3. Archeology Proving Skeptics Wrong Time and Time Again

In the 19th century, many scholars argued that the Bible was proven to be false … nothing more than fairy tales. Why? Because they could not prove the veracity of various historical accounts found in the Bible. A major one of these claims was that since such a major city as Nineveh had never been discovered, that therefore the Bible’s stories involving the Assyrian Empire must be mythological. This was quite a broadside, since the Assyrian Empire was shown in the Bible to be a major power that intersected with a significant portion of Israel and Judah’s history. If there is no Nineveh, it only follows that the Bible is nothing more than a book of fables.

There have been many similar claims. Consider that it was argued that the Bible’s account of King David was also fable. Why? Again, because no archeological evidence of his existence had ever been found. If David never even existed, then this would be a terminal blow to the entire Bible, both New and Old Testaments. After all, he was a long-reigning king at a time when Israel was near its peak power in the Middle East. Also, the Bible proclaimed that the Messiah would be the Son of David and the Savior. With no evidence of a historical David, again it was argued that the Bible must therefore be a book of meaningless fiction.

Was Nineveh a myth? Even during the time of Christ and the apostles, apparently no identifiable remains of this city existed. Lucian of Samosata (A.D. 120-180), who was a Greek writer, stated: “Nineveh has perished. No trace of it remains. No one can say where once it existed.” Nevertheless, Jesus Himself spoke of Nineveh. See His words recorded in the New Testament, Luke 11:32 and Matthew 12:41: “The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it […].” Clearly, Jesus did not question this city’s one-time existence. So, what would be the consequence, if there never was a Nineveh? It would invalidate the words of Christ and therefore the existence of the Son of God. Moreover, the validity and reliability of the Bible’s accounts of history would be demolished.

Of course, not finding something does not prove conclusively that it does not exist. To no surprise, a spectacular discovery was made by Austen Henry Layard (1847) and Paul Emile Botta (1842). They discovered the remnants of three Assyrian cities. With that find they were also able to establish that the Assyrian Empire had ranged across much of the Middle East and indeed was a mighty, powerful empire just as the Bible had stated. Moreover, one of the three cities unearthed was indeed Nineveh.

The Bible had been proven correct … as it has been time and time again. Many archeological proofs for the Bible and validations of the historical accounts of the Old Testament continue to be discovered. Despite the systematic looting and destruction of any archeological evidence proving that the Jews had been the prominent inhabitants of Palestine over the past three millennia, new finds continue. For example, on July 21, 1993, a team of archaeologists led by Professor Avraham Biran, excavating Tel Dan in the northern Galilee, found a triangular piece of basalt rock inscribed in Aramaic. It included the words Beit David (“House” or “Dynasty” of “David”) (Source: Jewish Virtual Library).

This was exciting confirmation of King David’s existence. Since then, a number of additional proofs of King David’s reign have been found.

Today, many archeologists working in the Middle East (Assyriologists) use the accounts of the Old Testament as a primary guide. If a place or people is mentioned in it, there is little question that they had existed. To this day, not one inaccuracy or falsehood has been found in the Bible with respect to past history that has been conclusively proven. That provides ironclad provenance for this document. Crucially, by implication, the very words of Jesus Christ with respect to historic peoples and places have been verified.

Given the Bible’s veracity, it leads one to ponder the implications for Creationism. While archeology has proven the Bible true, the diggings of evolutionary paleontologists have not been so fruitful.

Archeologists who seek proofs (desperately) for their evolutionary theories have yet to find any conclusive evidence. In fact, it couldn’t be more to the contrary. Charles Darwin first introduced his evolution theories in the bookOn the Origin of the Species, published in 1859. Since then, more than 150 years of digging and studying have brought them no closer to finding the basic “missing links.” The fossil record plainly shows a history of death and extinction, not new creation.

Yet, Jesus, the very one whose words about Nineveh proved the Bible true and the doubters wrong, also said “[…] from the beginning, when God created the world […]” (Mark 13:19), and that he made humans male and female at the “beginning of creation” (Mark 10:6). Why should we not also take these words of Jesus as Truth?

As Luke 19:40 says, though truth may be suppressed, “[…] the stones will cry out.” Though archeology has proven the Bible to be a remarkably accurate document, its author, the personal God Jesus Christ, is rejected. Despite the evidence of the “stones,” the Bible continues to be mocked and knocked as a book of poetry and fables.

4. Creator Begat the Bible Begat Science

Consider that all the books of the Bible were of course written long before the discoveries of modern science. Shouldn’t one therefore expect to find many statements in the Bible that reflect ignorance of the basic physical laws, the workings of quantum mechanics, astrophysics, etc.? Surely some of the Bible’s statements about physics or chemistry or any other faculty of science would be proven wrong.

