"But it explains how and why these stories ever came to be told in the first place, and how and why they were written down."

Wow. Thousands of years later, PBS comes along and "explains" how the Bible came to be.

Divine Inspriration? PFFFFT!

PBS has the real story. It's all just a myth to give the "Israelites" a sense of identity.

I didn't think it was physically possible, but this both sucks and blows. -Bart Simpson

how often speculation is used to disprove scripture and to prove evolutionary theory.

"Abraham, Sarah and their offspring probably didn't exist, says Carol Meyers, a religion professor at Duke University."

Possibly, could have, maybe, it is thought, probably, might have, some say, some believe, etc. permeate both.

A man with an experience is not at a loss to one with a theory.

says archaeologist William Dever:  "But it explains how and why these stories ever came to be told in the first place, and how and why they were written down."

and we know what William says is not myth based on what?

"You can not support the Troops if you do not support their Mission" 

Our tax dollars hard at work here, folks. Taking my hard-earned money then use it to fund this kind of garbage is a shame.

How about the nation of Islam? Doesn't claiming that Abraham didn't exsist shoot a hole in their identity also? Since they claim to be the decendants of Ismael, son of Haggar and Abraham, that would invalidate their religion also.

PBS is using "selected science." When one examines all the scientific evidence, there is more science to prove historical accuracy than to disprove the Bible. There are dozens of books published that devote full time and attention to the scientific record and make PBS out to be what they really are, "God-haters."

And there is the science of God's personal presence. Non-believers have not the slightest idea and suppose it is all about a set of beliefs brought about by wishful thinking, a desire to belong or some other emotional behavior. But they are completely wrong, because they do not experience how God proves He is who He says He is and that the history in the Bible is precisely accurate.

God, Himself proves Himself to believers through His Spirit, which they cannot experience. Until one has experienced the presence of God in this way, they will barely or never believe anything the Bible says.

Also, PBS will not try to debunk Islamic history (which accepts both Jewish and Christian history, and considers itself to be the successor religion) because they know someone may blown up PBS headquarters. (Footnote: God Himself, through His Spirit, proves to the believer that Islam is not the successor.)

You see, if belief in God were only that, then I too would accept the PBS "science" as fact, but because God Himself makes Himself know to me personally, I am compelled to listen to God, not humans. But I also am not stupid, and I too have looked at the science, in detail, and find significant proof of the historical accuracy of the Bible.

The other think PBS discounts is the power of God, to act a super-being with infinite power to do what he did in seven days. And they are wrong about the big bang too, because the universe has always existed and will always exist, only transforming from one physical configuration to another. The big bang theory is a joke because it does not answer the question of what came before, how the "core" was formed, or more importantly, why? If you cannot answer these questions, then any big bang theory is vanity.

As for historical records, the Hebrews kept more records than any other peoples, with highly accurate chronicles.

Why was the Old Testament called the Septuagint? How did what we recognnize as the New Testament come into existence?

Because a bibliophile pagan king (Ptolemy II Philadelphus) wanted a cogent telling of the story of the Jews and because a pagan Emperor wanted to unite and save his Empire.

Promoting Biblical Skepticism.

Our tax-dollars at work.

...they would either have to come up with programming their viewers would like to watch or go under.  You know, the free market.  In fact, PBS is particularly profitable with their licensing of Sesame Street products.  My children enjoy watching PBS Kids, an advertising supported cartoon network broadcasting many PBS created (read tax dollars) cartoons.

I always feel very sorry for our Canadian bretheren whenever I watch Discovery or HGTV like "How It Works" or "Holmes on Homes" and see shows which were created with Canadian tax dollars and then sold to TV networks in America. The John Q Publics in Edmonton, Alberta and elsewhere are getting screwed worse then us.

I'd love it if public funding for PBS and NPR would dry up.  If there's a large enough audience for what they offer, they'll survive.  If not, they'll go dark.  That how it should be.

"Our liberties we prize and our rights we will maintain." Official Motto of the State of Iowa

If PBS wanted to be 'forward thinking' they should do a documentary on the Koran and Islam.  But alas they won't since they're nothing but a bunch of spineless cowards that will do anything to denigrate the only faith on the planet that changed the planet for the better.

What we have is an ongoing secular jihad aginst religion in general, and object morality in particular. You see the same thing on the Discovery channel and the History channel. The truly amazing thing is that these entities have found "experts" who take devilish glee in trashing our most treasured beliefs. BUT when you realize that these "experts," by and large, are professors, it begins to fit.

Much as the military has been infiltrated with lawyers whose goals are vehemently anti-military, so religion is full of "experts" whose agenda is vehemently anti-religion. Most of these experts are professors and can be found in PBS, Discovery, and History channel shows that bear titles that seem religious. But when you view these shows, it becomes immediately apparent that they are secular "trojan horses" that lure viewers in under the pretense of expouding upon interesting religious themes; however, the show quickly becomes a refutation of its particular theme. The religious studies professors from, in this case, Duke University, are a mainstay.

The purpose here is for you to forego your own beliefs because of the "experts" assertion. No, Abraham didn't exist because "experts" say so. What they don't tell you is that many, if not all, of these assertions are just trendy "current theories" of the existing set of facts. When watching  these shows, pay particular attention to the language used in these programs. You will often hear language used such as the following:

Could it be that Abraham didn't exist at all?

It might be the case that Exodus is a myth.

 My point is that words such as could and might are a dead giveaway of theoretical knowledge, not fact. Academic writers get big points for refuting any prevailing wisdom, but refuting religious beliefs is the Holy Grail of their secular quasi-religion.

So next time you see an interesting show on Jesus, Exodus, Abraham, et al., just say no. You'll save yourself an hour of posturing, hate, and ridiculous theories spun by socially awkward people who hate you and all you stand for.

The fact is that these programs reveal what they know they must do before their secular paradise exists, and that is kill your belief in God. Don't let these geeks do that to you. These are the people who sit next to you on the train into town and creep you out. Just because they are on TV doesn't make their blather any more  credible.

PBS better watch their backside 'cause the crazies will <i>beheaded</i> (get it? be headed) to their studios. Simply put if Abraham never existed then <u>neither did his sons Issac and Ismael</u>, one the future father of Judeo/Christianity and the other the Sire of Islam. If the exodus never happened then neither did Allah or Muhammad. If bin Laden wants the headquarters office address of PBS he can click here=> http://www.aliennationreport.com 

All of this "Moses didn't write the Pentateuch" stuff comes from the *discredited* JEPD theory.

Of course, the Code of Hamurabi and the Elba tablets show that JEPD is bunk. The theory behind the creation of JEPD - namely that no nation at that time had writing - disintigrates in the face of writing found from the time of or preceeding the time of Moses.

"The Bible's Buried Secrets, a new PBS documentary, is likely to cause a furor."

Maybe if they were attacking the Quran, most Christians will just roll their eyes and turn the channel.