St. John Studies

An unbeliever says to you: “If God performed miracles then, why won’t He perform them now?  If I could only see a miracle, I would believe in God?”

I say to the unbeliever, maybe He does.

I am going to spend this post telling about my observation of responses to a man telling about being spiritually moved. He will remain nameless.  He is a good man, a sensitive man but someone who does not realize that other people just don’t understand very subjective spiritual experiences.

He went before a group and spoke of his recent spiritual experience, the fact that he was called to step forward in a church and when he went forward, the Holy Spirit came upon him and filled him with a sense of being cleansed, a sense of being thrilled and fulfilled.

I listened to him and was excited for him but I did not show my excitement. I was in awe of what he was saying but I kept it hid. I began to focus on the other people in the group listening to him talk and they did not know what to say.  Finally they did say something but it was not that supportive and eventually we began to leave and as we did, a woman came up and talked about how she differed in her spiritual experience at the aforementioned church and she elaborated on an issue that was negative about the church where this man’s experience happened. To me that was not supportive at all.

What was going on here?

The man was taking something private and making it public.

Jesus performed miracles and after many of them He said to person directly affected not to tell anyone. Skeptics may think that was a tactic to stir curiosity among the masses but I am not sure.  I think Jesus knew that people would not understand.

Just last Saturday in Kalamazoo, Michigan another gun tragedy occurred as an Uber driver took a gun and killed several people in a random shooting spree. One of the victims was a fourteen year-old girl named Abigail Kopf, of Battle Creek, described by her parents as strong-willed, fun-loving and an athlete. She was spending a night out with one of the special people in her life, her pretend grandmother “Grandma Barb Hawthorne”. They said Abigail loved to spend time with Hawthorne, who had been a pretend grandmother to her since she was much younger. They had become partners to attend theater events and other gatherings.  “Grandma Barb” was one of the fatal shooting victims of the Kalamazoo Uber driver.

Abigail sustained very serious injuries and when she was rushed to the hospital, she was pronounced dead. Her very distraught mother was at the bedside holding the hand of her deceased daughter when suddenly Abigail jerked her mother’s hand.  She was not dead at all.

What did the mother say about this? “My daughter is not dead. She is alive and she’s fighting for her life. She was vibrant and beautiful and she did not deserve this. But right now, my daughter is struggling.”   Asked about reports that Abigail was at first presumed dead until she squeezed her mother’s hand, the mother said that moment was “Breathtaking, you don’t expect it and suddenly it was there.”

She stopped short of saying it was a miracle…but was it?

Maybe this was enough to make Abigail’s mother believe in miracles. I am not sure.  In Luke we hear that just having the word of God should be enough to convince us to believe.  Someone being raised from the dead should not be necessary and even that probably won’t work.  “And a poor man named Lazarus was laid at his gate, covered with sores, and longing to be fed with the crumbs which were falling from the rich man’s table; besides, even the dogs were coming and licking his sores.  Now the poor man died and was carried away by the angels to Abraham’s bosom; and the rich man also died and was buried.   In Hades he lifted up his eyes, being in torment and saw Abraham far away and Lazarus in his bosom.   And he cried out and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus so that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool off my tongue, for I am in agony in this flame.’   But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that during your life you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus bad things; but now he is being comforted here, and you are in agony. And besides all this, between us and you there is a great chasm fixed, so that those who wish to come over from here to you will not be able, and that none may cross over from there to us.’  And he said, ‘Then I beg you, father, that you send him to my father’s house— for I have five brothers—in order that he may warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’  But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.’  But he said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent!’  But he said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead.’” [Luke 16: 20-31].

So I go back to my title of this post. Why not now?

Would miracles today work? Maybe they are happening all the time.

Maybe Luke is right. We should not need them but if they are happening…

Maybe we just miss them.

Maybe we just don’t even see them.

This week we are discussing whether or not miracles are possible.

Oftentimes it seems easiest to think of ideas like this in dichotomies. You either believe in miracles or you don’t believe in miracles.

Beneath the belief or unbelief is a foundation.

The foundation is you believe in God or you don’t.

I am not saying that people who don’t believe in miracles are people without belief systems. They have those but they may not be grounded in knowledge of God.

What do they believe in?

1.science—everything can be explained by logical, rational scientific explanation. The fact that God can supersede science is not part of their world view.

