Scientists have discovered the earliest known Hebrew writing — an inscription dating from the 10th century B.C., during the period of King David's reign.
The breakthrough could mean that portions of the Bible were written centuries earlier than previously thought. (The Bible's Old Testament is thought to have been first written down in an ancient form of Hebrew.)
Until now, many scholars have held that the Hebrew Bible originated in the 6th century B.C., because Hebrew writing was thought to stretch back no further. But the newly deciphered Hebrew text is about four centuries older, scientists announced this month.
"It indicates that the Kingdom of Israel already existed in the 10th century BCE and that at least some of the biblical texts were written hundreds of years before the dates presented in current research," said Gershon Galil, a professor of Biblical Studies at the University of Haifa in Israel, who deciphered the ancient text.
BCE stands for "before common era," and is equivalent to B.C., or before Christ.
via news.yahoo.com
In my Martin Lurther King, Jr. Day posting I mentioned Keith Richburg's principles for racial healing. I believe Richburg's principles can also be used for religious healing (see list below).
I believe Richburg's principles also serve well for the basis of religious healing; particularly if we begin to tell our religious histories accurately, and take care to separate mythology from history. That's not to say we cannot have religious art and literature, but for the sake of our cultural safety and sanity, we should recognize that art and literature need not be more than what they are to be awe inspiring.
Therefore, for both racial and religious healing, I suggest we follow Keith Richburg's lead, and heed his principles. They are:
- The accurate telling of history.
- Tolerance.
- Brotherhood.
- Hard work.
- Personal responsibility.
- Equality before the law.
