Over the Christmas holidays I was able to do some leisure reading. To me it was bliss, because these days I could seldom find the time for such luxury. I devoured some favorite print, but what most captured me was the cover story in the latest edition (December 2010) of the National Geographic: The Search for King David.
Basically the article is about some archaeologists’ find in proving the existence of the mighty kingdom founded by King David. Discovery by some archaeologists in Israel and Jordan in recent years seemed to concur with biblical records. An Israelite archaeologist by the name of Eilat Mazar announced in 2005 that she had dug up the palace of King David. Some guys from the U.S. claimed to have found a massive copper mine in Jordan which must have been used by David and Solomon. But there is no lack of critics who say that the evidences are far from being conclusive to substantiate such claims. Many such critics would not deny David’s existence outright, but they doubted whether he really had founded a glorious kingdom like what’s recorded in the Bible. They thought Jerusalem in the 10th century B.C. was more like a cowboy town and David a tribal chief. The debates continue between the two camps.
It was really an interesting read. What I found most amusing is the different attitudes the archaeologists and academics hold towards the Bible. Some use the Bible as a tool to do archaeology; some try to “prove” the Bible using archaeology; still some scoffed at the above as grossly unprofessional archaeology. I wonder what an average Christian is to make of it when they read an article like this. But I really love it when the author has this to say about Mazar’s grandfather (also an archaeologist): who unapologetically worked with a trowel in one hand and the Bible in the other.
As Christians, I asked myself, what are we to make of this? It is not that we must always give a response every time some learned-men question the accuracy of the Bible, more importantly it is how much we believe in our heart the reliability of the Bible. Because this will determine our faith in God, as we profess the Bible to be the Word of God. I believe the primary way to increase in this faith is to prove His Word to be true in our lives in an experiential way. It is somewhat like a chicken and egg problem, but it’s vital for a Christian to prove God’s word to be true in his life experience. The Bible is about “living”, not just “knowing”; any “knowing” it talks about is for “living”. The Word is alive. Archaeology only studies things that are dead.
Apart from proving God’s Word true in our life experience, I think we should have a good grasp about the origin of the Bible. Of course I know it is from God. What I mean is how it’s inspired; how it’s prepared; how was it compiled; how did it come to us. It is very much a science by itself, sometime using archeology as a tool. There is no lack of books and material out there on this subject, but it’s safe to say most Christians don’t have a clue about it. This understanding will enhance our belief in the reliability of the Bible.
Coincidentally, or maybe not, the Much More Group is working on a study project entitled The History of the English Bible. We will be giving a presentation on the findings some time in January or February 2011. I believe we will somehow touch on the above and we welcome you to join us. I will let you know once the date is fixed.
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