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Reading the News Through the Lens of Faith- 11- Archaelogy and Faith “Gabriel’s Revelation”
By Dan | July 17, 2008
The latest archaeological discovery to hit the headlines and draw both interest and skepticism from Christians is a stone tablet called “Gabriel’s Revelation”. It’s from Jewish sources and while much of the text is difficult to translate or entirely unreadable some are putting forward translations that talk about a suffering and resurrected Messiah. Given dates for this tablet that place its creation just before Jesus’ time, what are the implications for Christians?
Well, the above article does a great job of summarizing the details of this find and what is most important. Namely, this discovery like all the other archaeological finds (both the true ones and the frauds), do not change faith. We put our faith in Christ and in his Word. Archaeology is fun and interesting and helps us understand Christ and his Word, but it will never prove it. At the same time, it will never actually shake it either. Since the Scriptures are true, no find will truly undermine the Bible. I encourage you to read more and enjoy the current debate. I love this stuff!
Any other thoughts on archaelogy and faith? What was your reaction to the “Lost Tomb of Jesus”, “Gospel of Judas”, James, brother of Jesus, sarcophagus, etc? What finds have most fascinated you?
Topics: News Through Faith |
July 18th, 2008 at 10:24 pm
I was initially creeped out a little about the “Lost Tomb of Jesus” because of all the New Testament names found there. Turns out, though, that those names were pretty common at that time, the “Mary Magdalene” name was mistranslated, and other factors counted against it.
I recently read at http://www.geneveith.com/the-gospel-of-judas-hoax/_732/ about how the Gospel of Judas was mistranslated as well. That text was supposed to present Judas in a favorable light, with Jesus calling him a “spirit”, when in actuality Jesus is calling him a demon.
Archaeological finds that could be hostile to the Christian faith always tend to make the news. What goes unreported are the vast numbers of discoveries that corroborate the Bible, which isn’t too surprising since Christianity is an historical and evidential faith.
July 19th, 2008 at 11:19 am
It is interesting to note this tilt. Hopefully some of you have read about what could be the oldest Christian church (http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=5270738&page=1) ever discovered.
It’s always fascinating to me to keep up on these discoveries. We have this tension in our relationship with them and it reminds me of the book, “A Skeleton in God’s Closet”. Great novel where they discover what’s believed to be Jesus’ body. Christians are rocked in their faith, but of course, there’s a resolution (and it’s not that Jesus didn’t actually physically rise from the dead!).