OT glimpses in Scientific findings (archaeology)

[aimee]

So, personally I don't like to debate Christianity from a scientific standpoint since I don't have enough research under my belt.

But, I am curious along those lines. Are there any good books that correlate Biblical happenings to Archeological findings/Geological findings? Specifically I'm interested in findings of the flood, and the Israelites period of slavery in Egypt from Joseph to Moses. Kind of unrelated, but they spark my interest.

It would be especially interesting if the sources were not of the Christian persuasion, but impartial.

[Josh]

Yes, there are some good books along those lines:

In regard to archaeology, you'll find a wide range of different scholarly opinion as to how historically accurate the Old Testament is.

Several major Bible events after 800 BC are generally agreed upon (though smaller details fiercely debated)

Details about the period of the united monarchy of Saul, David, and Solomon (@1040-920 BC) are pretty hotly debated by archaeologists, but the existence of these monarchs is generally not questioned due to archaeological discoveries.

Before that, theories on the historicity of the period of the Moses, Joshua, and the Judges are all across the board if one considers the viewpoints of traditional and critical scholars.

Concerning the Exodus, there are two major views on when to date it: the 1500's BC or the 1200's BC (I favor the later). I've posted on the historicity of the Exodus account elsewhere, which you might find interesting

As far as books, the best on the traditional side would hands-down be K.A. Kitchen's On the Reliability of the Old Testament. It's very thorough and dense, but still a good read. It's in the ACF library.

I think you might appreciate his chapters on the Patriarchs and the Exodus- there are some great arguments in there demonstrating the realism of the Genesis and Exodus accounts of those time periods.

For more popular level treatments of the subject from a Christian standpoint, I'd for the most part recommend "The Stones Cry Out" by Randall Price or "Is the Bible True?" by Jeffrey Sheler.

If you want something from the extreme other side of the spectrum (critical of the historicity of the Bible), I have "Unearthing the Bible" by Israel Finkelstein and Neil Asher Silberman.

Lastly, there is no archaelogical evidence extant for the flood, but there is a great wealth of anthropolical evidence that points toward a great flood in mankind's common history (stories from cultures all over the globe about a great deluge with similar details).

A big part of asking whether there is scientific evidence for the flood depends on what one has concluded about

1) when the flood happened (6,000 years ago or 25,000 years ago or somewhere in between) and

2) did the flood cover the entire globe or did it only extend to a localized region (Mesopotamia) where all then humans resided.

Those options, in turn, hinge on one's views about religion and science in general, the age of the earth/ universe, etc...

It's complicated, huh?

[aimee]

Thanks for the info Josh. I think I'll check Kitchen's book out on Sunday. I am at a current ebb in my reading and could use some new stuff. Are there any books that discuss the 'anthropolical' evidence on the flood? I am interested in stories that various cultures share as well, so that fits nicely.

[Josh]

Ha ha. I made up a new word: 'anthropolical'
My bad, I meant to write 'anthropological'.

I've got some other resources on flood stories I can pass along as well.

[sonlyte]

There is a book I know of at this link
www.creationscience.com/onlinebook/HydroplateOverview2.html
It is an interesting theory, and while I have some serious reservations about its accuracy, I have found very few critisicms about the book that actually demonstrate a full understanding of the authors proposal.
The book deals with evidences of the flood by assuming an initial condition and then logically running through the conclusions which the theory would then demand. Some of which are excellent explanations of modern wonders - such as the grand canyon.
In the least, I thought his viewpoint was vivid, and proposes an awesome power in the flood which made me respect the forces that would have been necessary for God to have actually flooded the earth. Although if you are not the kind of person that enjoys that kind of thing, I wouldn't recommend spending the time on it.

I was captivated.

[Josh]

I just heard the news (apparently it takes a while to trickle out to the public) that archaelogists may have found David's temple in Jerusalem. As always, there is some debate about the findings that is being sifted through by various experts.

Here's the article on wikipedia:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Large_Stone_Structure