Carbon dating may support the Bible

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"The Bible says Edom's kings interacted with ancient Israel, but some scholars have confidently declared that no Edomite state could have existed that early.

The latest archaeological work indicates the Bible got it right, those experts got it wrong and some write-ups need rewriting. The findings also could buttress disputed biblical reports about kings David and Solomon."

...

"The doubters figured the Bible erred because the earliest discovered remains from Edom and nonbiblical references dated back only to the eighth century B.C. Such thinking ignored the old archaeological warning that "absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.""

http://www.southbendtribune.com/stories/2005/02/17/faith.20050217-sbt-MICH-D4-Carbon_dating_backs_.sto

Thoughts on this?

 

Well, it seems someone was interested in disproving the Bible more than in discovering the truth.

Earliest discovered doesn't mean earliest still buried there - or even earliest that could be found if hadn't been destroyed.

Anyway, as the warning says, absence of proof is not proof of absence. If this weren't true, following their logic, there would have been no Edom whatsoever until some archaelogists found its remnants.

 

And correct me if I'm wrong, but I think the only written record of the Assyrians was in the Bible, a couple chapters where Sennerachib lambastes the people of Israel and denies the existence of God.

 

Interesting stuff. The Bible is certainly an important resource for a lot of what little we think we know about ancient near eastern history.

The same goes for other very old stories like the Epic of Gilgamesh (from Mesopotamia) and the Tales of Wen-Amun (from Egypt). Whilst much of these texts is clearly been dramatised to make them more interesting, they still provide plenty of background to allow us to fill in a few of our gaps about what went on in those time.

 

The bible is an old book, in between the faerie tales some useful historical knowledge has managed to sneak in.

As for the Assyrians they are plentyful, there are thousands here in Sweden and a few million more spread out over the world. We even have a football team named the Assyrian Association which this year managed to get to the first league due to another team being relegated due to financial problems.

 

I don't remember the bible mentioning anything about football.

 

Oh yes, it does. It's a bit deceiving because it was called "incest" back in those days... and, of course, rules have changed quite a bit over the years - stands to reason. For example, I think that "full frontal assault" is not allowed anymore.