2.nature—nature is beyond the control of God. It has its own regularity and is beyond control of God or man.

3.atheism—there is no God. He is not needed and does not exist.

4.pantheism—there is a god [note the little g] but this conception of god exists in everything in the world [a Hindu or Buddhist precept].

We could go on and on but we could not begin to adequately explain all the worldviews that exist in our world today.

Let’s leave it at this: to believe in miracles, one has a Christian worldview; to not believe in miracles one has another worldview [something other than Christianity].  I must apologize if that is too simple by my blog posts do not go on and on forever.

What is the problem with the simple question that is discussed in Paul Little’s chapter this week: “Are Miracles Possible?”  The question makes us consider our worldview.  To be honest, many Christians spend little time thinking about world view.  David Noebel in his book Thinking Like a Christian states “Ask the average person about his or her philosophy of life and you will probably get some sort of answer, even if it turns out to be a little sketchy….The reason it is difficult to discuss the issue of worldview is because our generation has lost the art of thinking deeply about why we believe what we believe.  We are not accustomed to considering seriously life’s most foundational questions.”

Let’s say an unbeliever or an un churched person comes to you and says something like “I saw a televangelist asking people in the viewing audience for money. He said that if you would write him a check for fifty dollars to support his ministry he would pray a miracle into your life.   Do you believe in miracles?

What are you going to say?

As we begin Chapter 8, let’s start with a solid foundation. I would say I cannot vouch for a televangelist triggering a miracle from God with a fifty dollar donation, but I do believe that miracles happen.  I believe that an all-powerful God created the universe.  A miracle is something that happens that transcends “natural law” and God is certainly capable of transcending natural law because He has the right to do that.  He is the Creator of the universe.  Paul Little says “God is over, above and outside of natural law, and is not bound by it.”

Natural law is based on observation and when you think about it that way, natural law is trying to determine a cause for an effect. When we determine that something exists, we want to figure out what has brought it about.  Do Christians believe in natural law?  Of course they do.  Do Christians find cause and effect reasoning in the world today?  Of course they do.

But here is the main point I am trying to make: whatever your worldview, we can’t explain everything by referring to natural law.

The philosopher David Hume defines a miracle as a violation of natural law but that does not place natural law in the realm of the divine. That does not make natural law a god.

It is also important to realize that natural law does not imprison God. To the unbeliever or the un churched person…

 What are you going to say?

Here is the short-hand version. God is the author of the universe.  He transcends natural law. Of course we have miracles today…

Today I am going to wrap up my week posting on the chapter of Paul Little’s book “Does Archaeology Help?”

It has been a challenge. I have always been interested in history and somewhat interested in archaeology but as I have thought about this topic this week, I think I know why Biblical archaeology is not a passion.  It is from a distant culture in a distant land far away…the culture and land of Jesus.

What has been a big help to me this week?

Here comes the shameless plug: Right Now Media.

Some of you have used this free learning tool at our church at St. John; some of you have not. For me, it was unbelievably helpful as I tried to understand the land of the Bible.

How to access this source? Have Pastor Janet or me send you an invitation and then take that invite to log on to the site and then create a username and password.  That should get you to the site where you have lots of video lessons available.  The ones this week that were so helpful were from the History tab on the left side of the site.  Click that and you will see many topics but the ones I wanted were Lands of the Bible [Old Testament and New Testament].  There are so many opportunities to take a video journey to the land of Jesus.  Folks it helps to understand the culture if you can see the culture.

Enough said.

From “Underground Jerusalem” by Jimmy DeYoung

Here is the description of the video: “Beneath the ancient city of Jerusalem sleep historic treasures that are being awakened by archaeologists at an ever-increasing rate. These treasures shed new light on both the history of Jerusalem and its effect on the entire world—both politically and spiritually.  Travel to ‘Underground Jerusalem’ with Mideast journalist Jimmy DeYoung and some of Israel’s leading archaeologists. From the steps of Herod’s temple to the pool of Siloam, there are new journeys to be taken and stories to be told”

As I watched DeYoung go to various archaeological sites in Jerusalem I got some idea of the importance of archaeology for the study of the Bible. I also began to understand a famous city, what it looks like and what treasures it holds.

