My pleasure Dolphin,I'm very happy for you and hope you will always be surrounded by warm and caring people who will nurture and cherish you as you deserve.

There is no doubt it rained heavily that day,undisputed.However if there had been a gale force wind,that might have been cited as supernatural or there might have been a spectacular rainbow or a magnificent lightning display all of which could have been used to imply that something supernatural was taking place.It says "engineers" have studied the case.Were they locomotive engineers or sound engineers what expertise did they have.Engineers looks good but without qualification means little.There are many unexplained but reasonably credible reports on the events of that day.Unexplained does not mean supernatural whether you are a believer or a sceptic.

Archaeologists and mathematicians in Israel have unearthed evidence that could suggest key biblical texts were composed earlier than previously thought.

Using algorithmic handwriting analysis, the experts studied 16 inscriptions on ceramic shards from the remote desert fort of Arad, written around the 6th century B.C. The inscriptions, which were written by six different authors, indicate a higher level of literacy in the ancient kingdom of Judah than many scholars thought.

The study, conducted by a team from Tel Aviv University, was published Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The research continues a long-running debate about when biblical works were composed — did it take place before or after the Babylonian siege and destruction of Jerusalem in 586BC and the exile of its inhabitants to Babylon?

The inscriptions are not biblical texts — they detail troop movements and expenses for provisions. The tone of the inscriptions also suggests they were not written by professional scribes.

Therefore, the inscriptions indicate “a high degree of literacy in the Judahite administrative apparatuses and provides a possible stage setting for compilation of biblical texts,” the study says. “Proliferation of literacy is considered a precondition for the creation of such texts.”


A Tel Aviv University team determined that this famous hoard of ancient Hebrew inscriptions was written by at least six different authors. (AP Photo/Dan Balilty)
The experts note that, after the kingdom of Judah’s demise, a similar level of literacy only re-emerges around 200 B.C.
In recent years, many scholars have attributed the composition of a group of biblical texts, from the Book of Joshua to the second Book of Kings, to the period after the siege and destruction of Jerusalem, according to Israeli archeologist Israel Finkelstein, who participated in the study. That theory holds that the biblical texts were written as a result of the exile to Babylon, when the composers began to think about their past and put their history to parchment.
Finkelstein, however, said he has long believed those texts were written in the late 7th century B.C. in Jerusalem, before the siege. He said the study offers support for that theory.
“It’s the first time we have something empirical in our hands,” said Finkelstein.

The Tel Aviv University team was made up of doctoral students in applied mathematics, math professors, archaeologists and a physicist. Their research employed “new methods for image processing and document analysis, as well as machine learning algorithms,” according to the study. “These techniques enable identification of the minimal number of authors in a given group of inscriptions.”


Although the inscriptions are not from the Bible, their discovery suggests there was widespread literacy in ancient Judah at the time that would support the composition of biblical works. (AP Photo/Dan Balilty)
“The results indicate that in this remote fort literacy had spread throughout the military hierarchy, down to the quartermaster and probably even below that rank,” the experts add, in the study. “This implies that an educational infrastructure that could support the composition of literary texts in Judah already existed before the destruction of the first Temple.”

A high level of literacy would support the idea that some biblical texts had already been authored by this time. The Dead Sea Scrolls, the oldest known collection of certain biblical texts, are believed to date several centuries later.

Shmuel Ahituv, an Israeli bible scholar who did not participate in the study, also believes literacy in ancient Judah was widespread before 586BC and that the biblical texts in question were written before the siege of Jerusalem. He said he believes this is apparent through a literary analysis of the biblical texts alone.

“I don’t need algorithms,” Ahituv chuckled.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

http://www.news.com.au/technology/science/archaeology/biblical-clue-were-key-texts-written-earlier-than-previously-thought/news-story/18bd30593ec041082c5e5bafa36f9e3e

It could all really have happened but there are logical explanations for some of these things.There are many interpretations and descriptions of what actually happened and the phenomena listed above are a very poor account.There is little doubt that something very extraordinary did happen but whether there was anything supernatural about these events is another matter.

Most of the time the animals are not a problem.It's the humans you have to watch out for.

The Catholic church has its own Bible.Not that much different to the standard King James plus a few extra chapters.They have added a few bits and deleted a few bits where it didn't suit their agenda.However it is their interpretation of some of the passages in the Bible that is more controversial than the actual differences in what is contained in the book.

