there has been much debate on the issue of comparative study and the way in which it is to be exercised. Scholars, always biased by their presuppositions, tend to enter the argument negating the importance of the Old Testament on the one side, or defending the inerrancy of Scripture so vehemently that the cultural context is lost. Walton poses a better way, namely, accepting the study of the Ancient Near Eastern cultures as important and academic in their own right while attempting to comprehend the Old Testament in light of what modern scholarship is learning about the ancient world...
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...LIBERTY UNIVERSITY BAPTIST THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY Book Summary of Ancient Near Eastern Thought and the Old Testament by John H. Walton Submitted to Dr. Peter Hamilton in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the completion of the course 201420 Spring 2014 OBST 510-B08 LUO by March 2, 2014 ABSTRACT There are fourteen chapters in the book Ancient Near Eastern Thought and the Old Testament: Introducing the Conceptual World of the Hebrew Bible written by John H. Walton. It includes five main sections. Along with these sections there are historical pictures that consist of over 20 images. Each one of those images are included in a complete appendix at the beginning of the book. Walton gives acknowledgements, which are followed by a list of abbreviations. Part 1- Comparative Studies In this first section it includes the first two chapters. Chapter one is appropriately named history and methods. The resolution of this part of the book is to protect the Bible from the harm done by comparative studies which warped evidence to work against the historicity, canonicity, and divine revelation of the Bible. Chapter 1- History and Methods This chapter opens up with the rediscovery of Egypt and Mesopotamia, dating back to the 1800s and the mid 1900s. The author states that archeologists were very quickly discovering that the Bible in its entirety was completely and wholly accurate and true. It was during this time that evolution and the scientific...
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...The reliability and authenticity of the Bible The Bible claims to be the inspired word of God (2 Tim. 3:16, TEV). Yet much controversy and criticism exists over this book. If we are to accept and base our lives on the Bible as the word of God, then we need to have confidence in the reliability and the authenticity of the Bible. That is, we need to have confidence that the Bible is dependable and trustworthy and that what was written did happen. This essay outlines some convincing evidence to prove that this is the case. I will summarize and discuss bibliographical, external and internal evidence which confirms the reliability and authenticity of the bible. One of the first pieces of evidence lies in the uniformity of the message of the Bible. It is a collection of sixty-six books written over a period of approximately fifteen hundred years in three languages on three continents by forty authors. Kings, peasants, educated men, a doctor, a prime minister, a tax collector a rabbi, a fisherman are among the authors (McDowell, 1973). While it discusses numerous issues, and each book has different purposes, the overall themes of creation, the fall of man and redemption are clear throughout (Williams, 2002). Military historian Chauncy Sanders mentions three criteria scholars use in historiography (Williams, 2002). When applied to test whether the scriptures we have are the same as the original documents, that is to test their accuracy, these are manuscript evidence (textual)...
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...| | CCRS | CONTENT STANDARDS | EVIDENCE OF STUDENT ATTAINMENT | RESOURCES | 91929384130 | EIGHTH GRADE: TO BE COMPLETED THROUGHOUT THE COURSEREADING LITERATURE: RANGE OF READING AND LEVEL OF TEXT COMPLEXITY By the end of the year, read and comprehend literature, including stories, dramas, and poems, at the high end of Grades 6-8 text complexity band independently and proficiently. [RL.8.10]READING STANDARDS FOR INFORMATIONAL TEXT: RANGE OF READING AND LEVEL OF TEXT COMPLEXITY By the end of the year, read and comprehend literary nonfiction at the high end of the Grades 6-8 text complexity band independently and proficiently. [RI.8.10]WRITING STANDARDS: RANGE OF WRITING Write routinely over extended time frames, including time for research, reflection, and revision, and shorter time frames such as a single sitting or a day or two for a range of discipline-specific tasks, purposes, and audiences. [W.8.10]KNOWLEDGE OF LANGUAGE Use knowledge of language and its conventions when writing, speaking, reading, or listening. [L.8.3]VOCABULARY ACQUISTION AND USE Acquire and use accurately grade-appropriate general academic and domain-specific words and phrases; gather vocabulary knowledge when considering a word or phrase important to comprehension or expression. [L.8.6]SPEAKING AND LISTENING STANDARDS Engage effectively in a range of...