DeYoung and his archaeological hosts literally went down underneath Jerusalem and traveled back 2,000 years in going down twenty steps. An archaeologist tells him “Wherever you go in Jerusalem, there is a story, and underneath that location is another story and underneath that layer is yet another story.”

DeYoung is a Christian and we have discussed all week the idea of archaeology helping us believe the Bible. He asks pointed questions of his hosts and they have answers that reflect their professional commitment to their academic study.

When asked what archaeological finds can tell us about the Bible, one scholar says “We try to excavate and find whatever there is and the Biblical connections are part of the interpretation rather than the discovery itself.” When pressed about what he means by this the archaeologist says “What do you do to the mute stone?  Do you force interpretation on the stone?”   He is merely trying to be rigorous in his findings; letting the evidence speak for itself.  He realizes that historians have an agenda, politicians have an agenda and even Christians have an agenda.  He is very aware of the bias.  Yet, when you think he is presenting his hard line position, he says this:  “But when you find a phrase like “‘The Lord bless thee and keep thee’ on a stone, you can’t help but wonder about the use of this wording in Numbers” [Numbers 6:24].

Jerusalem is such a complex place; the epicenter of three religions as it holds special significance for the Jewish people, Christians and Muslims. A recent count lists 1204 synagogues, 158 churches, and 73 mosques within the city. Jerusalem has been sacred to the Jews since King David proclaimed it his capital in the 10th century BCE.  Christianity reveres Jerusalem not only for its Old Testament history but also for its significance in the life of Jesus. And, Jerusalem is considered the third-holiest city in Islam.

I particularly like the way Mr. DeYoung ends his video as he talks of the way that men over the years have tried to control Jerusalem and make it what they want to make it. He refers to the cornerstone as the most important stone in any structure.  He refers to the need we all have for a strong foundation as we weather the trials of life that we all face.  The he refers to Luke 20: 17 and his Christian faith, the faith that has made all the difference in his life, the fact that he has accepted Jesus as his Savior.

He believes it is a mistake to not accept the “capstone”; “Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces, but he on whom it falls will be crushed”

DeYoung does not directly state that the Christian has the most important claim on this holy city but when it comes to Jesus and the temple, “The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone.”

Maybe that is what he implies, if not for the city, then certainly for his life. He realizes the most important stone in the “building of his life” is Jesus Christ.

Next week: “Are Miracles Possible?”

I can’t believe I am going to post on papyrus.

Sounds like a dull topic doesn’t it? But papyrus is the foundation of the New Testament.  It is literally the foundation of the New Testament.

Old Testament research is pretty much a matter of digging for buried buildings or inscribed tablets. New Testament archaeology is primarily a matter of written documents.

On papyrus.

Papyrus is not a permanent material. It comes from a reed grown in the shallow lakes and rivers in Egypt and Syria.  The reeds were stripped and cut lengthwise  into thin narrow slices before being beaten and pressed together into two layers set at right angles to each other.  Then the reeds are dried and a whitish surface begins to emerge.  That surface is polished with a stone and then it is ready for writing inks to be applied.  Shipments of papyrus were sent around the world from the Syrian port Byblos.*

What was written on papyrus? You might think only important sacred documents or legal documents or records of large monetary transactions.  No, Paul Little says papyrus has been recovered that includes housewife shopping lists, private notes, literary texts, records of collections of sacred Scriptures, the whole gamut of what a bunch of human beings would record on paper.

You might think that a shopping list or a private note would not be of any value but Little says that is not so. These “toss away” artifacts have gone a long way toward opening up an understanding of the language of the people of the New Testament.

We know that most of the New Testament was written in Greek but did the common man understand it? In comparing everyday language gathered from less important papyrus to the Greek of the New Testament, scholars have found that New Testament Greek was very similar to the language of the common people.

You might wonder how papyrus was stored. It was not stored in a book-like form on a shelf.  Papyrus scrolls were glued together and then wound around a stick to make them into a tight bundle.  Writing was usually written on one side of the scroll.  The average scroll was from twenty to thirty-five feet long.  They were easy to store.  We are so used to using books, we don’t believe that but I found a quote from a man named Callimachus, a professional cataloguer in the ancient library of Alexandria.  He said “a big book is a big nuisance.”

The spread of Christianity and advent of the printing press in 1440 made the book the common form to read from for many years.

