(September 24, 2008 at 10:57 am)dagda Wrote: I find the last two posts slightly offencive to Celtic culture. First off, the Celts were unlitterate (not illiterate!) and yet can be classed as a 'Western' culture. Most of Northern and Western Europe (Celts, Viking, Saxon ect) worked there history around stories with extraordinary detail. You seem to have forgotten a large chunk of 'western' culture.
Secondly, the OT is intertwined with what may be hugly fictisious tales. This does not take away from its historical value. The Illiad was completly fantastic, and yet Troy existed. In the same way, the OT may not be strictly accurate but it does capture the mood and feel of an ancient people and a sprinkling (perhaps a torrent) of historic accuracy. If all historians thought like you Chatpilot, I am afraid histroy would be rather stale and useless.
Exactly!
There are cultures that were pretty much annihilated or forced to assimilate by their oppressors. To say that anything coming from their mouths is FALSE or just silly is insulting. And then to demand they back it up with tangible evidence like "written" records or witness accounts from a secondary source is just persecuting them all over again.
If we were to look at it from a micro level, can any one of us provide hardcore evidence of our own great-great-great-great-infinity-grandparents back to the 1st century? Many of us would not be able to recall the names, and/or accomplishments of our ancestors even to the 19th century unless we were privileged noblemen who could afford to hire a scribe to record all this stuff.
