archaeology

A collection of 34 posts

archaeology

Does a newly-discovered Hebrew tablet prove the Bible is older than initially believed?

Christians and Jews have been excited as of late due to an archaeological discovery that has caused quite a stir. A tablet, which contains the words of an ancient Hebrew curse has been found in Israel that pre-dates the Dead Sea Scrolls. The Dead Sea Scrolls, whose oldest fragments and

archaeology

Bowen, Lewis and Stavrakapoulou Dissect the Genesis of Israel's Religion

I can't tell you how interesting this interview was. Actually, I can - it was supremely interesting. I cannot wait for Stavrakapoulou's book to be released - she is such a good public communicator of her discipline. This interview has soooo many fascinating and important nuggets

archaeology

Exodus Sidebar: Pitch - You Wouldn't Let It Lie!

https://youtu.be/0vECGh9hY68?t=20 Ah, dag nam it. You wouldn't let it lie, Armstrong. You wouldn't let it lie! ;) Okay, I'll spare you all the previous, readers. Here are the links: * Debunking the Exodus V: Moses’ Birth * Exodus Sidebar: Refuting Armstrong’s

ancient history

Exodus Sidebar: The Final Pitch Battle

As part of my debunking the Exodus series, I've been involved in a prolonged debate with Dave Armstrong, in particular, regarding…pretty much everything I have stated. Let me give you a super-quick synopsis of where we are at. One of my arguments was that the Moses birth

archaeology

Exodus Sidebar: Sargon and Moses - the Final Word...?

There has been a back and forth between myself and Catholic apologist (with a bent for biblical literalism) Dave Armstrong on the subject of the Exodus account from the Bible, and specifically recently on Moses' birth story and its dependence on the pre-existing Sargon birth myth (in itself, a

archaeology

Exodus Sidebar: More on Moses and Sargon

I think that Dave Armstrong believes that the purpose of my existence is merely to answer his articles that he writes against me. I hate to burst his bubble, but I have other things to do with my life that take something of a priority over responding to him. On

archaeology

Exodus Sidebar: Refuting Armstrong's "Refutation" on Pitch (but Oddly Not Sargon...)

Oh David, David, David. David "I love science as much as any atheist" Armstrong likes to see himself as the white knight, tackling my "screeds" articles and refuting them. Except, this is rarely what actually happens. He recently claimed to have refuted me on camels but

archaeology

Exodus Sidebar: Replying to Armstrong about Camels

I recently posted my latest piece on the historicity of the Exodus accounts in the Bible, this time concerning the historical problems of the mentions of camels in the Old Testament. Catholic blogger and apologist Dave Armstrong has attempted to refute my claims with a post of his own, to

archaeology

Debunking the Exodus III: Camels

The Exodus account is one of the key stories of the Bible, creating a foundation upon which so much else in the Bible is built. Without the truth of the Exodus, the truth of Moses, the Mosaic Law and any number of other claims are brought into suspicion. Previously, I

archaeology

Exodus Sidebar: Why Would You Believe That Chariot Wheel Nonsense? Oh, Right...

Confirmation bias comes in all sorts of shapes and sizes and is a ubiquitous thorn in the side of anyone chasing truth. In fact, more accurately, it is a sure sign that someone isn't really chasing truth. That said, we are all victim to cognitive biases to varying

archaeology

All Dead Sea Scroll Fragments in the Museum of the Bible are Fake

The Dead Sea Scrolls (also Qumran Caves Scrolls) are ancient Jewish religious manuscripts found in the Qumran Caves in the Judaean Desert, near Ein Feshkha on the northern shore of the Dead Sea in the West Bank, Palestine.[1] Scholarly consensus dates these scrolls from the last three centuries BCE

archaeology

The Curse of the Maya!

