1. Part 2 Sections: The External Test The Bibliographic Test
Week 11 - Mod 5 The History of Life: Archaeology, Geology, & Paleontology
Part 2
Sections:
The External Test
The Bibliographic Test
Archaeology in the Absence of Historical Documents
Relative Dating and the Principle of Superposition
What Do We Know About Human History?
Next Time

2. REVIEW 1
What is Geology: ____________________ What is Paleontology: ________________ Cave tools, weapons, vessels, drawings are examples of what: ________________ Aristotle’s Dictum is ___________________ It is used in the ___________________ test. What is the EXTERNAL test? ___________ The Bible contains contradictions -- T -- F Why or why not? _____________________ 2

3. REVIEW 2
The “known age” of an object is _________ The 3 tests: ______, external, ___________ The crumbled foundation of a fortress helps in what test? _____________________ A direct eyewitness account or a second hand account – which test is this? ______ What is Dendrochronology? _____________ The Prin. of Superposition says __________ An “absolute age” means what? __________ 3 3

4. The EXTERNAL Test
Onto the next test – looking at external sources of historical facts. Docs must be consistent with other histories of the time. Overlap with other accepted historical works is good. And the work in question needs to jive with archaeological records for the time. It’s a daunting task applying external test to the Bible because it covers a lot of time. 4 4

5. The EXTERNAL Test
Many parts of Old Testament tell of events that occurred so long ago that there’s no external historical works with which we can compare. And the focus of the Bible is rather narrow. So many historians don’t comment on anything related to the Bible’s accounts. And scientists use lots of skepticism when looking at docs of New Testament era. 5 5

6. The EXTERNAL Test
That’s because many authors of the New Testament were sympathetic to the Christian Church. Therefore the works of these authors can’t be considered truly objective when talking about matters of the New Testament. Furthermore, many docs written during this time were authored by Jewish leaders and were vehemently anti-Christian – take this with a grain of salt. 6 6

7. The EXTERNAL Test
This leads most historians to look at archaeological finds as the primary data used in applying the external test to the Bible. Ok… we will compare the works of external authors to the New Testament and we will reject works by authors sympathetic to the Christian cause. 7 7

8. The EXTERNAL Test
A good scientist needs to reduce the bias in any data with which they work. Thus, we must reject obviously pro-Christian authors, but who is left? Let’s look at Roman citizen Cornelius Tacitus, a writer who gave accurate accounts of the 1st Century A. D. He talked about Christ and Pontius Pilate. 8 8

9. The EXTERNAL Test
He was consistent with the stories of the New Testament. Then there’s Flavius Josephus, a Jew who wrote the history of the Jewish people. He covered Jesus’ death and resurrection, various rulers, and Roman cities consistent with those of the Bible. 9 9

10. The EXTERNAL Test
There’s 2 other non-Christians that support the New Testament - Thallus & Phlegon. Both mentioned the darkness that covered the land the day Christ died. Dealing with archaeological discoveries, the Bible stands out as an accurate source of history. William Albright – defended history of the Old Testament via archaeology. 10 10

11. The EXTERNAL Test
Archaeological discoveries confirm Biblical data. Read aloud pg. 121, paragraph 3 & 4. Most important aspect of this example is that the same archaeologists who denounced Genesis 14 ended up agreeing with it – William Albright. 11 11

12. The EXTERNAL Test
The Old Testament has been shown by archeologists to be accurate not only in the big issues, but also the little issues. Archeologists are constantly amazed at the accuracy & attention to detail of the Old Testament. Account of Joseph & the coat of many colors – sold into slavery – price of 20 shekels – confirmed by arch. data. 12 12

13. The EXTERNAL Test
Case of the Pavement – pg. 122, par. 3. Does the Bible pass the External Test? Based on weight of historical & archlgcl evidence, w/o question, the Bible passes. In fact, more archlgcl attention has been paid to the Bible than any other source of ancient history & it passes better than any other source of history. “On Your Own” 5.4 13 13

14. The BIBLIOGRAPHIC Test
Remember, a good work of history is composed of either eyewitness accounts or the accounts of those who heard from eyewitnesses. And if the work is old, lots of copies were made in order to survive. This test is also to determine how true the copies are to the original. 14 14

15. The BIBLIOGRAPHIC Test
Two other things: relatively short time between copy & original; and several copies made by different people. Comparison: number of copies of other historical works – 7, 20, 193. Time span: 750, 900, 1000 years. New Testament: 24,000 different copies, earliest copy – 25 years after original. 15 15

16. The BIBLIOGRAPHIC Test
Old Testament: the works are more ancient but it still passes this test with flying colors. Look at the Dead Sea Scrolls. Read pg. 123, par. 7 (to p. 124) So, the Bible passes the BIBLIOGRAPHIC test better than any other ancient work. 16 16

17. The BIBLIOGRAPHIC Test
We can be sure that the Bible which we read today is faithful to the original eyewitness accounts. But it also passes the INTERNAL test as well as any other historical work and it passes the EXTERNAL test better than any document of its time. 17 17

18. The BIBLIOGRAPHIC Test
Therefore, we can come to the SCIENTIFIC conclusion that the stories and accounts of the bible are more trustworthy than any of the other accounts we have about the Roman Empire and other aspects of ancient life. “On Your Own” 5.5 18 18

