how much of religious history is fact?

All cultures have colorful histories of their ancient pasts that were passed down through the generations orally, and when they were written in stone - or some other medium - that does not necessarily make them more factual. For instance, the stories of Gilgamesh, from the ancient Sumeric civilization, formed the basis of biblical stories and it is ironic that they are considered too fantastic to be considered factual, but biblical stories are not!

Also, as happens in modern times, revisionist history - where each generation rewrites history according to its own times and beliefs - was also practiced in ancient times.

As the old song says, 'the things that you're liable to read in the Bible just ain't necessarily so', and Judaism and Christianity are open to real scrutiny in this regard. Fourteen books (the Apocrypha) were removed from the modern Bible because of their unsuitability for belief consumption, but there are still many stories in the Bible that are so fanciful that they detract from the facts and the real message it wants to give.

Everyone accepts that the Bible was re-interpreted and re-written with each generation of Christian scribes according to what suited them, and if Jesus or any of his disciples were here today they would likely be horrified at what the Bible says they said!

In these days of progressive religions, the fantastic elements of Christianity - such as Adam and Eve, virgin births, miracles, great ages, rising from the dead and anyone, even Jesus, being the son of God - are glossed over in favor of the teachings of Jesus, but the fact remains that these fantastic elements still constitute the basic elements of traditional Christianity and as such they are turning away converts who are too well educated to accept them.

Science has proved without a shadow of a doubt that the earliest man lived millions of years ago, so the biblical stories - based on generations of 'begetting' placing Adam and Eve in a timeframe that is approximately 1,460 years from the birth of Jesus - are just not credible.

Thousands of years before the tribes of Israel got themselves organized and their history written, there were thriving civilizations elsewhere in the world that they were mostly unaware of.

The Great Pyramids, still standing, were built in the year 2,650BC, and yet the Bible, and its fundamentalist adherents, would have us believe that the world did not exist prior to c.1460BC in any other place than the Garden of Eden. There is no doubt that the Bible is a great work of literature, deserving of being widely read, but as an historical document it has little credence outside of the religions based upon it. Just because something is old and written does not necessarily make it the font of all knowledge.

As for the teachings of Jesus - which provide great comfort for many, and guidance for us all - it would be far better to divorce them from the fantasies of the Bible and present them in a factual manner that does not insult the intelligence of those seeking guidance.