Today many think we are transitioning to a new form of reading material; we are going from the book to the computer file and the technological device screen.

No one knows where we are going in our use of the Bible. However at this point in human history the New Testament is humanity’s most reliable ancient document. We have thousands of copies of the New Testament, all dated closely to the original writing. In fact, we are more sure the New Testament remains as it was originally written by its writers than we are sure of writings we attribute to Plato, or Aristotle, or Homer’s Iliad.

Yes today I have posted on papyrus [actually I have not]. I have posted a soft copy on a cloud platform called stjohnstudies.com which is administered by wordpress.

Well you understand what I am saying; my topic today was papyrus.

Posting a soft copy on “the cloud” and all that other stuff; much easier to understand papyrus isn’t it?

*from Stanley Greenslade, Cambridge History of the Bible

Tel Dan Stela…

“Christians must understand that, scientifically, we cannot prove that the Bible is true, but that should not cause us to believe that it is not God’s absolute truth. Since God is the author of history, we are assured that His record of history is an accurate account of what happened. But we must also understand that not everything that happened was written in His record. Only those things were recorded that further God’s revelation of Himself.”

This is a tough pill to swallow for the scientist. Scientists want to be able to explain the world [at least theorize about the world].  I use the word theory on purpose due to the nature of the scientific method.  Scientific knowledge is always open to question as current theory is replaced with new knowledge.

As new proven explanations happen, old knowledge is superseded.

It is also a tough pill to swallow for the Christian. From the Christian perspective we want to know all about God and we want science to confirm what we know.   Science won’t do that.  And God won’t reveal all about Himself.  He doesn’t have to.  He reveals only what He wants to reveal.

What do we have to do?

Accept what we know as God’s absolute truth and have faith that what we don’t know is God’s truth also.

“Archaeology is a science that studies ancient cultures by recovering and documenting materials from the past. Christian archaeology is the science of studying ancient cultures that have impacted Christianity and Judaism and the Jewish and Christian cultures themselves. Not only are Christian archaeologists trying to discover new things about the past, they are trying to validate what we already know about the past and advance our understanding of the manners and customs of the peoples of the Bible.”

Do Christian archaeologists have an “axe to grind?” Yes they do.  You might say they have a definite bias.  Their work is to confirm the Bible [Old and New Testament].  Secular archaeologists may not even regard a Christian archaeologist as a scientist.

Let’s try to draw a distinction between these two types of people, the secular archaeologist and the Christian archaeologist. For many years secular archaeologists used to say that King David was a legendary figure much like King Arthur in England.

How did David become a historical figure? Archaeologists found evidence of his actual existence; the Tel Dan Stela, a basalt stone dating from the 9th century B.C. bearing David’s name and identifying him as King of Israel.

What did this one stone do?

Now writings in the Old Testament about a man named David have a real live man attached to them. But would a secular archaeologist go so far as to say that David killed Goliath with single stone?  Would a secular archaeologist go so far as to say David was the spectacular warrior who time and time again went to battle against neighboring kingdoms and won?  Would a secular archaeologist go so far as to say that David had an affair with Bathsheba?

No, no and no…

A Christian archaeologist would want proof of these events and may search for that proof in a written record, a stone carving or some ancient mosaic. For them, the agenda is clear.  Put some meat on the bones of David.  All we have [the secular archaeologist would say of the Tel Dan Stela] are the bones.

As Christians we have to be patient. We don’t need to let our faith be undermined by lack of confirming physical evidence.

“Archaeology has never proved the biblical account to be wrong, although, in some cases, it has been unable to prove the biblical account right. As archaeologists continue to dig, we will have more and more external evidence to substantiate the historicity and truthfulness of the Bible’s record.”

What we have now is God’s word in His Bible.

Until He is ready to supply more evidence about Himself, we must be satisfied…

God’s word should be enough.*

*Helpful information about Christian archaeology was gathered from the [Gotanswers.org Website, 2016]

“Archaeology cannot prove that the Bible is God’s written word to us. However, archaeology can (and does) substantiate the Bible’s historical accuracy. Archaeologists have consistently discovered the names of government officials, kings, cities, and festivals mentioned in the Bible — sometimes when historians didn’t think such people or places existed. For example, the Gospel of John tells of Jesus healing a cripple next to the Pool of Bethesda. The text even describes the five porticoes (walkways) leading to the pool. Scholars didn’t think the pool existed, until archaeologists found it forty feet below ground, complete with the five porticoes” [from the Everystudent.com website, 2016].

