Does archaeology support the Bible?

Video | Print

The material evidence that archaeologists have discovered supports the Bible. Sadly, in the 1900s there was a great deal of archaeological work interpreted in a way that discredited the Bible. Of course, it has been said that archaeology “proves” the Bible, and this is not technically correct either. The Bible contains much information about God, the spiritual nature of the world, and the future of man that archaeology can never prove. The best archaeology can do is substantiate what the Bible says about the past, but the importance of that should not be understated. If, time after time, archaeology substantiates statements the Bible makes about the past, it would be logical to conclude that because the Bible is reliable historically, it must be reliable when it speaks of salvation, the coming of Christ, the Judgment, and everlasting life.

Many modern archaeologists do not think archaeology substantiates the Bible; they say it disproves the Bible. In fact, most of the universities that offer degrees in archaeology are staffed by archaeologists who do not believe the Bible. What is the situation? As the discipline of archeology developed, many theories were set forth concerning the dating of the ancient time periods being uncovered in the ground. As the many theories gradually gave way to an “accepted chronology,” there was a misdating of the layers in the ground. The subject is a complex one, and many books and articles have been written on it, but we can summarize the situation thusly: because archaeologists have mislabeled and misdated the eras of the ancient past that have been uncovered in excavations, the “evidence” they find in the ground does not match the biblical record. This has resulted in many of them doubting the accuracy of the Bible.

The Old Testament town of Jericho provides an excellent example of what has happened. According to the book of Joshua, when Joshua came to Jericho it was a formidable city, enclosed by a large wall and inhabited by Canaanites. Through a miracle, part of the wall of the city collapsed, which allowed the Israelite army to rush in, kill the people, and set the city on fire. Later, Jericho was rebuilt and inhabited. If the Bible is accurate, archaeologists should be able to dig into the tel, the dirt mound, at the site of Old Testament Jericho and find a large collapsed wall associated with a burn layer. Sure enough, archaeologists do find a large wall at Jericho, which is partially collapsed and associated with a deep burn layer indicating great destruction, not just a small fire. However, because of the way most modern archaeologists misdate the various layers, they claim when Joshua arrived, Jericho was either a deserted city or a small settlement. They say the wall was destroyed and the city burned before Joshua arrived, and Joshua simply took credit for what others had done by writing the story that now appears in the Bible. This viewpoint, or some similar idea that discredits the Bible, can be found in many books on the archaeology of the Bible. Warner Keller, whose book, The Bible as History, has sold more than 10 million copies, writes:

For if it is the case that Israelites did not come to Jericho until the time of the occupation, i.e., about the middle or towards the end of the 13 th century B.C., they did not need to conquer the city for they found it uninhabited! [22]

The Bible states that Jericho was inhabited, and even fortified. Remember the record of the prostitute Rahab whose house was built into the wall and who helped the spies Joshua sent? What about the wonderful account of the blowing of trumpets and the fall of the wall? Keller notes the findings of archaeologist Kathleen Kenyon who excavated Jericho from 1952-1958.

According to her findings the walls of Jericho had to be rebuilt during the Bronze Age no less than seventeen times. The walls were repeatedly destroyed either by earthquakes or erosion. Perhaps this weakness of the walls of Jericho found expression in the Bible account of how the children of Israel, in order to conquer Jericho, merely had to shout their war cry when the priests blew the trumpets. [23]

Is Keller serious when he writes that the record in the Bible is a fable, and the idea that the walls of Jericho fell when the people shouted and blew trumpets most likely came from the fact that Jericho was known to have weak walls? Sadly, he is. Let me restate that according to many modern archaeologists, archaeology actually disproves the Bible. This “disproving” happens over and over with record after record until there is little of the biblical account that they believe.

The truth about Jericho is that the weak walls were built after Joshua destroyed the Canaanite city of Jericho. Those who believe the Bible realize that the massive wall and associated burn layer in Jericho is good evidence the Bible is true; and there is more evidence from many more archaeological excavations all over Israel and the Middle East that also supports Scripture. Thankfully, in spite of the fact that archaeologists who do not believe the Bible hold very important positions in many universities, there are some who reject the “accepted” chronology and show that archaeological evidence, if interpreted properly, does support the Bible. [24] One who understands what has occurred in archaeology, and has information to help correct it is David Rohl. He does a good job of summarizing the position of modern archaeologists who do not believe the Bible, and notes why there is a problem:

What lies behind this jaundiced opinion of the Bible as history? Peeling away all the layers of scholarly debate which have tended to obscure the issue over the years, we are left with one fundamental problem for those who would advocate using the Bible as a source for history: archaeological excavations in Egypt and THE LEVANT, ongoing for the best part of the last two centuries, have produced no tangible evidence to demonstrate the historical veracity of the early biblical narratives. [25] Direct material support for the traditional history of the Israelite nation, as handed down in the books of Genesis, Exodus, Joshua, Judges, Samuel, Kings and Chronicles, is virtually non-existent. It is as if the Israelites had somehow failed to leave their archaeological footprint in the ancient lands of the Bible.

