The bold headline jumped out at me from an inside page of The Daily Star[1] I happened upon left in a restaurant.

Intrigued, I read on and was amazed at the lack journalistic integrity I found in a story fabricated from fragments of mismatched study material.

Alongside a photo of an actor posing as a thorn-crowned Jesus, the journalist, Steve Hughes, goes on to assert “Creators of the Bible could have copied its most important lines from ancient curse tablets. Theologians claim to have found similar passages in works that were popular in ancient Greece and Rome at least 5000”.

He then cites Dr Michael Hoelscher, of Gutenberg University in Germany, who proposes that one verse in the Book of Revelation is similar to “wording and phrases” from the tablet studied.

I wondered what sort of hack journalist would produce such tosh.

I wondered what sort of hack journalist would produce such tosh, so I checked online. Surprise, surprise! Steve Hughes is the News Editor for the paper.

Origins

Pursuing the matter further, I checked the University of Gutenberg website, and there found what may have been the source of Steve Hughes’s information: Echoes of ancient curse tablets identified in the book of Revelation, dated February 8^th, 2023. Illustrated by a photo of a lead tablet, inscribed with a prayer for revenge on “Priscilla”, from “about 100AD”, the only verse cited by the University from Dr Hoelscher’s research is the prophecy against Babylon found in Revelation 18:21:

“Thus with violence shall that great city, Babylon, be thrown down and shall be found no more”.

… this story  …  requires a leap of the imagination, but it also deliberately casts doubt on the whole Bible.

Checking further, a brief article dated February 10th was found on the Arkeonews website, which adds a qualifier used by Dr Hoerschler: the full quotation reads, “In Revelation we find wording and phrasing that are very similar to those that are found on curse tablets, although no actual verbatim quotations from the latter appear” (my emphasis). The accusation of multiple Bible authors “copying” is manifestly unjustifiable.

With a little due diligence (about 30 minutes of my time), the sensationalist headline, and the claim that the original authors of the Bible could have copied from the curse tablets, was demolished. The concoction of this story built on one verse by one author requires a leap of the imagination, but it also deliberately casts doubt on the whole Bible.

Lack of Knowledge

The effect on already cynical readers would reinforcement prejudice and encourage ditherers to doubt. Moreover, the author displays his abysmal ignorance of the ever-increasing archaeological evidence of the authenticity of many parts of both Hebrew and Greek Scriptures, some of which, as a retired University Geographer, I have had the privilege both to see in Israel and to work on as a volunteer under the supervision of Dr Erez Ben Yosef, of Tel Aviv University.

The effect on already cynical readers would reinforcement prejudice and encourage ditherers to doubt.

The Daily Star and its News Editor, Steve Hughes, surely owe their readers a substantial apology and I have written to ask for one (by e-mail, Saturday, February 11^th). I have yet to receive an acknowledgement. On February 16th I sent a complaint to the Independent Press Standards Organisation, as under Clause 1 (Accuracy) of the Editors’ Code: “The Press must take care not to publish inaccurate, misleading or distorting information or images, including headlines not supported by the text”.

Thankfully, that complaint has been acknowledged. Additionally, I will be writing to the National Council for the Training of Journalists to suggest that this case should be used as an example of egregious sloppiness, if not outright prejudice.

[1] Daily Star, February 10^th 2023, p.20.