In yesterday’s post, I told about some of my historical “stuff” and how “stuff” is “stuff”. It does not speak.  It cannot tell the tale of its existence.  That’s how archaeology is.  I was watching a very good video called “Underground Jerusalem” and a professionally trained archaeologist said “What can you get from a mute stone?”

This simple sentence makes a strong point. Mute stones don’t talk and archaeologists [who regard themselves as scientists to a certain degree] don’t want to interpret.  They want the evidence they unearth to be just that—evidence.

Yet how do we reason from the evidence of archaeology to the interpretation that the Bible is correct? I would say we use reasoning by analogy.  It works like this.  If something happened in the real world and an archaeologist finds evidence, then it could have happened in Bible times.

Let’s explain one example from Paul Little’s book and maybe it will make sense.

In the 1930’s a party of Arabs found a stone statue in the Euphrates River. After they found it, archaeologists came to the area and began to find more statues and eventually unearthed an “elaborate palace” covering more than six acres, with 260 rooms, courtyards and passages.  The palace had spacious rooms fit for a king and his family and more cramped quarters for officials and servants.  They discovered a bearded statue of a king inscribed “King of Mari”.

Twenty thousand cuneiform tables were found in the royal archives with records of grain, vegetables and other provisions brought into the palace. Letters to the king, musical instruments and gold were also found.  There were even letters with messages from prophets to gods.

Let’s stop.

What does this mean for the study of the Bible?

Who lived in this time? How does all this relate to the Bible story?

One word…Abraham.

All of this buried treasure dates the archaeological find to 2,500 B.C. and Abraham is thought to have lived in this same era.

Let’s reason by analogy.

The situation that Abraham found himself in with no heir from his wife and an heir from a servant is mentioned in tablets in this archaeological dig. These tablets [call the Nuzi tablets] detail a law code saying that the barren woman must provide a handmaiden for the patriarch to have an heir.

What does this mean? Well one can say if this law was in place in Abraham’s time then he and Sarah were following the code and their actions were not out of the ordinary.

Little says the information found at Mari provides a view into the urban lifestyle of Abraham’s time-frame and a sharp contrast to the pastoral life that Abraham led. The records uncovered provide a look at the “business, politics, government and the arts.”  The analogical reasoning of the archaeologist is that all these artifacts provide a parallel to other things happening in this time-frame.

Abraham was not living in a vacuum. He was living in a culture that could be represented by the findings in this world, “stuff”, mute stones…

The archaeologists find the evidence, trying to fill in the blanks about how people lived. Abraham was a man living in this culture.

Do his actions make sense because of this culture? Yes or no…

You decide.

Have you ever owned a piece of the past?

I am sure you have.

Well our home has several. My wife has wondered about some of the history we have in our home—the antique quilt from Aunt Hick Cook, the ash tray base made of wood that was from the raft my ancestors used to float from the Eastern US to Western Kentucky, and the square nail that is from the cabin that my grandfather lived in…

I think she wonders why I hang on to this stuff.

It is my way to touch times gone by.

Sometimes it feels so silly. I can’t touch times gone by.

It is a great leap to go from these family artifacts to Biblical artifacts that archaeologists unearth.   As I have read the chapter “Does Archaeology Help?” I think about their work.  I think about why they do what they do.  I look at my pieces of the past and I wonder if they are authentic.  I wonder where they were when they were being used.  I wonder who used them and what the owners looked like.  I wonder about how life was back when.

Maybe this is what drives the archaeologist…

In yesterday’s post I cited Paul Little who said “we cannot prove the Bible by archaeology nor do we believe the Bible on the basis of archaeological proof.”

What archaeologists have are things.

At the writing of Know Why You Believe Little states that there are 25,000 sites where archaeologists have tried to unearth the past.   Just thinking about so many digs is mind-boggling.

He discusses a major question people have who deal with artifacts? How can the archaeologist be sure of the date of the artifact? How can they be sure of their authenticity?

As I look at the nail from my Grandfather’s house, I wonder how could I prove it is authentic other the handwriting on the envelope from my Aunt Babe? The handwriting says it is a nail from the “old home place.”