Of course, if you are a devout Christian, Jew or Muslim you may have no doubts about the historical accuracy of the Old Testament or TANAKH [The Jewish Bible] narratives and the parallel stories found in the Koran. Your weapon against this critical biblical scholarship is your absolute faith. If, on the other hand, like me, you are primarily interested in the search for historical truth—without the sustaining support of any particular religious belief—it is essential to find archaeological evidence to demonstrate that the events recorded in the Bible actually happened and that characters such as Joseph, Moses, Saul, David and Solomon really walked this Earth some three to four thousand years ago. It is the lack of such evidence which, in essence, lies at the very heart of the academic skepticism now prevalent in some areas of biblical scholarship. [26]

Rohl concludes that the reason that archaeologists do not have evidence for the biblical events is they are looking in the wrong layers of the dirt. They have misdated the layers and assigned the wrong dates to the evidence in the ground. Rohl writes about the need to reinterpret the dating of the evidence in the earth:

This book will demonstrate that all is not well with the “conventional” chronology and that the only real solution to the archaeological problems which have been created is to pull down the whole structure and start again, reconstructing from the foundation upwards. [27]

Once the chronology of the layers in the ground is correctly interpreted, the earth yields wonderful evidence for the biblical events and helps us picture exactly what happened in the biblical records. The depth of ash at Jericho, the strong walls of Megiddo, the pool at Gibeon, the pieces of ivory at Ahab’s “ivory palace,” the household utensils, the weapons, and much more, allow us to get a mental picture of what life was really like when the biblical characters lived. Rohl is one historian who has seen that picture, and he writes about what is there to see when the chronology is corrected.

I will endeavor to guide you to a Promised Land ablaze with the destructions of Joshua and the twelve tribes. We can then take another step back into the distant past to try and identify the cultural remains of the Israelites left behind in Egypt after the Exodus. A tantalizing prospect presents itself. We will be given the opportunity to wander along the dusty lanes between the houses of Jacob’s descendants and look into their courtyards to see bread-baking clay ovens, grain silos and the mudbrick vaults of their tombs. If the overall chronological framework proposed in this book is anywhere near historical reality, then the period of the Israelite Sojourn will become readily apparent in the archaeology of Egypt’s eastern delta. The mass graves of the victims of the final horrendous plague which fell upon Egypt will lie at our feet. The archaeological remains of the store-city built with the sweat of Israelite slaves during the Bondage period will be identified. Finally, I intend to take you into the Egyptian tomb of the patriarch Joseph. [28]

Although it may be debated whether or not Rohl has properly reconstructed the ancient chronology, it cannot be debated that in order to reestablish a correct chronology, the one accepted today by most archaeologists needs to be completely reconstructed. Another scholar who recognized the need to completely reconstruct the chronology of the Exodus and the early years of the Israelite occupation of the land of Israel is the late Donovan Courville. His rare two-volume work, The Exodus Problem and Its Ramifications, is a masterpiece offering a very plausible explanation of the chronology of the Exodus, including the name of the Pharaoh who opposed Moses. [29] The late Joseph P. Free, author of Archaeology and Bible History, is another scholar who recognized the need to adjust the “accepted dating” of many of the archaeological sites in Israel. [30] Once the chronology of the Middle East is corrected and the layers of dirt the archaeologists are digging in are correctly labeled, all the “missing evidence” for the biblical accounts will be right there in front of our eyes.

When you walk up the steps to the Temple that Jesus walked up, when you hold a 3,000 year old oil lamp, when you stand on the remains of the castle wall at Samaria, or walk through the water tunnel Hezekiah built to protect his people from the Assyrians, there is a powerful emotional connection that occurs between you and the Bible, you and the biblical characters, and you and your God. That is why many people visiting Israel weep at the ancient and holy sites. The misdating of the layers of the earth by modern archaeologists has prevented many people from seeing the rich evidence for the truth of the Bible. Furthermore, it has contributed to their being skeptical of the Bible and disconnected from God. It is a blessing that we live in a time when there are some historians and archaeologists who are not content to accept the standard chronology with all the doubt and unbelief that goes along with it, but rather are working to restore the true chronology of the layers in the earth. Anyone searching for the truth can read what these men and women have to say. It is my sincere prayer that there will come a day when the histories and chronologies of the archaeological sites are corrected, and the discipline of archaeology itself is reconstructed to reflect the true history of the world.

