PERTH, Australia (PRWEB) April 30, 2016
Author Gijsbert J.B. Sulman says he realized not all narratives in the Bible were true stories, so he set himself on a course to find out what really happened. The product of his research and effort is his new book, “Facts, Fiction, and the Bible: The Truth behind the Stories in the Old Testament” (published by Balboa Press AU).
“My book presents the reader with a careful and reasoned assessment of the truth lying behind and beneath the stories in the Old Testament,” Sulman says. “It carefully analyses the biblical text, puts the stories in their historical context and separates facts from fiction.”
Some of Sulman’s evaluations include the creation story, which he traces back to Babylonian myths, and Noah’s flood, which he said was due to a huge tsunami that hit Mesopotamia in 3000 B.C. He also notes that Jericho was not conquered with trumpets, but by introducing an epidemic, and the temple Solomon built in Jerusalem housed an idol and was dedicated to the sun god Shamash, not Yahweh.
“The Bible is very much part of the Western cultural heritage. It still influences the way we think, whether we go to church or synagogue, or not,” Sulman says, adding that readers should take away “That the doctrine of the inerrancy of the Bible is a fallacy, and that, also in matters of faith and religion, we should not abandon reason, but rather be guided by it.”
“Facts, Fiction and the Bible”
By Gijsbert J.B. Sulman
Softcover | 5.5 x 8.5in | 670 pages | ISBN 9781504301138
E-Book | 670 pages | ISBN 9781504301121
Available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble
About the Author
Gijsbert J.B. Sulman was born and educated in the Netherlands, and later migrated to Australia. Brought up in a strict Calvinist family, he grew up in an environment where Bible study was part of growing up. He found out that the Bible poses more questions than answers, but it was only after he stopped working that he had the time to do an in-depth study into the historicity of the Bible. In doing so, he made some startling discoveries. “Facts, Fiction, and the Bible” is the result of more than 10 years of research. The author is retired and lives near Perth in Western Australia.
Balboa Press Australia is a division of Hay House, Inc., a leading provider in publishing products that specialise in self-help and the mind, body and spirit genre. Through an alliance with indie book publishing leader Author Solutions, LLC, authors benefit from the leadership of Hay House Publishing and the speed-to-market advantages of the Author Solutions self-publishing model. For more information or to start publishing today, visit balboapress.com.au/ or call 1800 050 315. For the latest, follow @balboapress on Twitter and “Like” us at facebook.com/BalboaPress.