Archaeology and the Bible
It is a popular assumption that the Bible is contradicted by archaeological evidence, but is it true? Does archaeology refute or support the historical claims of the Bible?
While there are many biblical claims about which archaeology remains silent, there are also many claims that have been validated by the discoveries of modern archaeology. In some instances, biblical claims that had been dismissed by historians as fictional were later proven by archaeology to be accurate.
In the Gospel of Luke, for example, Luke mentioned that Lysanias was a ruler at the time John the Baptist began his ministry. For years, skeptics used that reference as an attack on the accuracy of Luke’s writing. Lysanias was known to have lived 50-60 years earlier and had been executed by Mark Antony in 36 BC—three decades before John the Baptist was even born! Then during the 20th century, archaeology uncovered an inscription dating from between AD 14 and AD 29. This inscription identified another Lysanias as ruling over Abila during the reign of Tiberius, just as Luke had stated.
The Old Testament book of Daniel referred to a king named Belshazzar. For centuries, there was no evidence that such a person ever existed. This resulted in many people seeing the writings of Daniel as unreliable. Then the Cylinder of Nabonidus was discovered which verified the existence of Belshazzar.
Similarly, the proconsul of Achaia was identified in the Book of Acts by the name of Gallio. In 1905, an inscription discovered in Delphi verified that the proconsul of Achaia was in fact Gallio.
The Book of Acts also records that the Emperor Claudius ordered all the Jews to leave the city of Rome. A discovery in the writings of a first and second century Roman historian named Suetonius confirmed this event. In “The Life of Claudius,” Suetonius recorded how Claudius had expelled all the Jews from Rome for causing disturbances because of “Chrestus,” probably a variation of Christ.
In his letter to the church in Rome, the Apostle Paul identified a Christian named Erastus as the treasurer of the city of Corinth. Since at one time skeptics believed that all early Christians were from the lower class, this was dismissed as fictitious. Then in 1929, a stone was unearthed that contained an inscription identifying Erastus with the title of someone who oversaw the financial affairs of a city. This verified that what Paul had written was accurate.
Rodney Stark, an author and sociologist of religion, has written about the historical reliability of New Testament claims. In Discovering God, Stark noted:
“The major result of the many unrelenting scholarly attacks on the historical reliability of the New Testament has been to frustrate the attackers because again and again Scripture has stood up to their challenges. For one thing, the New Testament provides a very accurate geography, not only of Israel, but of the Roman Empire. Places are where they’re supposed to be. Reported travel times are consistent with the distances involved. The topography is accurately described and extends to tiny details such as the locations of wells, streams, springs, gorges, cliffs, city gates, and the like. New Testament identifications and characterizations of a variety of individuals, both famous and obscure, also have frequently been confirmed.”
Archaeology has repeatedly verified what the Bible says about historical people, places, and events. Does this mean there are no questions that remain? No, there are still mysteries to solve and discoveries to be made. The account of the Exodus, for instance, has not been corroborated by extra-biblical evidence. Neither has it been proven wrong.
Whether you believe the supernatural elements of the Bible or not, it cannot be dismissed as historically inaccurate. It describes real people and real events at a real time in history.
Announcing – Answering Objections to the Bible ebook
"Isn't the Bible just a book of mythology? How do I know the Bible isn't just a made-up storybook? Even if it's not, it's irrelevant and it contradicts itself. Why should I take it seriously? Besides, how do you know the Bible we use today is reliable? After all, it was written thousands of years ago. How do you know it hasn't been changed or corrupted through the years?"
Have you heard comments like those before? Do you perhaps ask similar questions yourself? Instead of dismissing these objections as frivolous, the Answering Objections series attempts to provide thoughtful responses. By exploring its pages, you will see that these honest questions from genuine people have reasonable answers.
Christians do not need to have a blind faith. A blind faith is a weak faith. Instead, Christians can have a reasonable faith. There is no need for believers to close their eyes and shut down their intellect in order to believe in God or in the legitimacy of Christianity. Nor is there any requirement to shy away from discussions with those who might have challenging questions.
The Answering Objections ebook series, written from a Christian perspective, examines many of these questions while presenting evidence in support of the Christian faith. It helps believers and skeptics alike discover whether or not there are good reasons to maintain that Christianity is true.
Christians do not want to believe in a lie any more than anyone else. Believers want to know whether their beliefs are true or just wishful thinking. This series should help set their minds at ease.
The first volume, Answering Objections to the Bible, is now available. Four other volumes are expected to be released during 2012.
God and the Cosmic Teapot
Bertrand Russell, the famous philosopher and atheist, once compared belief in the existence of God to belief in a cosmic teapot orbiting around the sun. The implication, of course, is that neither belief is valid. Russell’s reasoning can be summed up with three premises:
1. There is no evidence for the existence of God.
2. There is no evidence for the existence of a cosmic teapot.
3. Therefore, both beliefs are equally valid.
However, if one of the first two premises is false, the third cannot follow. Granted, there really is no evidence for the existence of a cosmic teapot. But is it true that there is no evidence God exists?
Actually, there are several arguments—both philosophical and scientific—that can serve as evidence. For instance, the Cosmological Argument (traceable to Plato and Aristotle) states that everything that begins to exist has a cause. Science now confirms that the universe had a beginning, so there must have been a transcendent first-cause (even prior to the Big Bang and evolution).
The Argument from Contingency—that anything that does not exist out of necessity owes its existence to something or someone else—shows how the universe needed a non-contingent first-cause that exists outside of time and space, i.e. God.
In the Teleological Argument, the incredible fine-tuning of the various quantities necessary in the initial conditions at the very start for the universe to continue to exist and for any life at all to form are used as evidence.
Finally, the Moral Argument proposes that God’s existence is the only basis for labeling anything as objectively “good” or “evil”. Apart from God, it can only be “like” or “dislike”.
All of these arguments, which is only a sampling, are consistent with modern science. Furthermore, none of these arguments are specific to the Christian God. Examining the validity of several ancient texts—many but not all of which have since been compiled into the New Testament—can fill that role, as can properly basic beliefs (intrinsic beliefs a person is justified in holding in the absence of a defeater) and personal accounts.
Each person can examine the evidence and draw his or her own conclusions, but to say there is no evidence at all is incorrect. Choosing to ignore the evidence does not mean it doesn't exist.