What makes me think that most of the books in the OT are intended to be read as historical?
Well, the main reason is I've been taught in a Christian school for the past 10 years that this is the only way to read some of these books.
So, you're in 10th grade? You're 15?
But now you are telling me all my teachers are morons who can understand so much about the books but they can't even identify if the author intended for it to be historical?
Ouch. Generally I would hope a Christian education might be a good thing. I've seen cases where it is. I certainly take exception with the teachers giving you these ideas, yes. They have hung your Faith out to dry, leaving you at a dead end. You have some of that teen-age rebellion stuff in you still? You're going to need some of that, I think.
The hope I hold out for you is that while you no doubt currently see Faith as an impossibility, or as a total illogical improbability at the very best, it is actually a solid Rock. Everything the Bible purports it to be. Shield, strong tower, all that good stuff.
Between now and then you will have to suffer a little while; that's direct Scripture. You're tough, right?
Once you see the intent of Scripture, and different sections of it, it is AMAZING!! It fits together far better than you can imagine, and all becomes incredibly strong. It all has a purpose, and within that purpose its all true. We call this rightly dividing the word. You can place that passage, right?
But you're going to have to get a bit more sophisticated than Ken Ham. One of the most amazing things about Scripture is how sophisticated these ancients were.
Also I just briefly read over some of what this site has to say about genesis and it makes some very good points about why the only way it can be taken is historically:
As a whole, the Bible is a SPIRITUAL book. It tells us about how we can have a relationship with God. You must see it through that lens. And the focus is always on Christ, which will hopefully already make sense to you because He is the very embodiment of man in relationship with God.
Please notice that this has little or nothing in common with it being a science text book, or even a history lesson. On that point, realize that the Jews recited their entire Scripture every year, and a man was thought to know nothing until he was a grand-father. Does that sound like all there is to it is history to you?
For that matter, try to find a Rabbi teaching Genesis as literal. I don't think you can do it. If you do, you won't find any agreeing with him. OT is JEWISH; shouldn't the way they teach it count for
something?
I don't think that the authors would spend time forming these long ass genealogies and making references to real people and places if it's all just made up. Another reason is the quote by a christian here in my first post.
And yet in the NT we read that we shouldn't concern ourselves with these genealogies. Why is that? Don't get me wrong, if you study deep enough into the language they do all have some value, but ya gots to dig deeper here. Salvation isn't where you're looking, and the way you're going about it your Faith is being torn apart. Doesn't that tell you something's wrong?