Exodus! As an American gentile, I grew up in a religious-free home. My parents were not Atheist, they believed in the existence of God; however, they lived without any regard to Him. Thereby, I may have attended a church service all of 3-5 times during adolescence. I remember my dad saying once, “I have no problem with Christianity, only that Britton figure that out for himself.” Nonetheless, lack of church attendance did not derail my hearing of the Exodus story. Old Testament stories in general are so graven within American culture, it is not foreign to know about these stories; yet, for me, Exodus was merely a fairytale. In coming to faith, this all changed. Maybe it is easy to treat the Exodus story as a story, due its story like reception; without giving room to the historical-theological significance. In this assignment, let us look a few oppositional-views, and defend why the Exodus is a historical-theological truth.
The modern age, whether we like it or not, has bowed the knee to secular-science, and/or humanistic-logic. And as technological-advancements prevail, they often do so with anti-biblical favor. As a result, Atheist-humanism, Humanistic Judaism, and Liberal-Christianity have challenged the historical-authenticity of the Exodus-event.
ATHEISM
Let us start with Atheism. Not surprisingly, the Atheistic-worldview denies the Exodus as historical; or at least denies the Bible’ depiction as accurate. As logical thought is the foundational premise for all Atheistic thought; Atheism attacks the logicality of the Exodus event. An “author-less” web post starts here:
“The reasons that the exodus couldn't really have happened are simple, and manifold. First off, the Egyptians recorded every important event in hieroglyphs. But there is nothing there about the seven plagues, the exodus of the Egyptian slaves, or the destruction of their army.And that’s weird. The exodus was a MASSIVE event. According to the bible, Moses led 600,000 Israelites out of Egypt. Archaeologists estimate the Egyptian population at the time (1450 BC) at 3 million people. Surely, someone would have noticed it if suddenly, a fifth of the entire population walked out! The Egyptian economy would have collapsed, to say the very least. But in the historical and archaeological record: no such thing. Quite the contrary, never in history was the Egyptian empire doing better. And there’s more. Around 1450 BC, you couldn’t just get up and leave Egypt. The Egyptian empire was vast, back then. It reached deep into what’s now Israel, with fortresses and army outposts everywhere. Canaan was Egyptian, the Sinai desert was Egyptian. Yet in Exodus and Numbers, we read how Moses and Joshua come across many cities and people – without ever bumping into even one Egyptian soldier. Then, there are the details. Exodus mentions the Philistines, a people that didn’t exist yet. Cities like Ezion Geber, Arad, Heshbon and Kadesh Barnea weren’t founded yet. Other cities mentioned in Exodus and Numbers, like Ai and Jericho, were abandoned ruins for centuries by the time the Israelites arrived. Essentially, Moses and the Israelites were walking through a fantasy land – a Middle East that never really existed!” (Unknown Author. Web)
The second appeal comes in the form of lack of archaeological proof. Heavy criticism concerning any evidence of a people group at least 600,000 strong, not leaving their mark: “The bible tells us how 600,000 Israelites lived in the desert for forty years. It even gives details about where they set up camp. But although archaeologists can even recover the traces of small bands of bronze age tribesmen in the desert, no camp site of the Israelites has ever been found” (Unknown Author. Web). It is clear, without substantial “logical” proof the Israelites existed within Egypt, that the plagues really took place in Egyptian history, and proof of Israelites wandering the wilderness for forty-years; other than Hebrew testimony; Atheism is far from receiving the Exodus story as a logical-historical event.
HUMANISTIC-JUDAISM
Humanistic-Judaism appeals, stating, “Humanistic Judaism embraces a human-centered philosophy that celebrates Jewish culture without supernatural underpinnings. Humanistic Jews value their Jewish identity and the aspects of Jewish culture that offer a genuine expression of their contemporary way of life. We believe in the human capacity to create a better world” (SHJ. Web). Humanistic-Judaism, like Atheism, has attempted to find a logical means behind the Exodus story. Groups like the Society for Humanistic Judaism seek to celebrate the historical value of Jewish traditions, while removing any supernatural authenticity of Judaic account. Atheist-Jew, Staks Rosch, denies Jews were ever slaves, thus debunking the Exodus story, altogether. He concludes, “Further, how immoral is it for modern Jews to continue to perpetuate this myth at the expense of Egyptian dignity? For thousands of years, the Jews have blamed the Egyptians for enslaving their ancestors when that never actually happened. Continuing to celebrate Passover without acknowledging the truth of history only perpetuates the shame” (Rosch. Web). Indeed, Humanistic-Judaism is simply, Atheism explained through a Jewish lens.
