{"id":50159,"date":"2020-11-09T13:59:29","date_gmt":"2020-11-09T17:59:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/lovejoyfeminism\/?p=50159"},"modified":"2020-11-09T13:59:29","modified_gmt":"2020-11-09T17:59:29","slug":"answers-in-genesis-accuses-josephus-but-not-the-new-testament-of-bias","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lovejoyfeminism\/2020\/11\/answers-in-genesis-accuses-josephus-but-not-the-new-testament-of-bias.html","title":{"rendered":"Answers in Genesis Accuses Josephus (but not the New Testament) of Bias"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

I just finished reading an Answers in Genesis article titled \u201cIs Josephus Reliable?<\/a>\u201d and I am gobsmacked<\/em>. Josephus, of course, is a first-century Jewish writer and historian. Christians frequently cite passages in his works\u2014which document the existence of Herod and Pontius Pilot, among other things\u2014as proof that the events laid out in the Bible happened.<\/p>\n

But Bernton H. Cook, writing for Answers in Genesis, an organization founded on the idea that every word of the Bible should be taken as literal truth, wants to make sure you know that Josephus has biases, and that not all of what he wrote down is necessarily true. That they can write this about Josephus seemingly without realizing that\u00a0all\u00a0<\/em>of it can be applied to the authors of the Bible is nothing short of incredible. Their lack of self awareness is incredible.<\/p>\n

Here, take a look:<\/p>\n

To read Josephus correctly, we need to keep in mind that he was a product of his times. Readers in first-century Rome had different expectations than we do today. It was common practice for historians to shape or add details to make a good story.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The\u00a0exact same thing\u00a0<\/i>is true of the entire New Testament!<\/p>\n

Josephus gives a famous account of the last stand of the Jews atop Masada. Instead of surrendering, he says the Jews selected several men to slay the majority and then turn their swords upon themselves. Yet archaeologists have not found the bodies to verify his story.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Does Cook know that we also\u00a0<\/em>don\u2019t have archeological evidence for\u00a0just about everything\u00a0<\/em>in the New Testament? (Also, he seems to take a both broad and narrow view of what archaeology actually is<\/em>.)<\/p>\n

Also, like other historians of his day, Josephus sometimes invented heroic speeches and put them into the mouths of his subjects, such as the patriotic oratory of Eleazer, the leader of the Jews atop Masada. Since the men who heard Eleazer were slain in the siege, and since Josephus wrote the account from Rome, he cannot possibly have had access to the full speech.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I\u2019m sorry,\u00a0what\u00a0<\/em>now?<\/p>\n

Does Cook honestly think all four gospel writers followed Jesus around during his entire ministry, heard every single speech and parable he gave, and wrote it all down word for word?\u00a0They did not.\u00a0<\/em>Yes, historians of the first century often crafted speeches and put them in the mouths of their subjects\u2014that is also exactly what the writers of the New Testament did<\/em>. And it\u2019s not just the Gospels. There are numerous speeches recorded in Acts and elsewhere.<\/p>\n

The authors of the New Testament, to quote Cook, were the \u201cproduct of their times.\u201d They wrote the New Testament within the norms of their time, including standard writing conventions and storytelling. Just like Josephus. Just like many others.<\/p>\n

Back to Cook:<\/p>\n

Few ancient historians were careful about numbers and statistics, either. Scholars know that Josephus often errs on the chronologies of first-century events with which he was quite familiar. So be wary of any numbers he gives.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Again,\u00a0same.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

The writers of the New Testament frequently messed up numbers too, writing completely contrary accounts, such as in the two ancestries of Jesus, or in the two different stories of Judas\u2019 demise. And as for chronologies of first-century events, the chronologies of the gospels are so hopelessly contradictory that I was told by Bible teachers<\/a> that the gospels weren\u2019t meant to be linear. Everything Cook is saying about Josephus also applies to the authors of the New Testament.<\/p>\n

One last bit from Cook:<\/p>\n

In summary, Josephus is an eminently important and helpful source for gathering details about New Testament times, but Christians should be careful not to read him as an apologist for Christianity or to rely upon him too heavily. Nor should they be ignorant of his bias in favor of Judaism and his willingness to deliberately rewrite Old Testament narratives to provide a more flattering picture of the Jewish heritage.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Cook dismisses Josephus for having \u201cbias in favor of Judaism,\u201d but does not even mention that the whole New Testament was written by early Christians apologists\u00a0in a deliberate effort\u00a0<\/em>to promote\u00a0Christianity.\u00a0<\/i>In fact, the New Testament was written by religious evangelists and is thus even\u00a0more\u00a0<\/em>biased than Josephus\u2019 writings.<\/p>\n

This is one of those \u201cso close and yet so far\u201d moments. Cook accurately discusses the norms among historians during the first century, but because he views the New Testament as divinely inspired, it does not seem to even occur<\/em> to him that the same constraints and norms affected the writers of these documents as well. And yet, they did!<\/p>\n

In fact, I would argue that the Bible makes\u00a0much more sense\u00a0<\/em>when you see it as a human document that, like Josephus\u2019 writings, is a product of its time. It is viewing it as divine, rather than viewing it as human, that raises questions.<\/p>\n

I have a <\/b>Patreon<\/b><\/a>! Please support my writing!\u00a0<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Cook accurately discusses the norms among historians during the first century, but because he views the New Testament as divinely inspired, it does not seem to even occur to him that the same constraints and norms affected the writers of these documents as well. And yet, they did!\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":845,"featured_media":50162,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[40],"tags":[22,183],"class_list":["post-50159","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-evangelicalism-fundamentalism","tag-bible","tag-history"],"yoast_head":"\nAnswers in Genesis Accuses Josephus (but not the New Testament) of Bias<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Cook accurately discusses the norms among historians during the first century, but because he views the New Testament as divinely inspired, it does not seem to even occur to him that the same constraints and norms affected the writers of these documents as well. 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