First of all, similar to the books of Moses, the book of Joshua is written in the third person. It would have been absurd and vain-glorious for Joshua to speak of himself when writing - ch7:27: "....and his fame was noised throughout all the Country"
In the final Chapter ofthe book, verse 31, Joshua is spoken ofin the past tense; 24:31; "And Israel served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders, that overlived Joshua, and which had known all the works of the Lord, that he had done for Israel."
But the most perpleing evidence against the validity of the book of Joshua, is the fantastic tale of the Sun standing still upon Mount Gibeon. Ch 10:13; " And the Sun stood still, and the Moon stayed, until the people had avenged themselves upon their enemies, Is this not written in the book of Jasher? So the Sun stood still in the midst of Heaven, and hasted not to go down about a whole day". This tale, fable, could not have happened without the whole world knowing!
Why would the Moon have to stand still? what use could it have ben during the day? this speaks more of Poetry than History, thus the validity of the book is questionable. No other counrtry, including Egypt, makes note of the miraculous event, wouldn't one side of the world wonder why the Sun had not risen? would the other side ponder why the Sun had not fallen?
A lot of people have argued this point with me, but I still have to disagree. The fact that Joshua Sun and Moon stayed still in the sky, is poetic licence born from the fact that, in their time, it was thought that the Sun revolved around the Earth. So a better interpretation would have been that the Earth stood still.
Moving back to the evidence within the text that reads in the third person with a narrative and biographical feel, we move to chapter 8;
8:28 - " And Joshua burnt Ai, and made an heap for ever, even in desolation unto this day". Here the writer, once more, speaks of events passed tense, not only that, but with emphasis on the age of the desolation. The words " ..even in desolation unto this day" is used to give emphasis on the huge destruction of that city, that it was soo catastophic, that itis still a waste land, EVEN, today".
If this verse was written by Joshua himself, what would be the point of making such a claim, for if it was written at the time of the destruction, lets say the next day, week, month, year, the claim loses its impact and awe. So it would be reasonable to believe that the writer lived in a time long after the event took place, giving the claim its awe, thus Joshua was not the writer ofthis book. Again if this is so Authenticity of the book is questionable
my queries are not directed at God, they are directed at the authenticity of the bible, that, in my opinion the bible is the work of men, that in my series of questions I hope to be able to, hopefully, let you question the scripture yourself, in doing this you will have a clear path to your God, or, you may find, as I, that the biblical God, Jehovah, is nothing more than myth. The Bible cast a powerful spell on humanity, one that has taken away all reason and logic from the faithful, it is my aim to show the Christian that they do not need the bible to find their God, they only need look inside themselves, for true enlightenment come from within
A belief in God should be a personal enlightened epiphany and not something you are taught.
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