God’s Providence, Miracles & Natural Events

Last updated on: May 5, 2023 at 3:05 pm By Dave Armstrong

In my book, The Word Set in Stone: How Archaeology, Science and History Back Up the Bible (Catholic Answers Press, 2023), I suggest quite a few possible scenarios whereby biblical events usually assumed to be miraculous may have a plausible natural explanation. I repeatedly explain my precise position in my book, especially (and in the most sustained detail) in the Introduction. For anyone who has an e-book version, the relevant words can be searched. “Miraculous” appears fifteen times, “miracle” 21 times (not... Read more

Archaeology & Ten (More) Kings of Judah & Israel

Last updated on: April 20, 2023 at 10:09 am By Dave Armstrong

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Thus far, in my articles and my 2023 book, The Word Set in Stone: How Archaeology, Science, and History Back Up the Bible, I have documented archaeological confirmation — of one sort or another — for kings of the United Monarchy (Saul, David, and Solomon), and kings in the period of the divided kingdom of (southern) Judah (931-586 B.C.) and (northern) Israel (931-722 B.C.). These include Hezekiah, Ahaz, Jotham, Pekah, Jehoiachin, Zedekiah, Jehoiakim, Manasseh, Rehoboam, Ahaziah of Judah, Jehoram I... Read more

Lutheran Professor Ken Howes Reviews “The Word Set in Stone”

Last updated on: April 19, 2023 at 8:31 am By Dave Armstrong

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[for book and purchase information, see my book page] The problem with too many books on Biblical apologetics is that they tend to one or the other two extremes. Either they are intellectually vacuous, with appeals to church authority: “Believe this because the Church says you must believe it!” or to emotions: “You ask me how I know he lives; he lives within my heart!”, or they are so erudite as to be out of the reach of the average... Read more

Assyrian King Sennacherib, the Bible, & Archaeology

Last updated on: April 17, 2023 at 1:36 pm By Dave Armstrong

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Bryan Windle states, Sennacherib is mentioned by name 16 times in Scripture, more than any other Assyrian ruler. From a biblical perspective, he is most famous for his invasion of Judah in 701 BC and his siege against King Hezekiah and Jerusalem (2 Ki 18-19; 2 Ch 32; Is 37). (1) He reigned as king from 705/704 to 681 B.C. (2). As to the dates of reign of King Hezekiah of Judah, Encyclopedia Britannica observes, “The dates of his reign... Read more

When Was the Exodus: 15th or 13th Century B.C.?

Last updated on: April 15, 2023 at 3:22 pm By Dave Armstrong

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American biblical archaeologist Bryant G. Wood (b. 1936) obtained an M.A. in Biblical History from the University of Michigan in 1974 and a Ph.D in Syro-Palestinian archaeology from the University of Toronto in 1985. He argues for a 15th century B.C. date of the Exodus, and is the author of The Palestinian Evidence for a Thirteenth Century Conquest: An Archaeological Appraisal (1987) and The Sociology of Pottery in Ancient Palestine: The Ceramic Industry and the Diffusion of Ceramic Style in... Read more

The Tower of Babel, Archaeology, & Linguistics

Last updated on: November 30, 2023 at 5:50 pm By Dave Armstrong

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Prominent online atheist anti-theist Jonathan M. S. Pearce, who runs the blog, A Tippling Philosopher (1), provides an example of the fairly standard skeptical view of the tower of Babel story: I have to claim that anyone who believes this story actually happened is an idiot. . . . sometimes you just gotta tell it like it is. And, because it’s what I do, I’ll help them along the way to realising it is ahistorical . . . We know how languages evolved and... Read more

Fall of Jerusalem (586 B.C.), Archaeology, & Biblical Accuracy

Last updated on: April 10, 2023 at 2:16 pm By Dave Armstrong

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Nebuchadnezzar II (c. 630-c. 561 B.C. / r. c. 605-c. 561 B.C.) (1) was perhaps the most famous king of ancient Babylonia: largely because of his status as the conqueror of the Kingdom Of Judah in 586 B.C. Bryan Windle notes about this monarch: Nebuchadnezzar is mentioned close to 90 times in Scripture and figures prominently in the books of 2 Kings, 2 Chronicles, Jeremiah and Daniel. In Jeremiah 4:7 he is called the “destroyer of nations,” an apt description, as... Read more

John Calvin Didn’t Oppose All Religious Images

Last updated on: April 10, 2023 at 2:23 pm By Dave Armstrong

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Sergiusz Michalski wrote in his book, Reformation and the Visual Arts: The Protestant Image Question in Western and Eastern Europe, New York: Routledge, 1993: Calvin, somewhat contradictorily, allowed the keeping of holy images in private homes…he left an open field for narrative biblical scenes—especially from the Old Testament— and for secular art. Of decisive importance was the removal of works of art from the sacral sphere, from places of worship; in profane places an image took on an entirely different... Read more

King Ahab, Queen Jezebel, & Archaeology

Last updated on: April 7, 2023 at 12:48 pm By Dave Armstrong

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The wicked reign of King Ahab and Queen Jezebel is summarized in the Bible as follows: 1 Kings 16:29-33 (RSV) In the thirty-eighth year of Asa king of Judah, Ahab the son of Omri began to reign over Israel, and Ahab the son of Omri reigned over Israel in Samaria twenty-two years. And Ahab the son of Omri did evil in the sight of the LORD more than all that were before him. And as if it had been a... Read more

Archaeology & First-Temple Period Bethlehem

Last updated on: April 6, 2023 at 11:10 am By Dave Armstrong

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This exciting find was announced on the Bible History Daily website, in conjunction with the Biblical Archaeology Society: On May 23, 2012 the Israel Antiquities Authority announced the discovery of a 2,700 year old bulla [c. 700 B.C.] bearing an inscription reading “Bethlehem.” The discovery marks the earliest known mention of ancient Bethlehem, a city best remembered as Jesus’ birthplace centuries later. A bulla, or stamped piece of clay used to seal a document or container, was used to mark... Read more

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