UNLESS SOMEONE HAS CONCRETE PROOF INCLUDING PICTURES ETC , SOMETHING AS DEFAMATORY AS THAT WITHOUT A DIRECT SOURCE IS LEGALLY DANGEROUS..TODAY I NOTICED TWO FAKE ARTICLES RUNNING IN THE JAMAICA MEDIA BUT THEY ARE JUST PLOYS TO PEEK PEOPLE’S INTERESTS………………BUSINESS NUH RUN SUH

Alabama Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for Stolen Identity Refund Fraud
Kenneth Jerome Blackmon Jr., a resident of Montgomery, Ala., was sentenced today to 51 months in prison, the Justice Department and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced.

In January 2013, Blackmon pleaded guilty to aggravated identity theft and access device fraud. According to court documents, Blackmon was involved in a scheme to use stolen identities to file false federal income tax returns with the IRS. He admitted to acquiring names and Social Security numbers, to using that identity information on false tax returns, and to directing fraudulent tax refunds onto debit cards. Blackmon also admitted to possessing at least 15 Social Security numbers for the purpose of obtaining fraudulent tax refunds from the IRS.

In addition to prison time, Blackmon was ordered to pay $197,839 in restitution to the IRS and to serve three years of supervised release following his release from federal custody.

Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Tax Division Kathryn Keneally and U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Alabama George L. Beck Jr., commended the efforts of IRS – Criminal Investigation special agents in investigating the case, Tax Division Trial Attorneys Justin Gelfand and Jason Poole in prosecuting the case, and the Alabama Department of Pardons and Paroles and the Gwinnett County, Ala., Sheriff’s Department in Georgia in assisting federal authorities with the investigation.

Wednesday, April 24, 2013 | 2:24 PM

ST ANN, Jamaica – A 31-year-old man is dead and his 17-year-old girlfriend in police custody after she allegedly stabbed him in the back Tuesday night, April 23.
Reports are that about 8:30 pm, Shawn Magnus and his girlfriend who lived together in Parry Town, Ocho Rios had a dispute over a cell phone. During the dispute, a struggle ensued when the teen stabbed Magnus once in the back.

The teen was reportedly among those who rushed him to the hospital where he was pronounced dead.
She has since been taken into custody, but is not yet charged in relation to the incident.
– Renae Dixon

Read more: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/17-y-o-girl-stabs-31-y-o-lover-to-death#ixzz2RPdEpDo8

From: ashley
Title: a bet sey yuh neva fppp wid anada gyal man!!

Message Body:
dis likkle pissytail gyal yah wey dont even know how fi wash har dutty cratches or har dutty panty. dis likkle gyal brite cah she get a one f=== an know from day 1 sey him have him wife an kids an all of a sudden she a come nuff up harself, di man dont even a pay yuh nuh mind. RUSHELLE yuh need fi get a life and concentrate pon yuh school work. she a 18 an still inna 9 grade, all she do is walk an tek married man an have facety chat behind it. all she do is walk, breed an dash wey belly, she nyam a 6 months twin..doctor sey if she nyam one more belly a dead she ago dead. di whole a PORT ANTONIO f== har, a she buss a di likkle bwoy dem inna di community. she dont even know har farda, cause dem sey har uncle a har fada, har madda did a tek two bredda! pissytail PORTLAND mattress yuh need fi leave di people dem man alone. bitch yuh have no layalty, yuh walk an tek di whole a yuh fren dem man, anybody wey she nuh tek a who she nuh hear dem sey. bitch yuh need some clothes, yuh n aked like bakkle before dem put on di label. bitch tek yuh p== haffa yuh farrid an put it back between yuh leg an stop f== yuh madda man. she nuh have noo p=== principle. i hope the next bitch man yuh tek dem f== yuh up….despearte groupie get a bloodclaut life an come outta di people dem life! guh drink bleach and kick rocks inna yuh open toe slippers BITCH AKA RUSHELLE FROM PORTLAND!!!!!!!!!

By Patrick Maitland Street Hype Editor

Mount Vernon based Jamaican-born actress and model Keturah Hamilton is seeking to recover $5,000 from New York City model and‘American Next Top Model’Camille McDonald.Hamilton told
Street Hype
that she filed a small claim lawsuit in the City Court of White Plains on April 8, 2013 to recover portion of the losses she incurred as a result of McDonald’s non-appearance at the staging of her “Model Search Extravaganza 2013”held in Maryland on January 20, 2013. “I contracted Camille through her manager Parmaishsarhill Fukie and she signed the contract on December 26, 2012.

The value of the contract was $600 and a deposit of $320 paid, including $200 to her personal account and $120 to the manager’s account,”Hamilton explains.“Her non-appearance caused serious problems for us It was very embarrassing,as some patrons demanded are fund while others did not attend the event. We lost well over $6,500 from this project plus our reputation has been damaged,”Hamilton adds.An upset McDonald describes the lawsuit as being ridiculous and frivolous. “This lady is trying to exploit me, gain publicity and fame from my name.She breached the contract in several areas including transportation, hotels and promotion. She failed to put in place all these arrangements in a professional and timely manner.”McDonald explains that
the assignment was not really about money as she only asked for $600 which is far
below her professional fee.The court date is set for July 11, 2013 at 9:30 am.

