Does archeology prove the Bible?

What are some examples that archeology proves the Bible?

The science of archeology has done much to confirm Biblical history and help us to understand the customs, culture and circumstances in Bible times.  It has authenticated the ancient books of the Old and New Testament in many ways.  It has shown the uniqueness of the Bible in its overwhelming accuracy compared to all other ancient writings.  However, it is wise not to make the claim that archeology "proves" the Bible.  Archeologists are fallible humans and any study of the past is limited by the fact that "we were not there." The Bible is absolute but archeology, like any science, is ever changing.

Dr. Clifford Wilson in his book, The ABC of Biblical Archaeology, page 550 writes, "Proof of the Bible is not dependent on archaeology or any other scientific evidence.  The Bible has the capacity to defend itself, and to give its positive message to those who seek God through its pages.

Nevertheless, archaeology has done a great deal to restore confidence in the Bible as the revealed Word of God.  It has thrown a great deal of light on previously obscure passages, and has helped us to understand customs, culture, and background in many ways that seemed most unlikely to our fathers in a previous generation.  Archaeology is highly relevant for the understanding of the Bible today."

Unfortunately, however, many in archeology resist the truthfulness of the Bible even in light of the many discoveries confirming and clarifying the Bible.  Dr. Wilson, who has literally been in the trenches in this battle between the secular science community and the Bible-believing scientists goes on to explain, "Its superiority to attack, its capacity to withstand criticism, its amazing facility to be proved right after all, are all staggering by any standards of scholarship.  Seemingly assured results "disproving" the Bible have a habit of backfiring.  Over and over again the Bible has been vindicated.  That is true from Genesis to Revelation…."

Let us consider in the space here just one aspect of archeological discoveries that supports the account in Genesis that man was created intelligent and in one day and did not evolve from a "common ancestor" or ape.  According to what is being taught in most biology textbooks ancient man was a primitive man.  According to what is found in archeology and the Bible, however, this is just not the case.  If it was true that ancient man was primitive grunting and pulling his wife along by her hair then archeology should shed some light on this "prehistoric" behavior.  Cave art, for example, is anything but primitive.  Much of the art is very well done and some even contains three-dimensional effects that would be difficult for many modern artists.  Another example is what has been termed "OOPArts," which is an acronym for Out of Place Artifacts.  According to the scenario that ancient men were not intelligent we would predict that artifacts from the past would reflect this stupidity.  On the contrary, these artifacts reflect great intelligence.   One example is an analog computing device that was discovered in the Aegean Sea.  It included very sophisticated differential gears and is dated to before Christ.  Also, what "appears to be some kind of electrical device - specifically a spark plug" was found in a geode in the Cosa Mountains of California.  Other such electrical and computing devices were excavated from the remains of the Minoan civilization.  The ancient batteries discovered there evidently used copper and iron which can function quite well as electrodes.  Many other artifacts of this sort have been documented.

Other anomalies for the "primitive people" theory are stone structures found in the Zimbabwe Ruins.  The walls there made of stone several inches thick and about six feet in length are still standing today and are fitted together so well that no mortar was required to hold them together.  Another prominent structure there includes a tower apparently used for astrology.  Interestingly, discoveries all over the world such as those in South America indicate a similar fascination with astrology.  In the Nazca Desert south of Lima, Peru are large geometric figures and outlines of various animals.  The methods used for such complicated design indicate a high degree of intelligence.  Anthropologists agree that these designs were the Nazca version of the zodiac used for astrologic purposes and for worship of their sun god.  The amazing structure of the city of Tiahuanaco in Boliva indicates amazingly high technological skill but again indicates an interest in astrology.

Johann Kepler once said, "Astrology is the illegitimate daughter of the respectable astronomy."  Perhaps if these, and other ancient civilizations had not been so preoccupied worship and admiration of the stars but instead worshipped the Creator of the stars, God would have caused these civilizations and their technology to grow and be passed down. 

There is much more to be said about archeology and the Bible.  It is worthwhile to consider some more of these amazing discoveries and their implications as space permits next time.

2/10/01
Page 53

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©Tom Carpenter
Originally published in the Rockdale/Newton Citizen