Elephant said:
...on the second point...you are still confusing hard stone-cold science books with books on religion and philosophy...
You DO realize that ancient knowledge wasn't broken down into specific topics, like is done today? In other words, historic documents like the law code of Hammaurabi begin with a preamble that included divinities which establishes the right for the King to rule over his fellow man, etc?
Remember: in ancient cultures, the medical doctor WAS the philosopher WAS the scientist WAS the holy man/priest/prophet. Realize the specialization of roles that you assume from your current-day view didn't develop until much later in the development of Western civilization.
That's the kicker: some get hung up on a 3,000 yr old book without even bothering to learn the historical context in which it appeared, assuming that it has meaning to them for some God-awful reason....