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...Name Ronald Kent Robey Course BIBL 104 Date September 21, 2011 (Summary of the books of the Old Testament Books) Exodus The Book of Exodus Exodus is a history book in the Bible's Old Testament. And Exodus is also a law book. The people called Hebrews were slaves in Egypt. God sent Moses to free them (Exodus 3). The people in Egypt did not want to free these slaves. But God caused many terrible troubles in Egypt. These troubles forced the people in Egypt to free their Hebrew slaves. So, the Hebrew people left Egypt. God promised the land called Israel to the Hebrew people. But the journey to Israel was through a desert. God did many wonderful things to help the people through the desert. God provided water (Exodus 17) and food (Exodus 16). Moses met God at a mountain called Sinai (Exodus 19). There, God gave the law to Moses (Exodus chapters 20-30). Moses made a special tent where the priests would serve God (Exodus chapters 35-40). We are writing books and articles to help you to study this Bible book. You can download these books and articles free. Please click on the links below to select our other books and articles. (space) The Book of Exodus begins more than four hundred years after Joseph, his brothers, and the Pharaoh he once served have all died. The new leadership in Egypt—feeling threatened by Jacob’s descendants, who have increased greatly in size—embarks on a campaign to subdue the Israelites, forcing them into slavery and eventually...
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...In my short life on this planet I have come to question things that many take upon blind faith. We all know that we must some day die; yet we continuously deny the forces at work inside ourselves, which want to search out the answers of what may or may not come after. It is far easier for humanity to accept that they will go to a safe haven and be rewarded for their lives with pleasures and fantasies of an unfathomable scale than to question the existence of a supposed omnipotent being. Yet, there are a few of us humans who tend to question the why’s and wherefore’s that society puts forth to us. We question the existence of God, or the creation of mankind rather than blindly accepting faith-filled beliefs we may received from our parents as children. Perhaps it is because we live in a nation filled with many peoples of different beliefs whose Gods are all so varied and different that it is difficult to fathom that they are all the same divine being. It is also plausible that we just have a desire to quench the thirst for knowledge that lies deep within ourselves. As for myself, I cannot believe in a being which created a universe and a multitude of worlds in a rather short period of time then deigns to lower itself into becoming a puppet-master and "pulling the strings" of the Earth and all of the people therein. Since this paper touches upon many scientific terms, I feel that in order for the reader to correctly grasp the...
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...LIBERTY BAPTIST THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY BOOK SUMMARY OF “ANCIENT NEAR EASTERN THOUGHT AND THE OLD TESTAMENT” BY JOHN H. WALTON SUBMITTED TO PROFESSOR DANIEL WARNER IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR OBST 590 BY JOEY F. LANGLINAIS LYNCHBURG, VA JUNE 23, 2013 Chapter 1 History and Methods John Walton begins this chapter by stating that the “rediscovery of Egypt began in the eighteenth century AD and of Mesopotamia in the mid nineteenth century AD.” This allowed the tens of thousands of texts that were being unearthed to be translated and studied. The motives of those involved ranged from political to interest in antiquities to biblical apologetics. Regardless of the motive, this allowed scholars to assess what might be learned from one to enhance the understanding of another . The noted Assyriologist Freidrich Delitzsch claimed that the Bible was borrowed from Mesopotamian literature, specifically the regions of the Tigris and Euphrates. His conclusion was that the Old Testament was not divine and that Christianity was rooted in pagan mythology. The result was growing division among biblical scholars. Some even took the stand that the Old Testament should be excluded from Christian theology. Others came to the defense of the Bible. This division was between a confessional standpoint and the secular view. This work actually spawned a movement called “Pan-Babylonianism” which asserted that all world myths and Christian Scriptures were products...
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