I have told you about this project before, but a little reminder might be in order. A book that I have written with one of my ex-colleagues called The Curse of the Maya: A Truth-Seekers' Story is now published and available to buy. Details from the Loom site are:

archaeology

Fragment Tells When Abraham Actually Killed Isaac

It's the classic biblical tale that speaks of obligation to divine commands. But it's all okay in the end because God provides a ram for Abraham so he doesn't have to sacrifice his son. That would be terrible and nothing that God would ever

archaeology

The Exodus Debunked: Analysing some "Counter-Evidence"

Time to take the defenders to task. And, I must say, we have a dismal failure on our hands here. As many of you will know, I have been running a series debunking the historicity of the Exodus accounts in the Old Testament. The importance and ramifications of doing this

archaeology

The Exodus Debunked: Concluding Matters

It's been quite a little project, but it is time to draw matters to a close. So far, the series has covered a number of different related subjects: * The Exodus Debunked: Chronology * The Exodus Debunked: A Ridiculous Story with Ridiculous Claims * The Exodus Debunked: Camels * The Exodus Debunked:

archaeology

The Exodus Debunked: Narrative Sources

"It is thus clearer than the sun at noonday that the Pentateuch was not written by Moses, but by someone who lived longer after Moses”Spinoza, 1670 I will continue my deconstruction of the Exodus accounts by concentrating on the issues surrounding the claims concerning the typology and the

archaeology

The Bible Unearthed

I know most of you will have seen this before, but I thought I'd post a video of the documentary around the book of the same name by Finkelstein and Silberman: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5RfScpEcZ8

archaeology

The Exodus Debunked: Coming out of Egypt

I will continue my deconstruction of the Exodus accounts by concentrating on the issues surrounding the claims of the Hebrews coming out of Egypt. The articles so far have been: * The Exodus Debunked: Chronology * The Exodus Debunked: A Ridiculous Story with Ridiculous Claims * The Exodus Debunked: Camels * The Exodus Debunked:

archaeology

The Exodus Debunked: Archaeological Issues

I will continue my deconstruction of the Exodus accounts by concentrating on the archaeological issues. The articles so far have been: * The Exodus Debunked: Chronology * The Exodus Debunked: A Ridiculous Story with Ridiculous Claims * The Exodus Debunked: Camels * The Exodus Debunked: Hardening of Hearts * The Exodus Debunked: Moses’ Birth * The

archaeology

The Exodus Debunked: the Hyksos and the Land of Goshen

I will continue my deconstruction of the Exodus accounts by concentrating on the Hyksos. The articles so far have been: * The Exodus Debunked: Chronology * The Exodus Debunked: A Ridiculous Story with Ridiculous Claims * The Exodus Debunked: Camels * The Exodus Debunked: Hardening of Hearts * The Exodus Debunked: Moses’ Birth * The Exodus

archaeology

The Exodus Debunked: You Philistines!

I will continue my deconstruction of the Exodus accounts by concentrating on the Philistines. The articles so far have been: * The Exodus Debunked: Chronology * The Exodus Debunked: A Ridiculous Story with Ridiculous Claims * The Exodus Debunked: Camels * The Exodus Debunked: Hardening of Hearts * The Exodus Debunked: Moses’ Birth I want

archaeology

The Exodus Debunked: Moses' Birth

I will continue my deconstruction of the Exodus accounts by concentrating on Moses. The articles so far have been: * The Exodus Debunked: Chronology * The Exodus Debunked: A Ridiculous Story with Ridiculous Claims * The Exodus Debunked: Camels * The Exodus Debunked: Hardening of Hearts I want to compile them all into a

archaeology

The Exodus Debunked: Camels

The Exodus account is one of the key stories of the Bible, creating a foundation upon what so much else in the Bible is built. Without the truth of the Exodus, the truth of Moses, the Mosaic Law and any number of other claims are brought into suspicion. Previously, I

archaeology

For the 945,276th Time, Noah's Ark Has Been Found!

Yes! It must be true! And it certainly must be true because it can be found in the Sun. And brilliantly, it quotes The Express, the world's most hateful newspaper. The Express explains: Ark investigators believe they have found traces of a wooden structure on Mount Ararat, also

ancient history

The Exodus from Egypt as Exceedingly Ridiculous

This is from some years ago. It is still the final argument in my God on Trial talk that I do. I have been kindly asked to give a talk to the Dorset Humanists next month, They seemed to enjoy my last few talks so much as to want me