For example, take the book of Job, which is thought to be the oldest book in the Old Testament (written perhaps as much as 3,500 to 4,000 years ago). Surely, it must be riddled with myths, factual errors and ignorance of science. Indeed, Job makes many statements about life and the natural sciences.

Crucially, what do we find? Job not once refutes any scientific law or principle, nor the observed workings of the universe that a classical scientist today could point to as error. Amazing!

Could at least some errors be found elsewhere in the Bible? For example, wasn’t it a common belief at one time that the world was flat and that the sun orbited around the earth (geocentrism)? It was only as late as the mid-16th century that Nicolaus Copernicus published his theory that the earth orbited around the sun (heliocentrism). Previously, it was believed that everything orbited around the earth.

Galileo Galilei also took this revolutionary view of geocentrism at that time. He was heavily criticized by the Roman Catholic Church for his belief, as was Copernicus after his death. The Roman Catholic Church deemed this view as unbiblical.

The view that the earth was an orb (rather than flat) came to be generally accepted as early as 300 BC, certainly so in educated and Hellenistic circles. That said, this view was first credited to Pythagoras (c. 570-500 B.C.). However, the books of the Old Testament had been written well before this time. Therefore, it should only be understandable that some of the writers of the Old Testament books would have reflected a geocentric or flat-earth view.

But, that is not what we find.

Here is what Isaiah wrote: “Do you not know? Have you not heard? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood since the earth was founded? He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth, and its people are like grasshoppers” (Isaiah 40:21-22).

Isaiah states that the earth is a circle … not square or flat. Where did this knowledge come from?

The writer of Ecclesiastes also reflects the “round world” view. He says: “The wind blows to the south and turns to the north; round and round it goes, ever returning on its course” (Ecclesiastes 1:6).

This statement clearly holds the implication that the world is an orb. This verse could not be interpreted otherwise. How could the wind ever return to its course on a north/south trajectory were the world not a round ball?

The Bible also indicates that the universe has been “stretched out” or expanded. For example, Isaiah says that “[…] He stretches out the heavens like a canopy, and spreads them out like a tent to live in” (Isaiah 40:22). Indeed, the universe is still constantly expanding today—being stretched out—according to astrophysicists. This observation is consistent with the Bible.

We consider one last statement in the Bible—of many more that we could examine—that proves a “scientifically” correct understanding. “I tell you, on that night two people will be in one bed; one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding grain together; one will be taken and the other left” (Luke 17:34-35).

This statement speaks about a future event in the end times. It is of global scope and happens at a specific time. What we note is that when people are “taken,” some are in bed and others are working grinding grain. That is consistent with a global event. At any one point in time, it will be simultaneously night for one part of earth and daytime for others. Here again we observe that Scripture’s statements are true and correct.

We finally return to the oldest book in the Bible, Job. Consider these two statements that he made: “He stretches out the north over empty space; Hehangs the earth on nothing” (Job 26:6-7, NKJV). “He drew a circular horizon on the face of the waters […]” (Job 26:10).

These certainly do not dispute our modern understanding of the universe. These words confirm that the earth hangs on nothing. And indeed there must be a circular horizon on the ocean, as can only be the case with an earth that is an orb.

We have only scratched the surface in this brief investigation. There are many more Bible verses that reflect correct classical science as only modern experts could so identify today. There are NO misstatements … NO errors. Again, this is amazing.

Where did this information come from so many thousands of years ago? Clearly, the Bible’s writers were inspired by the Creator of science himself. The ancient documents that are in the Bible are true.

Such alignment and scientific accuracy are not to be found in the writings of the other major religions of the world. We certainly do not wish to cast aspersions on any specific person. We will simply refer to facts.

Let’s briefly turn our attention to the Koran (the foundational scriptures of Islam), the content of which is claimed to be written by Mohammed under the direct inspiration of Allah.

The Koran is riddled with factual errors and inconsistencies. There are literally hundreds of such factually incorrect statements.

For example, unlike the Bible, the Koran takes a geocentric view. Says the Koran, “It is not for the sun to overtake the moon, nor doth the night outstrip the day. They float each in an orbit” (Qur’an 36:40). Here it is mentioned that both the moon and the sun have an orbit. No mention is made that the earth is in an orbit. The succession of night and day is not a function of an orbiting sun in any case. This is due to the earth spinning upon its axis.

We do not wish to cause further embarrassment, so will not prolong this line of investigation. Readers can pursue additional evidence, as there are many helpful resources available on this topic. Conclusion? The inspiration behind the Koran could therefore not have been the Creator Jehovah.

Is the Bible a product of the imagination of mankind? No. As we have shown, in at least one respect, the Bible is true and factual, displaying knowledge that its writers and prophets could not have known.

