Proving Faith Over Archeological Discovery, Reaction Paper Example

Archeological evidence and Christianity have an interesting relationship; although there are frequently claims from archeologists and scientists that biblical knowledge must not be true because of “concrete evidence”, there are an equal amount of archeological claims that confirm the accuracy of the bible. Although science isn’t necessarily a false practice, the ways that experiments and analyses are set up don’t always come to the right conclusion. In fact, the definition of a scientific theory is that experiments support an idea, but it cannot be confirmed because the phenomena cannot be observed. In addition, scientific instruments do not always work properly and cannot be completely trusted to confirm findings that researchers believe to be true.

If someone were to approach me on this topic, I would explain the above idea to them and include supporting evidence from both the bible an archeology as evidence. For example, for a long period of time, many scientists and archeologists believed that the flood was not an actual event that occurred during human history. Despite this, Fox News recently reported that an archeologist actually found evidence that proved all of these other scientists wrong; Robert Ballard, an underwater Archeologist carbon dated shells that he found on an ancient shoreline and established that a flood must have occurred in this area around 5,000 B.C. This is also the year that experts believed that Noah’s flood occurred (FoxNews 2012).

An example of archeological evidence that attempts to contradict the bible was published in February 2012. A team of archeologists attempted to question Jesus’ bodily resurrection in their study; these scientists found a burial site in Jerusalem that they believed to be Jesus’ tomb. While they believe that the tomb contained the body of Jesus and his family, there is no major evidence that proves this. The major issue with this finding is that many tombs were located nearby, and the labelling “Jesus” and “Mary” could have easily referred to different people because these names were common at the time of Christ’s death (Oleszczuk, 2012). In addition, it would be both unethical and impossible to conduct a DNA test that would confirm the identity of the bodies that were found. Ultimately, archeologists will never find evidence of Jesus’ earthly body, because it ascended to heaven.

In conclusion, archeology isn’t completely useless because it can be used to confirm certain biblical events such as the great flood. For some people, this evidence is useful because if they had any doubts as to whether the information contained within the bible is truth, they will now be able to continue their lives holding this necessary belief. Romans 10:17 states, “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” It is important to remind weaker believers that God loves them and the true path to righteousness is by following the words that He gave us. While archeological findings may cause some people doubt, it is important to remind them that they must think for themselves and examine the evidence on their own before they decide that these findings offer evidence against biblical knowledge. True believers will not be shaken from their faith because of the alternative explanations that these findings offer.

Bibliography

FoxNews. 2012. “Archaeologist claims evidence of Noah’s biblical flood”. Fox News. http://www.foxnews.com/science/2012/12/12/archaeologist-claims-evidence-noahs-biblical-flood/

n.d. “Biblical Archaeology Review Magazine”. http://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/magazine/

n.d. “Biblical Archeology Society”. http://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/

Oleszczuk, L. “New Archaeological Discovery Questions Jesus’ Bodily Resurrection”. Christian Post. http://www.christianpost.com/news/new-archaeological-discovery-questions-jesus-bodily-resurrection-70506/