Science can only play a supporting role
- Archaeological findings only verify the locations mentioned in the Gospels. Findings cannot tell the story alone.
- Many location mentioned in the Gospels have been discovered by scientist.
- Luke is confirmed to be an accurate historian by archaeologist. While not providing absolute validation to his account in the Gospel of Luke, he does show his was careful and accurate with his writings.
- Digs within the past century have unearthed locations also mentioned by John and Mark.
Puzzles from the Gospels
- The census mention is association with the birth of Christ has been a point of contention with scholars through the years. Why would people be required to return to the city of their birth to be counted? References have been found from Roman documents that confirm citizens were required to return 'home' every 14 years to be counted and pay taxes.
- The concept isn't foreign today. Our Birth Certificates document the city of our birth and tie us to that location throughout our lives.
- Nazareth as been debated as an actual city in Galilee at the time of Jesus, but Nazareth was a very small village at the time and complete not noteworthy until the story of Jesus.
- There are no historical records that mention the slaughter of first born by Herod which would appear to us as 'news worthy,' but Herod was bloodthirsty king that killed thousands of people during his reigns, and the slaughter in Bethlehem of what probably amounted to only a dozen or so actual babies. Bethlehem was not a very large city at the time. Even today, it is smaller than Bristol, TN. The killing of a dozen or so would pale in comparison to the onslaughts that took place through Herod time.
Next Week: The science of carbon dating (research a bit before then)
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