There are many excellent resources available that cite many further proofs of the Bible’s source of inspiration. Consider the scientific and Biblical materials from Answers in Genesis and/or the Institute for Creation Research. An informative article from Answers in Genesis, written by Dr. Jason Lisle, can be found at this link: (https://answersingenesis.org/answers/books/taking-back-astronomy/the-universe-confirms-the-bible/).

We continue our apologetics series, next focusing on the incredible document called the Bible. It, too, must be denied today (in any way possible) as it infringes on the willful rebelliousness of those who reject God and the Creator’s authority. However, it is a document with a pedigree that goes far beyond human possibility.

Do you know the real facts … the undeniable proofs of the Bible? The evidence crushes the arguments of the careless and foolhardy skeptics. However here again, we discover that facts alone will not necessarily be received by people. Why? They choose not to conform because they do not want to. Nevertheless, we hope that all would know the “facts” so that at least none would be the incidental casualty of ignorance.

Reference to the Bible in the popular media is usually in the form of a token quote or an implied lampooning. In the public square, the Bible isn’t imbued with any particular authority. The only thing biblical that inspires awe today is when natural phenomena or trends are of “biblical proportions.”

And so, few people in public life these days will venture the opinion or the personal belief that the Bible is the infallible Word of God. After all, just how could that be? It would mean that one believes that Noah actually took a pair of most species of animals onto the ark; that Jonah really did get swallowed by a big fish; that evolutionism is not scientific; and that one might be inclined to believe in the “young earth” view? There are many other taunts against Bible believers.

But again, we want to appeal to facts, proofs and reasonable faith. As we can show, there is no viewpoint (once thoroughly examined) that threatens the veracity of the Bible. There is no reason to abandon the Bible—other than cowardice, fear, intimidation and lack of knowledge.

The reality is that very few people know the provenance of the Bible and just how incredibly impossible its existence is in naturalistic terms. This compilation of books from 40 some authors, its interweaved consistency and unlikely preservation is beyond probability. As a matter of fact, since the advent of recorded history on earth, there is no literature that can compare in any way. Not even close.

As this writer often admits, he is a person of poor faith. Before believing anything, facts and evidence are required as well as reasonableness. Not every concept in the metaphysical domain (including such theories as evolution) can be fully proven. In fact, in some religions, none of their respective tenets or beliefs can be proven either through logic, historical evidence or reasonableness.

Before venturing an opinion—most certainly so when applying to a belief—one should know the facts and the alternatives. Viewpoints and conclusions must be evidential and reasonable, meaning supported by facts and evidence. We realize that setting such a standard for one’s beliefs is out of bounds in the popular perspective of today. To illustrate, the advertising and entertainment media incessantly exhorts one to “believe” … to “be a believer.” It doesn’t matter what and for no supportable reason. Believe.

After all, you can make your own reality … and if you believe, ostensibly it will come about. The hope for the world and one’s personal life is to “stay positive” (despite the contrary evidence of the rapidly-increasing, world-wide epidemic of depression and legions of other psychological problems). The facts and reality are best denied and lied about. Think positive and imagine your own reality!

To no surprise, the Bible has been under a withering attack over the last several centuries. Indeed, Scripture has been under attack from the beginning; however, a renewed systematic effort to invalidate it has taken place the last 300 years or so. It became “higher criticism” and scholarly to cast doubt and aspersions on the Bible. No other document ever in the history of mankind has faced such hateful and unfair attacks. Popular lore is that the Bible represents nothing more than imaginative stories, fiction and hyperbole. Its statements are not considered verifiable. None of it should be considered actual history.

And, of course, in this day and age of “free living” in the way that seems right to the individual, a document such as the Bible is considered all too constraining. How dare it pronounce such a thing as sin. How dare it claim that it is the guidebook of the most exclusive of all other faiths and that it is “infallible.” What apparent impertinence for modern humanity!

As such, the Bible today is therefore considered “hate” literature in many countries in the world. All the above viewpoints reveal a rejection of the Bible’s provenance in both earthly and heavenly terms. We will explain the logical justification for that perspective.

The key question to pursue is this: Just what is the balance of evidence? I am not a Bible scholar any more than any and every Christian should be. I reject the ecclesiastical elitism that says you must be a priest to be able to read and understand the Bible… or that you need a PhD in Biblical studies. It is true, of course, that there are many gifted scholars and teachers that are of great benefit to us. I will quote various such experts. Nevertheless, the Bible says: “As for you, the anointing you received from him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit–just as it has taught you, remain in him” (1 John 2:27).

So with that proviso in mind, we lay out 15 cornerstones and arguments for the veracity of the Bible, together evidencing that this collection of books is indeed infallible and has been God-breathed through human writers.

We begin with the words of an expert.

