Why Is Archaeology Important?
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| English: Fleeing Sodom and Gomorrah Русский: Бегство Лота из Содома (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
Deuteronomy 29:22-24 If we can trust the Bible when it tells us about straightforward earthly things that can be verified, then we are more likely to trust it in areas where we can't directly verify it in an empirical way. There have been thousands-not hundreds-of archaeological finds in the Middle East that support the picture presented in the Biblical record. There was a discovery not long ago confirming King David. The patriarchs-the narratives about Abraham, Isaac and Jacob-were once considered legendary, but as more becomes known, these stories are increasingly corroborated. The destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah was thought to be mythological until evidence was uncovered that all five of the cities mentioned in Genesis were, in fact, situated just as the Old Testament said. As far as their destruction goes, archaeologist Clifford Wilson says there is "permanent evidence of the great conflagration that took place in the long distant past."
Adapted from interview with Dr. Norman Geisler