Every time I read a post from Dolphin I smile from ear to ear.Her incurable belief in romance and positive outlook add a warm glow to every situation.And then there is mzrosie whose delightful smile and cheeky comments belie her real age.I can picture her skipping around her neighbourhood with her camera and her keen eye for the unusual,with the youthful exuberance of a teenager.Thank you ladies for the joy you add to the Forums.

Classic,Conrad.

I was always told "never put off until tomorrow what can be left until the day after".I have followed that rule religiously all my life.

I don't agree with your analysis Conrad.People are merely pointing out the inconsistencies and inaccuracies in his posts.I don't see anyone trying to prove God exists.Perhaps we are curious to see what revelation someone with "a significantly above average IQ" can cast on a complex subject.

It's called a tampon Rob but they are not usually 10 foot.

This highly gifted individual is either dropping down to the level of others for his own amusement or is trying to enlighten us less intelligent morons about what he believes is written in The Bible.He has previously stated on the Forum that he will not disclose his IQ other than to say that he held the second highest IQ score in his school.I suspect he may have attended a "special school". I think his posts provide ample evidence of his IQ so you don't have to rely on faith alone.

Before you go any further with your ranting about what is written in The Bible why don't you read it,then at least you can level your criticism at what is in the Bible and not hearsay.We already know about your IQ even though the story has changed in the last two weeks.For someone who claims to have a significantly above average IQ I'm surprised you couldn't work out for yourself that there was no need to have whales on the Ark unless Noah was worried that they might get wet with all the rain.For your information there are closer to 10 million species of animals not 1 million.Most of your stories are very inaccurate so your criticism is not based on what is written,merely what you remember from what other people have told you.You will find that the Bible said 3000 years ago that the earth was a sphere and that God created the earth and the sun and the stars and also that he stretched out the universe.These writings have not been changed,so I don't know where you are getting your misinformation from.I am not a Christian and I do not accept many of the things that are in the Bible but at least I read it before I started criticizing it.The Old Testament is more a history of the Jewish people than a religious handbook with instructions from God.With that high IQ of yours you should be able to see that much of what you remember is not accurate.

I can only speak for myself,my response was directed at Blondey's post.My criticism was leveled at the political ideology of Islam and drew a comparison with Christianity which has a similar agenda (to convert the world to its way of thinking) but with a different methodology and consequences.There was a time when Christianity wasn't too far removed from the methods used by Islam but the Christians were acting contrary to their teachings.Islam is following the teachings of The Koran.

What someone else believes and values culturally is their business,until it begins to impact on me.At the heart of this story is money.As I stated in an earlier post,the girl is still a virgin.I doubt if there are many people in countries which have accepted large numbers of Muslim refugees would talk about the benefits they have received from accepting these refugees.Large numbers of migrants to any country have often brought problems e.g. Mafia from Italy,South American drug cartels,Triads from China but by and large the majority of countries have benefited from accepting migrants and refugees.The difference is that Muslims are united by a political ideology which plainly states their agenda is to convert the world to this ideology.The moderate Muslim may state that this is not the case but as long as The Koran is their guiding influence that is their ultimate goal.One could say that the aim of Christianity is to bring the Gospel to all men but it doesn't instruct its followers to decapitate those who reject the Gospel,in fact it says to love your enemy.I know who I'd prefer knocking on my door even if I have a sign saying "no religious callers" on my gate.

The definition of virgin is "a person who has not had sexual intercourse".The girl is still a virgin albeit with a ruptured hymen.

I believe the timeline Lung is referring to is based on the ages of the people mentioned in the bible from the time of Adam to the birth of Jesus (hence the almost exact +/- 11 years).This is using the Bible as a record of history and not a religious book.It happens to fit neatly with the young earth hypothesis Conrad refers to and the findings of Ryan and Pitman he referred to.The problem this creates is that the Bible and the Quran says the water came from the sky and the springs of the earth.Ryan and Pitman and others say it came from melting ice.Whilst it is easy to dismiss The Bible and Quran as books inspired by God/Allah or the magical beings Igor refers to (reminds me of Jack and the Beanstalk) we are still faced with the problem of explaining why there is something rather than nothing or why there is an appearance of order and design rather than chaos.

Up to this point this has been an interesting and enlightening discussion.It is commendable that Lung has condemned ISIS and their backers but Conrad has enumerated 18 points which he claims are required beliefs or practices of an ordinary Muslim.Are these 18 points valid or not ?