1. No Comparable Validity Amongst Ancient Books. [The entirety of this section is quoted from an excerpt from In Defense of the Faith (pp. 75-79) by Dave Hunt.]

“As for the validity of the Old Testament manuscripts and their reliability, consider the following from Princeton’s Robert D. Wilson in his book Scientific Investigation of the Old Testament. Fluent in over 40 Semitic languages, he was one of the greatest language experts and scholars of all time. Professor Wilson writes:

‘For forty-five years continuously I have devoted myself to the one great study of the Old Testament, in all its languages, in all its archaeology, in all its translations.

[T]he critics of the Bible who go to it in order to find fault claim to themselves all knowledge and all virtue and all love of truth. One of their favorite phrases is, “All scholars agree.” When a man [says that] I wish to know who the scholars are and why they agree. Where do they get their evidence? I defy any man to make an attack upon the Old Testament on the ground of evidence that I cannot investigate.

After I learned the necessary languages I set about the investigation of every consonant in the Hebrew Old Testament. There are about a million and a quarter of these; and it took me many years to achieve my task. I had to observe the variations of the text in the manuscripts, or in the notes of the Masoretes or in the various versions, or in the parallel passages, or in the conjectural emendations of critics; and then I had to classify the results to reduce the Old Testament criticism to an absolutely objective science; something which is based on evidence, and not on opinion.

The result of those 45 years’ study which I have given to the text has been this: I can affirm that there is not a page of the Old Testament concerning which we need have any doubt. [For example, to illustrate its accuracy]: There are 29 ancient kings whose names are mentioned not only in the Bible but also on monuments of their own time. There are 195 consonants in these 29 proper names. Yet we find that in the documents of the Hebrew Old Testament there are only two or three out of the entire 195 about which there can be any question of their being written in exactly the same way as they were inscribed on their own monuments [which archaeologists have to date discovered]. Some of these go back 4,000 years and are so written that every letter is clear and correct.

Compare this accuracy with the greatest scholar of his age, the librarian at Alexandria in 200 BC. He compiled a catalogue of the kings of Egypt, 38 in all. Of the entire number only 3 or 4 are recognizable. He also made a list of the kings of Assyria; in only one case can we tell who is meant; and that one is not spelt correctly. Or take Ptolemy, who drew up a register of 18 kings of Babylon. Not one of them is properly spelt; you could not make them out at all if you did not know from other sources to what he is referring.

If anyone talks about the Bible, ask him about the kings mentioned in it. There are 29 kings referred to, and ten different countries among these 29; all of which are included in the Bible and on monuments. Every one of these is given his right name in the Bible, his right country, and placed in correct chronological order. Think what that means!

While the study of the religious systems of the ancient peoples has shown that there was amongst them a groping after God, nowhere is it to be seen that they reached any clear apprehension of the One True God, the Creator, Preserver, Judge, Saviour and Sanctifier of His people. Their religions were of an outward kind; the Old Testament religion is essentially one of the mind and heart; a religion of love, joy, faith, hope, and salvation through the grace of God. How can we account for this?

The prophets of Israel declared that their teaching came from God. The modern critical school is antagonistic to this claim. They say that the prophets gave utterance to the ideas of their own time, and that they were limited by their environment. But if this is so how does it come about that neither from the oracles of Thebes and Memphis, nor from Delphi and Rome, nor from Babylon, nor from the deserts of Media, but from the sheep-folds and humble homes of Israel, yea, from the captive by the river of an alien land, came forth those great messages of hope and salvation?’”

2. The Collective Amnesia of History. Try as one might, one will not be able to disprove that a certain person, Jesus Christ, existed on earth at a particular time. Furthermore, you will also not be able to disprove in a court of law today that this man was crucified, died, was buried, and was resurrected. You cannot deny these facts without destabilizing the foundations of the entirety of ancient history.

What do we mean by this? Consider this example: Did Hannibal (248–183 BC), the Carthaginian, cross the Pyrenees with his elephants to fight the Romans? Why, of course he did, you may say. Indeed, on the basis of the account of Polybius (ca. 200–118 BCE), these general events did occur.

However, this would be an accepted historical fact based on a single surviving account and one from a source that was neither a direct observer nor old enough to provide an account at the time. There is no other reference in any document of the antiquities that makes an earlier reference to this event. Yet, Hannibal’s actions and loss against the Romans is considered proven, historical fact … history beyond reproach.

This is one of potentially thousands of examples of historical accounts that are held to be true on flimsy or narrow evidence. No one takes umbrage or tries to attack or refute these histories.

Then what are we to make of the historical account of Jesus Christ? His existence is the most documented fact of ancient history. Then why not consider the life and times of Jesus Christ proven and factual? Why is the existence of Jesus denied and attacked? Why are his spoken words regarded as myth and mere fairy tales?