"Those who discount the Bible stories because of archaeological data are working in outdated "prove the Bible mode," along the lines of correspondence theories. They likewise have not realized that archaeology and the Bible provide different information, which is largely incapable of being compared and, most often, elusive. Information from the Bible and archaeology is parallel, not perpendicular; it supplements/complements, but rarely intersects. For true understanding to emerge, we must look beyond a "prove the Bible" (or "disprove") synthesis and draw on a coherence theory model.
"In the end, the relationship between the Bible and archaeology is fluid, not static. Both can help us better understand the other, but neither can, nor should, be used as a critique of the other. They must live separately and be blended and amended together cautiously."
David Merling, "The Relationship between Archaeology and the Bible Expectations and Reality," in The Future of Biblical Archaeology, ed. James K. Hoffmeier and Alan Millard (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2004), 33.
4 comments:
Charles,
Thanks for this. As I get ready to head to Tel-Gezer for 5 weeks I am reminded how different today's biblical archaeologists are from the Albrights and Yadins. Even Israel Finkelstein uses the Bible to help inform his work.
I am glad that you found this helpful. Will you be working with Steven Ortiz at Gezer?
Yes, we are a consortium school for the Gezer project. We were there in 2009 as well.
Yes, we are a consortium school for the Gezer project. We were there in 2009 as well.
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