Deeply held beliefs are hard to shake. Faith does not require proof by it's very definition. I like Cargill's descriptive stance when he says that Archaeology's role is specifically to Disprove. Reason and Logic are invaluable tools, but so are a moral code, and ethical practices. Nobody has the monopoly on the deeper questions regarding the meaning of life or what happens after. Archaeology can only offer data to draw informed conclusions about what has happened in the past, and the data is infallible where as history is not. But human interpretation of that data, is as flawed as anything else humans do. Looking at the past and expecting the bible to be perfectly accurate is dangerous...but not using the bible as a helpful supplement would be just plain silly. No matter what faith you follow, no one believes that GOD wrote the bible. Christians believe he INSPIRED it, but did not author it. Humans wrote the bible. And the bible shows over and over (especially in the Old Testament) that humans are flawed. As Cargill states "Evidence is never the last word; it is only the best word thus far." Always keep an open mind. Always strive to learn more. Jesus was a teacher. I think it would be folly to accept the bible without testing it, thinking about it and what it says about it's time, and remembering that times change. I certainly hope God doesn't want gullible followers, but people that come to him because they sought him out. They are the most credible and apt to be the best apostles. And I say that as a non-christian myself. I wholly support everybody's beliefs, whether I agree with them or not, as long as they contribute to a positive society in which I hope someday we can all live in relative harmony. A little idealistic I'm sure, but I'm a big believer in "as long as you aren't hurting anybody, you do you." I don't have all the answers either, but I don't draw conclusions without looking at all the information I can. If God gave me a brain, I intend to use it.
Deeply held beliefs are hard to shake. Faith does not require proof by it's very definition. I like Cargill's descriptive stance when he says that Archaeology's role is specifically to Disprove. Reason and Logic are invaluable tools, but so are a moral code, and ethical practices. Nobody has the monopoly on the deeper questions regarding the meaning of life or what happens after. Archaeology can only offer data to draw informed conclusions about what has happened in the past, and the data is infallible where as history is not. But human interpretation of that data, is as flawed as anything else humans do. Looking at the past and expecting the bible to be perfectly accurate is dangerous...but not using the bible as a helpful supplement would be just plain silly. No matter what faith you follow, no one believes that GOD wrote the bible. Christians believe he INSPIRED it, but did not author it. Humans wrote the bible. And the bible shows over and over (especially in the Old Testament) that humans are flawed. As Cargill states "Evidence is never the last word; it is only the best word thus far." Always keep an open mind. Always strive to learn more. Jesus was a teacher. I think it would be folly to accept the bible without testing it, thinking about it and what it says about it's time, and remembering that times change. I certainly hope God doesn't want gullible followers, but people that come to him because they sought him out. They are the most credible and apt to be the best apostles. And I say that as a non-christian myself. I wholly support everybody's beliefs, whether I agree with them or not, as long as they contribute to a positive society in which I hope someday we can all live in relative harmony. A little idealistic I'm sure, but I'm a big believer in "as long as you aren't hurting anybody, you do you." I don't have all the answers either, but I don't draw conclusions without looking at all the information I can. If God gave me a brain, I intend to use it.