I noticed that there is not a specific forum on the Bible. Can anyone direct me to a non-sectarian, scientific based forum on Old Testament archaeology/history?
My view is this: the pre O.T. authors spoke in the language and style of their day, using myths to teach spiritual truths, never intending those myths to be taken as literal truth. Those myths contain some of humankind's earliest memories, often in fragmentary form, of what came before civilization after the great ice age ended and humans discovered agriculture, built the first cities and began to live for the first time in groups larger than an extended family or band. They tried to make sense of their world and to communicate in a non-literate society important information to their children and grandchildren in ways it would be remembered without writing through myth. The O.T.'s unique contribution to these early myths was to emphasize the power of God over the powers of the demigods, stars and other natural forces. It was to bring God into this world. Most cultures viewed the Creator or Sky God as being too remote, unknowable and unreachable to be dealt with hence the pantheons of the ancients. The authors returned God to this world where "we" are commanded to make a home for him, both in "our" hearts and in "our" actions. "We" are also commanded to carry this message to the nations of the world.