Reading Response 3

I found that the first few chapters of Karen Armstrong's book were very informative about the history of Jerusalem and the entire area, though at times were a bit confusing when I found myself focusing too much on the names and such.  It was neat how she brought in the archeological findings of people like Kathleen Kenyon and how she brought up the difference in what was actually found and things that were written about the time in the Bible.  The difference between whether the Isralites were really outsiders or if they actually conquered all of Canaan is interesting and at the same time almost seems irrelevant since it is something we will probably never actually know.  Yet the idea of who came first and why the city is holy and important to different religions and peoples today is so central to the conflict. I think that this all goes back to a previous reading we had that talked about the difference between the Bible and myths or religious beliefs and what we have found to be actually true archeologically and how some people believe things simply through tradition and that those beliefs will always be stronger than any "facts" which have been uncovered.