19. Archaeology in the Absence of Historical Documents
Arch. is a great tool in determining how valid a ancient document is, but it can also stand alone as a way of learning about people, cultures, & civilizations. Artifacts – how old is this thing? A historic doc mentions when a king was alive. Find the king’s tomb & the items inside his tomb to check dates – see fig. 5.2 19 19

20. Archaeology in the Absence of Historical Documents
Artifacts: Known age – the age can be determined by the printing on the object or a reference to the item in a work of history. But few artifacts have known ages. Den-dro-chron-o-logy – counting tree rings to determine the age of a tree. 20 20

21. Archaeology in the Absence of Historical Documents
Studying tree rings – appearance & size depends on many things – length of growing season, amount of rain, avg. temperature, & more. Notice a pattern of thick, thin, light, or dark rings. This info can also be used to study weather patterns and how long ago they existed. 21 21

22. Archaeology in the Absence of Historical Documents
Can create Master Tree Ring Patterns for that region of the world. Arch. finds a log from an ancient home. But remember, only KNOWN ages are certain ages. Dendrochronology is still wrought with difficulties. Some trees grow 2 rings a year. The farther back in history, the worse the problem. 22 22

23. Archaeology in the Absence of Historical Documents
This is why the result is called the UPPER LIMIT of an artifacts age. The older the piece, the more error there will be. Other dating methods: carbon-14 dating. Carbon-14 is part of Radiometric Dating. It uses a radioactive process to determine the age of the item. 23 23

24. Archaeology in the Absence of Historical Documents
Absolute age – calculated age using a specific dating method. Doesn’t mean “correct” or “sure” age. The term “absolute age” simply means that an actual date has been assigned to the artifact. But still some uncertainty. “On Your Own” 5.6 & 5.7 24 24

25. Archaeology in the Absence of Historical Documents
So if you go to a museum and you see something that is supposedly thousands or millions of years old, be SKEPTICAL, very skeptical. Our dating systems are not that accurate yet. Remember wanting to believe something to be true – for example, earth is millions of years old. 25 25

26. Relative Dating & the Principle of Superposition
If an Archlgst. can’t find the “known” age or the “absolute” age of the artifact, then he will attempt to get the “relative” age by using the Principle of Superposition. This is when items are supposedly found in earth that is layered with the older artifacts found in the deeper layers of rock and dirt. Strata: distinct _______ of soil and rock. See figure 5.4 26 26

27. Relative Dating & the Principle of Superposition
Archlgst. believe these layers were formed 1 at a time, sometimes that is a bad assumption. But relieved on quite heavily. After all, the bottom layer had to form first, right? And then the other layers filled in on top of it, right? So let’s go with this assumption for a moment… 27 27

28. Relative Dating & the Principle of Superposition
…the firewood is older than the stone tools and the stone tools are older than the pottery. Now suppose the Archlgst. uses dendrochronology to date the piece of firewood – he guesses 1000 years old. Then the stuff below is older and the stuff above is younger. No absolute date, but the Archlgst. can at least get an idea of how old something is relative to another item, but here’s the problem… 28 28

29. Relative Dating & the Principle of Superposition
Sometimes the layers of rock/dirt are laid down simultaneously; the result of some major catastrophe. That’s why the Principle of Superposition isn't always the best to use. Plus it’s hard to tell when it’s true (that the layers formed 1 at a time) and when it is false (the layers formed all at once). “On Your Own” 5.8 and 5.9 29 29

30. What Do We Know About Human History?
We learned how archeology and history interact, but not what they actually tell us about human life in the past. Unless you know how archeology and history are done, you won’t know how to interpret the results. But what do these areas of study actually tell us? They tell us that the history of human life (the Bible) is an accurate account of what happened in the past. 30 30

31. What Do We Know About Human History?
Thus, one of the best things you can do to learn about human history is read the Bible. The Bible passes tests of historical science better than any other source of history for that same time period. Science tells us it’s ok to believe the accounts of the Bible better than any other source of historical documents. 31 31

32. What Do We Know About Human History?
This means overall history of human life on earth is best provided by the Bible. Thus, we have solid scientific reasons to believe in the events of the Bible. Read along: p. 131, parg. 4, 5, 6 The flood – survivors – ark Hard to believe – skeptical of any histories – Bible reliability – reject parts… 32 32

33. What Do We Know About Human History?
Outside Bible sources – lots of evidence for the worldwide flood – we’ll study the geological proof & other history later. Many stories of the flood. Babylonia tablet – from 2000 B. C. – contains a story called the “Gilgamesh Epic”. Ruler seeks wise man, wise man & his family survived the flood. In Greek mythology, speaks of a survivor of the flood. 33 33

34. What Do We Know About Human History?
Many other cultures – the same similar story. But isn't it impossible that all these cultures learned the tale from one another? No contact between some of these cultures before the flood. Read along – pg. 132, parag. 2 “On Your Own” 5.10 34 34

35. For Next Time…
For next time: All “On Your Owns” 5.1 to 5.10 are due. Do Module 5 test No experiments for this module. 35