Source:http://www.scribd.com/doc/136375756/Street-Hype-Newspaper-April-1-18-2013

RUN UP DIS BEFORE UNNO RUN DUNG DAT…..MEMBA DI BIG EXTRAGAGEMENT LAWS WEEK? WHEN EYE HAFFI COVER INA SHOCKMENT AND ALL DESE TINGS……..ONSTAGE GUH PAN AND ALL DESE TINGS…. DEM SEH DI GROOM TO BE MUSSY MIND CONFUSE OR RING CONFUSED BUT DI CONFUSEMENT CAUSE DI MATE GREAT CONFUSION ……..KAWS DI GROOM WELL CONTACT DI MATE RIGHT AFTER DI PARTY A TELL OUT ALL WHEY HAPPEN A DI PARTY AND FAIL FI MENTION SEH BIG BIG EXTRAGAGEMENT DID TEK PLACE.. I WONDER WHAT WAS THE MATE TOLD FOR HER TO STAY HOME*ENGLISH VOICE*

BIG UP SELECTOR JIGSY WHEY GET HOLD A CANADA MONTH BEFORE LAST………..SMADY COMMENT SEH HIM SWALLOW DIS AND DAT AND BAY TINGS SUH DI CANADA GOVERNMENT REPOSSESS DI BODY WHEY DID A CARRY DI SUBSTANCE……JIGGSY BANGLE DUNG.

INA DI LAST LIKKLE RUNNINGS….. DI BIG MIXUP WHEY DROP YESSIDEH………. WID DI M PEOPLE DEM AND DI LEGACY TING DERE AND ALL DOZE TINGS…….FI ONE DI PEOPLE DEM A STREET A ASK HOW DI STEPMADDAH SUH UPFRONT AND WHEN MR MINOTT DEAD DERE WAS A BABY IN DI BELLY OF A LESS DAN 18 YEAR OLD…………DI PEOPLE DEM SEH FI ASK DAT….HOW TITLE FI A KEEP UP AND DI LEGALITY OF THE SITUATION WAS BECAUSE MR MINOTT WAS FI GET HIM TINGS BECAUSE A BAG A TIME STEP MADDA DEH JAMAICA AND DI MAN NEVA KNOW BECAUSE DEM NEVA DEH PAN TALKING TERMS..DEM DID MORE DEH PAN DI LEFFING AFTER DI GREAT BIG BOX A DANCEHALL QUEEN OPENING…………WI WAA FI KNOW DI TINGS DEM! SUM PEOPLE A SEH STEP MADDA WAS GOOD TO STEP KIDS BUT STEP KIDS NEVA APPRECIATE AND BAY TINGS………… DI STREET PEOPLE DEM SEZ DAT EVERYBADDIE DEH PAN WELFARE……..NOT JUS WHO MENTION *wink wink*…DI STUDIO MAN DEM SEH DI REAL FEELINGS CARRY BECAUSE DI WIFEY DEAREST DID TEK OUT WHOLE HEEP A POLICIESSSSSSSSS PAND DI MR M AND WHEN HIM DEAD IT NEVA SHARE……… DI MAN DEM SEH NUH ADDA BAD BLOOD NEVA EXIST BEFORE DAT BECAUSE STEP MOMMY USED TO GIVE A LOT AND MOST A DI KIDS DEM USED TO GRAB UP DI LIKES WHILE LIKING HER… DI MAN DEM SEH EVERYBADDIE BAD IS LIKE A SPIRT OF SEX AS YOU PLEASE DRAP INA DAT FAMILY BECAUSE DEM SEH ENTERTAINER TO DEM TING AND IS MORE DAN TWO DROP INA ONE A DEM TING SUH DAT ONE IS A GROUPIE……….MI NAH CALL NUH NAME…DIS IS JUS A RUN DUNG…STUDIO PEOPLE SEH FAWDA AND NUFF KIDS NEVA HAVE A GOOD RELATIONSHIP AND DI ONLY ONE WHEY DID A RUN TINGS WAS ONE…………………YOUNG MAN DAT DEM SEH DID —— MI MEAN HAPPY…………. AND NOT CAVIAR BUT DI REAL —– DEM SEH DAT YOUNG MAN WAS SAID TO HAVE DIED FROM AN AILMENT THAT WAS JUST A SHAM AILMENT BECAUSE DEM SEH HIM DID HAVE ONE TING DEH…….DIS IS JUST A RUN DUNG…….OVER AND OUT……OUT