The Ruins of History- Historical Reliability of the Bible
One of my favorite discussion points with unbelievers is the historical reliability of the Bible. This often comes up when discussing the reason for my faith (1 Peter 3:15 But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect,). The Bible is frequently caricatured by unbelievers as a book full of myths, old wives tales, and is in general untrue. This position is most commonly parroted by militant atheists, many of whom I admire as they seem more evangelistic regarding their lack of faith than many inside the church regarding their presence of faith!
When the question of historical reliability comes up, I like to ask, and listen intently to my friends and conversation partners to find exactly where their objection is located. By narrowing down a focus point (or points) it allows for further exploration and even engagement with the Bible itself. On many occasions I've had the joy of hearing militant atheists read passages from scripture themselves to identify exactly where the myth begins and the history ends (in their minds).
Historical Reliability of the New Testament
One such occasion was in discussing the historical reliability of the New Testament. This is one of the easiest objections to engage with as a follower of Christ. First, we began by examining the siege and destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD. This was reported by Josephus, and the dating is corroborated by Roman imperial history as the siege took place during the second year of Roman Emperor Vespasian (who ruled from 69-79AD). My friend had no problem accepting Josephus' testimony regarding the siege and destruction of Jerusalem. On this occasion, I did not point out that Jesus prophesied regarding this exact siege some 40 years prior to its occurrence (Mark 13). Instead, we move from the reliability of Josephus' testimony regarding the siege to Josephus' testimony regarding Abraham's life and times in Egypt, Moses' leadership out of Egypt and in the wilderness, and so on. The stories that line up both from the Old Testament and Josephus usually bring a hint of doubt to the formerly confident militant atheist.
“Mythological” Book of Jonah
We were able to pivot from Josephus and the Old Testament Pentateuch (the first five books of the Bible) to the more "mythological" books. So we pivoted to the book of Jonah, which was where this particular individual had drawn a line in the sand. For this individual, the book of Jonah had to be mythological as there were too many fantastical things to believe it's historical reliability. The story of the great fish, of God speaking directly to a prophet, of an entire city changing its ways and repenting, these things were all simply too much for my friend to believe. Our conversation ended amicably, and as we ended, I asked if I could send a few anecdotes regarding the archaeology of Nineveh as a follow-up. My friend said that would be fine and I followed up the next day with an email and a few links to the significance of "leaders wearing fish-like headdresses" for the philosophy of Nineveh (You can watch a fantastic lecture about Adapa from the Penn Museum here. The bit regarding Fish headdresses starts at the 12:00 mark).
For much of the last thousand years of European history, the city of Nineveh's location has been unknown. Without a location to study, we can with some sympathy regard those who doubt the veracity of the scriptures. Yet in 1842 and then again in 1847, two expeditions were made and a location that had previously been thought to be the location of Nineveh was refuted, and a new location some 20 miles distant from the previous site was discovered. This discovery in 1847 uncovered the lost palace of Sennacherib and the library which is now famous for holding over 22,000 cuneiform tablets. The ruins provided a huge amount of historical evidence and remains from the period of when Nineveh and the Assyrian empire were at their peak. The British Museum was the beneficiary of this discovery as thousands of artifacts were in no uncertain terms pillaged and returned back to England. What once was considered a mythological location, had become a concrete reality in the minds of many archaeologists and museum visitors.
Truth Vs. Bias
The Bible's historical reliability is not a question of superstition vs facts, but rather a question of truth vs bias. Prior to the 1847 British expedition by Layard Nineveh was, in historical circles of study in Europe, a place of myth. There simply was no evidence (aside from the Bible) that critics would accept. The lack of evidence didn't change the truth. Truth itself is not reliant on evidence, there are crimes committed every day which do not have the evidence to prove them. Bias will not listen or look for the truth, either with, or without evidence. Truth however remains truth, regardless of bias.
In relating the above story, I have two goals. First, it is my hope to encourage you as believers in Christ to not shirk from discussions with those who challenge the historical reliability of the Bible. Engage in those discussions! They are a gift from God both for you and for the person you converse with! Second, I aim to challenge you if you are an unbeliever to narrowly focus on the reason for your unbelief. What is it about the historical claims of the Bible that so irks you, so upsets you, or is so obviously untrue? Take up a study on those narrow, specific questions that you have to search for truth!
The truth of the matter was that Nineveh absolutely existed prior to 1842, and prior to 1847. The location mystery prior to 1842 was a problem with evidence, not with the truth. The location’s discovery in 1847 did not change the truth either but rather provided evidence that supported what was already true. In the case of Nineveh the evidence the Bible provided and spoke of displayed itself to be trustworthy. The ruins of history provide supporting evidence to the testimony of the Bible. The God of the Bible is the God of history, he has spoken through his Word which is trustworthy and reliable, and he has left supporting evidence of his Word in the ruins of history.
