The Assault Against Old Testament History has been Beached on the Rocky Shores of Archaeology

The Ignorant Fishermen ^ | 5/7/2011 | Mark Musser

[Olympiad Fisherman]

The Biblical Archaeological Review, by no means a conservative Christian magazine, recently published a surprising article by Yosef Garfinkel entitled, “The Birth and Death of Biblical Minimalism.” While Garfinkel limits his discussion to the last 30 years among certain modern archaeologists working at the University of Copenhagen, biblical minimalism is the general presumption that the Biblical text cannot be a trusted source of actual verifiable history, especially with regard to the authenticity of the Old Testament. Garfinkel shows in his article that the minimalist position is no longer a viable one. Too much archaeological evidence has been uncovered. While this has not and cannot prove the inerrancy of the biblical text, it is still a far cry from the German tidal wave of skepticism that inundated the modern world back in the 1800’s ...

[MsLady]

Highly motivated by a selfish need to justify their immoral lifestyles.

[MsLady]

Usually extremely guilty of covetness, it’s called class warfare. What is someone else’s is theirs to take, if they deem the other said person has to much.

[Donald Rumsfeld Fan]

The recent discoveries i Jourdan will blow them out of the water when they are fully found and translated. I can take any text and read it wrong for my own motives. Look at the different translations of the Constitution.

I have noticed how Bible believing Christians selectively use the Bible to support their own particular views. A lot of hard truths in the Bible, especially the Old Testament.

[Olympiad Fisherman]

With great interest is that the Bible is strict with regard to worship, family and marriage, but is very freeing in most other areas of life. Meaning that if you love God and have your family in order, you can do what you want. Liberalism is exactly the opposite. It is very loose on religion, marriage and sex, but extremely ascetic or restricting when it comes to everyday things like making a living, running a business, environmentalism, etc. They become the worst busybodies you can imagine.

[ChocChipCookie]

But what if the society is actually dumbing down?

That's my theory. Since scientists say we only use a small percentage of our brains, what if Adam and Eve used 100% of their brain, just as God created it? We still can't figure out how the ancients did certain things -- why not just admit they used more of their brains thousands of years ago than we do now?

[Average Al]

I heard an interesting thought the other day. What if man’s basic intelligence has remained fairly constant over history and just his available knowledge has risen and wained?

[Quix]

PRAISE GOD!

Psalms 14:1

THE FOOL has said in his heart, there is no God.

[preacher]

Ecclesiastes 10:2

The heart of the wise inclines to the right, but the heart of the fool to the left.

[Olympiad Fisherman]

The exact same psalm is repeated in Psalm 53. It must have had a different musical arrangement to it!

[Quix]

Maybe one was a dirge

and the other a contrasting upbeat for those who weren’t so foolish as to avoid believing in God.

[Olympiad Fisherman]

I have read that verse with a smile more than once. The right hand of God is the exact place from where He sovereingly runs the universe (Psalm 110).

[MsLady]

Excellent point!!!!

[katana]

Personally, I think that's an established fact. Many people look at characters in history and the distant past and see either demigods or imbeciles. I think it's most accurate to see them as us, meaning it's a mix. If intelligence is a measure of a human's capacity to reason and cope with its world then nothing's changed. Frankly, considering the conditions they had to survive and thrive in the Neanderthal may have had as much or more native intelligence as we undermuscled little egg heads.

[VRW Conspirator]

Usually extremely guilty of covetness, it’s called class warfare. What is someone else’s is theirs to take, if they deem the other said person has to much.

Indeed. In the liberal othodoxy, thou shalt NOT covet is diabolically turned into thou SHALT covet. There are two biblical responses to this covetness:
either take what is not theirs to take
or break (kill/destroy/nuetralize/etc) what is not theirs to break

[MsLady]

I think we need to start calling them on it. I never hear anyone on the right do that. So, which commandment is that one? Thou shalt covet? Isn’t that greed, jealousy, judgmental? All of those ugly traits rolled into one?

[VRW Conspirator]

I heard an interesting thought the other day. What if man’s basic intelligence has remained fairly constant over history and just his available knowledge has risen and wained?

I refer you to the fairly recent discovery of the 5,000 year old body of a man mummified in the Italian Alps. I believe the researchers called him Ozy. Upon autopsy of his death, they discovered an arrowhead lodged underneath his shoulder blade which apparently led to his death. Whether you believe he was a victim of foul play or the target of justice, the irony of the story is clear. Human nature has not changed one iota in 5,000 years.

[Average Al]

Very good!

[mountainlion]

I have noticed how Bible UN believing UN Christians selectively use the Bible to support their own particular views. And deny a lot of the hard truths in the Bible, especially the Old Testament.

[VRW Conspirator]

I think we need to start calling them on it.

Absolutely! I heard Rush Limbaugh talk about the recent Republican Presidential debate where liberal moderators now and in the past have held up a Bible and asked if the candidate believes every word that is written.

It is a trap of sorts. The intention is to paint the candidate as a religious radical or a religious hypocrit. Have you stopped beating your wife, yet?

With a carefully worded response, a candidate can turn this question to his advantage while bringing Biblical relavance and moral values to the debate. Thou shall not kill, lie, steal, etc.

[Average Al]

When you consider how short our written history is against how long man has been around the possibilities are incredible. Who knows (other than God) what achievements we may have reached before?