If you had any doubt as to the biblical illiteracy of mainstream America (especially the media), look no further than this article on CNN.

The author, Joel Baden, makes two statements about the Bible that are simply not true.
1. He states that Genesis says Methuselah lived to be 900 years old. Actually, it was 969 years.
2. He states “…the Dead Sea is created from the backward glance of Lot’s wife.” This is just not true, and what’s more, the Bible never makes this claim. She was turned into a pillar of salt. Period. That’s it.

Another problem with this piece is that it’s sensationalistic. The title leads you to believe that this camel thing is a smashing blow against the veracity of the Bible. But in the article, the author admits, “For those who believe the Bible to be fundamentally true, this is hardly going to change any minds. For those who believe it to be entirely false, this is surely not the most damning piece of evidence.”

The crux of this article comes down to the issue of “were camels used in the 20th century BC?” According to the article, they found camel bones that they radiocarbon dated to the end of the 10th century BC (about 1000 BC). The Biblical Chronology states that Abraham was born around 2166 BC. So here we have the age old question: what do you do when our current understanding of the world conflicts with what the Bible says? Those who believe in the truth of the Bible state, “Well, if the Bible says X is true, and secular science says X is false, then these secular scientists must be wrong.” Those who don’t believe in the Bible say, “See? Scientists have proven that the Bible is false!”

You won’t believe what happens next, though. In one fell swoop, the author states that the patriarchs “imagined” the whole story of Abraham, Isaac, etc. He believes, as do many liberal scholars, that the Bible wasn’t written until 1000 BC, so we must admire these writers who revealed their humanity by crafting the biggest lie in the history of the world. I have no words for the lack of logic in this statement. This is like awarding the Pulitzer Prize to James Frey, the man who became famous when his autobiographical book “A Million Little Pieces” was revealed to be severely exaggerated in its details, prompting a live confrontation on the Oprah Winfrey Show, where he admitted to making up a great deal of it. One of the claims he made in the book was that he had spent 87 days in jail, when in fact he had only spent a few hours there. Should we celebrate his “imagination,” Mr. Baden?

The biggest shocker: Joel Baden is an associate professor of Old Testament at Yale School of Divinity. So the guy who you are paying to teach you about the Bible is teaching you that the Bible isn’t true. If I had gone to Yale, I would ask for a refund.

Professor Baden says the biblical account is false. Shame on you, Professor, for calling God a liar. Shame.