As we look at Biblical artifacts, how can we prove that the artifacts are truly of the age that they are supposed to be? There are a couple of methods that can be explained.

First of all is the stratification of a tell. You may wonder, “What is that?”  It is not that complicated but often we think of archaeologists as diggers.  They are.  However they do not just randomly dig all over the middle east in 25,000 sites; they dig down in the earth looking for layers of the past.  The digging can be compared to a layer cake where each layer of the cake reveals historical objects.  Little cites A.R. Millard:  “Archaeologists usually concentrated on the more rewarding parts [of an geographical area] where temples or palaces stood…To do this, a trench may slice right through a mound [or a tell], producing a small amount of information at all levels…Each building or time of occupation will leave its mark on the mound in the form of floor surfaces, stumps of walls, and heaps of rubbish.  These will be sandwiched between earlier remains below and later remains above.”

Many of us are not scientists but we may know about “carbon dating”.   However we don’t understand the science behind it.  Maybe my lack of science background can help me simplify an explanation and help you to understand the basics of the process [maybe not].

In the 1940s, researchers began to study the effect of cosmic radiation on the upper atmosphere. They found that the upper atmosphere caused decay at a rate that could be determined.  Without getting too technical, take a piece of charcoal from an ancient campsite.  While the wood was alive and growing, it was taking in carbon dioxide. Its ratio of common carbon to radioactive carbon closely matched the ratio in the surrounding air. But after that ancient camper cut it for firewood, it no longer took in carbon dioxide. The common carbon began to decay, while the amount of radioactive carbon stayed the same. Theoretically, if we know the ratio of these two “isotopes” and the decay rate, we can calculate the radiocarbon age of the charcoal [from the Apologetics Press Website].

Let me be quick to tell you that I cut a lot of the complex science out of this explanation but you “get the gist.”

In conclusion, having a piece of the past is not enough. The artifact needs to “speak” to us somehow.

We need some methods to help us interpret the object we have. Methodical excavation can assist in interpretation as well as carbon dating.

Otherwise what do we have?

Maybe a nail in an envelope with handwriting on the envelope. Whose handwriting is on the envelope?  Is that nail really from the “old home place?”

You can see the faith that one needs to accept the story but a little science goes a long way toward helping us believe.

Does Archaeology Help? That’s the topic for the week from Paul Little’s book Know Why You Believe.

Does archaeology help us to believe the Bible? Does archaeology help us to confirm Bible happenings?  What does he mean by titling his chapter “Does Archaeology Help?

Critics of the Bible question everything from the existence of Old Testament patriarchs to the existence of the ancient people of the Bible, the Hittites. What about Solomon’s wealth? Many think it was greatly exaggerated.  Belshazzar, the King of Babylon, was considered open to question.  Critics think he did not even exist.

Paul Little states that in the mid 19^th Century, people began to travel more to the middle east.  People began to explore the antiquities of the area and modern archaeologists were soon to follow.

Travelers just explored and sometimes looted antiquities but archaeologists have a different agenda. They want to dig into the earth’s surface to find ancient remnants of earlier civilizations.

Did these findings help us believe the Bible? Did these findings confirm Bible happenings?

This helps us to realize what archaeology does.

It gives us background for Biblical history.

According to the “Christian Answers Webpage”, we have proof that the patriarchs did exist when the “Elba Archive” of clay tablets in Northern Syria was discovered in the 1970’s.   On the clay tablets in this archive, names of the patriarchs were used which confirmed that they did exist and were not fictional characters.

The Hittites were once thought to be a Biblical legend, until their capital city and records were discovered at Bogazkoy, Turkey.

Recovered records from the past show that wealth in antiquity was concentrated with the king and Solomon’s prosperity was entirely feasible and not exaggerated.

The last king of Babylon was Nabonidus according to recorded history. Then tablets were found showing that Belshazzar was Nabonidus’ son who served as coregent in Babylon. Thus, Belshazzar could offer to make Daniel “third highest ruler in the kingdom” (Dan. 5:16) the highest available position. Here we see the “eye-witness” nature of the Biblical record, as is so often brought out by the discoveries of archaeology.

By the middle of the 20^th Century, Biblical historians were beginning to see that archaeologists were beginning to substantiate the Biblical record.  Little cites Dr. W.F. Albright of Johns Hopkins University who said “There can be no doubt that archeology has confirmed the substantial historicity of the Old Testament tradition.”

