by D. P. Johnson

Created on: February 21, 2009

An estimated 2.23 billion Christians & Jews consider the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) a trustworthy document. In addition, Christians also trust their New Testament. Can over two billion people be wrong? Yes, they can. Numbers or strength of conviction alone does not prove the truth of a matter. Evidence must be supplied in order to demonstrate trustworthiness. Where can such evidence be found? Where should we look? Many of the answers given are less than convincing for the truth seeker or skeptic. What we need is outside collaborative evidence. For that evidence, I turn to the field of Archaeology.

The Bible tells the story of a man named Elijah. God commanded him to go to a mountain because He had something to say. First came a hurricane force wind, then and an earthquake followed by a raging fire. God was not speaking in any of those. Then came a gentle whisper. That was the voice of God. We may want God to shout out evidence for us, like "THE ARK HAS BEEN DISCOVERED!" or "PHAROH'S ARMY DISCOVERED AT THE BOTTOM OF THE RED SEA!" We want that kind of evidence, but he doesn't do that. He still speaks in a still small voice. We should be amazed when we look at all the little things that God has preserved, and all the little glimpses that demonstrate the trustworthiness of the Bible.

But you may not be impressed or satisfied with little details. You may be bothered by a lack of evidence concerning some of the major Biblical events. Some have noted that the Egyptians never mentioned the Hebrew slaves. Does this prove that the events in the book of Exodus never happened? It is true that there is an absence of evidence for some Biblical events. But, do you know how long ago these Biblical events happened? Did you know that less than one percent of all known archeology sites in the Middle East have been surveyed in detail? Absence of evidence not evidence for absence!

Has everything been resolved; do we have all the answers? No. I think anyone who claims to have all the answers, probably doesn't know all the questions. There are still unknowns and uncertainties. Leading archaeologists, use a lot of "mights" and "maybes." These are good, honest words. Those who seek evidence of the Bible's trustworthiness must also be cautious of fakes. Sometimes people are so eager for evidence and proof that they will accept anything. People create fakes for money and recognition. Fakes may be out there, but they don't disprove the genuine artifacts.

The central question that

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