I don’t remember being interested in archaeology as a child or teenager. However, as a young man searching for answers to questions about the existence of God, archaeology became of great interest to me. It was early 1971 and writings about archaeological discoveries in the Middle East were abundant. Some of the books and articles available to me dated from the 19th century … [Read more...]
Search Results for: Convince Me There’s A God – Archaeology 20
Convince Me There’s A God – Archaeology 10
I used to think that Christians were ignorant to believe the “stories” in the Bible. I was taught those stories as a child, but grew up to “know” they weren’t true. Or did I? My investigation into the claims of theists about the existence of God and Christians about the existence of God’s Son led me into a study of archaeology in 1971. I was especially interested in … [Read more...]
Convince Me There’s A God – Archaeology 9
As I mentioned in the last post, the Bible story about Abraham became a “possibility” for me as an atheist based on the archaeological evidence available during my 1971 investigation into theism and Christianity. It seemed from what I was researching that Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Jacob’s sons “could” have lived during the time frame the Old Testament claimed in the locations … [Read more...]
Convince Me There’s A God – Archaeology 8
As I investigated the claims of the Bible concerning Abram leaving Ur of the Chaldees, traveling to ancient Haran, then on to Canaan, I came across many archaeological discoveries that supported the dating of the story in Genesis about his life and journey. I had been told for a long time that the stories in the Bible were fairy tales without any possible connection to real … [Read more...]
Convince Me There’s A God – Archaeology 7
The Hebrew Bible records the history of the world in some detail, but the history of Israel in great detail. Rather than a book of myth and legend, the Hebrew Bible was written as an historical narrative of a people and their God. That means their existence, both people and God, can be investigated according to historical detail. When I was looking into the claims of … [Read more...]
Convince Me There’s A God – Archaeology 6
Many atheists have asked me why I converted from strong atheism to Christianity rather than to some other belief system. The simple answer is that Christians had the answers to my questions. I had studied various Eastern religions years earlier and didn’t find truth in any of them. Atheism was the only belief system that made sense, until I met Christians who were … [Read more...]
Convince Me There’s A God – Archaeology 5
As an atheist I believed in what I could see, not in what I could not see. The “natural” was something I could see – the “supernatural” was not. So, the archaeological finds that supported various aspects of the historicity of the Old Testament impressed me. Even though most of the ancient discoveries were located in museums around the world, being able to see photos of the … [Read more...]
Convince Me There’s A God – Archaeology 4
As any good atheist would have done more than 40 years ago, I ridiculed the history of Israel as recorded in the Old Testament of the Bible. How could anyone believe what the Jews wrote about their national history when they were just trying to promote their own brand of ”religion?” Why should I believe them? The problem with that line of thinking, I discovered, was what to … [Read more...]
Convince Me There’s A God – Archaeology 2
Solid evidence. Something an investigative journalist can sink his teeth into. That’s what I needed to see in 1971. Christians I had invited on my radio talk show to intimidate and make fun of were turning the tables on me. Me! A well-known, hard-core atheist talk show commentator, I was actually listening to Christians talk about why they believed in the existence of God. … [Read more...]
Convince Me There’s A God – Archaeology
Journalists deal in facts – lots of them. We eat them for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. We snack on them at midnight. Facts, facts, and more facts! So, what can possibly convince an atheist journalist about the existence of God? Facts – and lots of them. I found discussions with Christians about science interesting, but those about morality were a bit disturbing. I couldn’t … [Read more...]