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I think it is a pretty common supposition that discussing Biblical passages in a "doctrinal" capacity kind of implies a belief in God. As a historical or cultural account, the Bible has little value even compared to works we know about like Josephus. I'm not saying you can't piece together things, but it doesn't seem to flow as a historical account - I mean look at all the problems even trying to come up with a "harmony of the gospels", something vp took advantage of in all of his little nit-picky collateral works to the end of trying to establish himself as some kind of expert on Jesus Christ. "If you can't trust them with how many were crucified, how can you trust them with the verities of eternal life" - sure I can remember some kind of quote like that through the PFAL classes, right? With that said, I don't think this forum should exclude any viewpoints on the Bible regardless of belief systems. As far as what the first exposure was to the afterlife, I mean if there is any truth to Bullinger's work, "The Witness of the Stars" probably would be a prior indicator of that through teachings than any of the scrolls were.