The more archaeologists dig, the more doubted and ridiculed Biblical events are confirmed.   The more archaeologists dig, the more we learn about the background of the Bible, the culture and practices of the Biblical times.

I don’t want to oversell archaeology. Little admits that what these findings do is tell us a lot but they don’t tell us everything.  He says “we cannot prove the Bible by archaeology nor do we believe the Bible on the basis of archaeological proof.”  What archaeology does is provide independent evidence of the existence of certain places, persons or events mentioned in the Bible but it does not tell anything about whether God had anything to do with any of it.

The element of faith is still needed.

Let’s return to the opening questions.

Does archaeology help? Does archaeology help us to believe the Bible?  Does archaeology help us to confirm Bible happenings?

Yes, yes, to a certain extent.

If something never existed and there is no proof that it existed, then it would take a lot of faith to believe it ever existed. If proof were presented that something did exist, we may not know what part the artifact played in the life of the contemporary person who used it, but it could have played a significant role.

We just don’t know.

Little concludes: “Added to faith, it is the Holy Spirit who ultimately confirms the truth of the Scripture to us.  Spiritual truth can never be confirmed by archaeology.  But we can be thankful for the historical details which have been confirmed by archaeology even though we recognize the apparent conflicts that still exist” [Little, p. 72].

I have a son. He was married on July 3, 2010.

He was married by an Episcopal Rector. My daughter-in-law’s mom is a devout Catholic and she was ok with that.  My aunt [an Episcopal Rector] was supposed to preside but she died a few months before the wedding.  Her pastor took her spot.

All this is just background.

When we prepared for the ceremony, the Rector said that she was going to read from Tobit. I was pretty familiar with my Old and New Testament and this book was not in them; where was the book of Tobit?

You guessed it…the Apocrypha.

Most of my comments today will be about the New Testament Apocrypha.

As believers we need to know about these works. Someone who doubts the reliability of Bible documents may bring up the subject of the Apocrypha.

What is the Apocrypha? It comes from the term apokryphos and means hidden things.  For the New Testament, the Apocrypha means works that were not divinely inspired and authoritative and works not making it into the Canon.  Also the term means secretive writings by certain groups [such as the Gnostics].

What is the purpose of the Apocrypha? One purpose was to preserve the memories of important New Testament figures.  Another purpose was to supplement the information given in the New Testament about Jesus and the Apostles.  The last reason for apocryphal writing is to bolster the authority of heretical groups who were seeking power.

Are there apocryphal writings of Old Testament times? Of course there are.  The Jewish people did not stop writing between the Old Testament and the New Testament.  These writings were not included in the Canon for reasons described in my previous February 11 post but they are valued nevertheless for private study.

Tobit is a historical romance written about 200 B.C. that was centered on a family carried into exile in Assyria when Israel was destroyed. It never made it into the Canon…the Jewish or Protestant Canon but…

Tobit is in the Roman Catholic Apocrypha. Yes, that is correct.  The Roman Catholic Church accepts 12 apocryphal books as canonical and Tobit is one of those.  They refer to them as “deutero-canonical” books.

Do the Apocryphal books claim to be the word of God? The answer is no.  Do these books get mentioned in the New Testament?  No they don’t.

The New Testament Apocrypha is valuable for anyone trying to learn about church history. According to J. Scott Duvall, “They give a sample of the ideas, convictions and imaginations of a portion of Christian history.  The New Testament Apocrypha also serves as a point of comparison with the writings contained in the Canon of the New Testament.  By way of contrast, the apocryphal writings demonstrate how the New Testament places a priority on historical fact rather than human fantasy.  While the New Testament Apocrypha is often interesting and informative, it is usually unreliable historically and always unauthoritative for matters of faith and practice.”

As far as the reading of Tobit at my son’s wedding…

His mother-in-law probably thought nothing of it, since Tobit is accepted by her church, the Roman Catholic Church.

Protestants should have wondered at the inclusion of this book in the wedding but no one objected.

It was a wonderful day…

Everyone had a lot of fun…

God showed up…Old Testament and New Testament [with a little Tobit thrown in for good measure].

Next Week: Does Archaeology help us Believe?  Or Hurt?