LIBERAL-CHRISTIANITY
Liberal-Christianity, like Humanistic-Judaism, is essentially Atheism. The Christian denying the historical truth of the Exodus account stems from not knowing what to do with the perceived lack of evidence of Israelites enslaved to Egypt, and no legitimate proof concerning Israelites wandering the wilderness for forty-years. While there is not a total denial of the existence of God, or of Jesus as the one true Messiah; the force of accusation is placed upon Israel. John Kaminski, has said, “Jews lie. Jews have always lied. And most assuredly, Jews are still lying today about everything that has to do with themselves and their sordid history” (Kaminski. Web). The rhetoric dismantles proof Israelite history, and allows writing off undesirable scripture; such as hard Mosaic Law’ to grasp.
EXODUS IS A HISTORICAL-THEOLOGY TRUTH
For the Christian, if Jews were never enslaved in Egypt, and the Exodus story never happened, is is viable to say that Christianity is a lie. Timothy Mahoney writes, “No Jews in Egypt means no Exodus. No Exodus means the foundation of Judaism is a myth. And for Christians it means that Jesus Christ and the writers of the New Testament got it wrong because they all accepted the reality of Moses and the Exodus and built their teachings on them” (Thornbury. Web). One can easily see the Christian faith makes or breaks at the historicity of the Exodus account. However, it is not as one-sided as the peanut-gallery makes it seem.
Atheism, Humanistic-Judaism, and confused Christians alike have rendered the historical event of Exodus as unfounded, archaeologically speaking. But is that true? The Biblical Archaeology Society Staff (BAS) thinks otherwise. The Biblical Archaeology Society (www.biblicalarchaeology.com) has copious amounts of literature showing archaeological proof of the Exodus; too much to convey here. “So, is the Biblical Exodus fact or fiction? Scholars and people of many faiths line up on either side of the equation, and some say both. Archaeological discoveries have verified that parts of the Biblical Exodus are historically accurate, but archaeology can’t tell us everything. Although archaeology can illuminate aspects of the past and bring parts of history to life, it has its limits” (BAS. Web). While “Egyptian text, artifacts, and archaeological sites” (BAS. Web), do exist in favor of the historicity of the Exodus event, namely, Israelites were enslaved, and an Exodus occurred; these are usually held with little weight by opposition. Not to mention, sites like Snopes.com, trusted fact sites, have served to deny their legitimacy.
Another notable contention is the seeming lack of historical records of the Exodus by Egyptians. Is this true? No. In the 19th century the IPUWER PAPYRUS, dating back to the Middle Kingdom was discovered in Egypt. The IPUWER PAPYRUS holds at least eighteen-correlations between Exodus, and itself (Becher. Web). Christianity, thus, has a dog in the fight. My speculation concerning the seeming absence of the Exodus in Egyptian history lies within the pride of the Egyptian “god kings” themselves. Though logically unsatisfying to opposition, inasmuch as American history is being rewritten right before our eyes; it is not far-fetched to say the same of Ancient Egypt.
CONCLUSION
What is at hand here is the authenticity of the bible and all its contents. If Israelites were not enslaved; if Pharaoh’s army not crushed by receding parted waves in the Red Sea; if Israelites did not wander the wilderness for forty-years; Christ did not raise from the dead, and the NT writers stood on a foundation of lies. However, the Biblical Archaeology Society, IPUWER PAPYRUS, and other historical documents, whether acknowledged or not, stand firm in declaration of the historicity of the events found in the book of Exodus. My epilogue concerning the matter rest on faith. At the end of the day, it is “by grace you have been saved through faith” (ESV Eph. 2:8). Even if there are little to no historical or archaeological proof for us in these latter-days, the Christian stands in faith that God’s word is inerrant, and infallible. Though Atheism and Humanistic-Judaism bark their accusations, Christians stand in faith and love truth. The Christian that denies Exodus denies God; making Him out to be a liar.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
ESV Journaling Bible. The Journaling Edition ed.
Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2001. Print.
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Becher, Rabbi Mordechai. “The Ten Plagues: Live From Egypt.”
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http://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/biblical-topics/exodus/exodus-fact-or-fiction/
Kaminski, John. “The First Lie: The Old Testament Fabrication that the Israelites Were Slaves in
Egypt.” Darkmoon 2015. 16 March 2015.
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Rosch, Staks. “The Biblical Exodus Story Is Fiction.” The Huffington Post. 6 June 2012.
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Thornbury, Gregory Alan. “Why It Matters that the Exodus Really Happened.”
Christianity Today 2016. 3 February 2015.
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www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2015/february-web-only/why-it-matters-that-exodus-really-happened.html.
Unknown, Author. "The Bible VS The Experts." Exltmundi.
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“Welcome to the Society For Humanistic Judaism." Society For Humanistic Judaism, 2014.
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