Christian archeology
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Jesus in culture |
Christian Archeology (more commonly termed "Biblical Archaeology") is the study of archaeological sites in connection to the texts of the Bible. Unfortunately, this field of study is riddled with forgeries, fakes, and misinterpretations. When studying biblical archaeology it is important to maintain an unbiased standpoint.
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[edit] Examples
[edit] Pool of Bethesda
In John’s Gospel, chapter 5, verses 1 to 15, the author describes a pool in Jerusalem, near the Sheep Gate, called Bethesda, surrounded by five covered colonnades. Until the 19th century, there was no evidence outside of John’s Gospel for the existence of this pool. Scholars argued that the gospel was written later, probably by someone without first-hand knowledge of the city of Jerusalem and that the ‘pool’ had only a metaphorical meaning, rather than actual significance. Then in the nineteenth century, archeologists discovered the remains of a pool exactly matching the description in John’s Gospel. Most scholars today attest to the accuracy of John’s account.
[edit] Caiaphas
According to the Gospels, Caiaphas was the major antagonist of Jesus. Yet some argued against the historicity of such a person. Archeology has slowed this debate when the ossuary of the high priest, Joseph Caiaphas, was found in Jerusalem in 1991.
[edit] Pontius Pilate
Some scholars believed Pilate was a mythical figure. However, an inscription mentioning Pontius Pilate was found in 1962 near the Mediterranean Sea. Now, most scholars agree that Pilate was an historical person.
[edit] James the Just
The Bible records that Jesus had a brother named James and a father named Joseph. An inscription on the James ossuary, a sepruchal urn dating to the first century AD, was presented as possible evidence for the existance of all three men. The Aramaic inscription states, “James son of Joseph, brother of Jesus.” , André Lemaire (who teaches at the Sorbonne) said in the Biblical Archaeology Review, that it was “very probable” that the box belonged to Jesus’ brother James, who was the leader of the early church in Jerusalem. The Israeli Antiquities Authority concluded in 2003 that the inscription is a modern forgery. The box most likely originally read simply "James" and the remainder of the inscription was placed in modern times. The forger likely used acid to age the stone afterward. Clues to the box's questionable nature came from the use of modern hebrew characters and the fact that brothers were not usually mentioned on burial inscriptions.
[edit] Papyrus Fragments
Papyrus is a primitive form of paper or writing material. It was in common usage in the Roman Empire at the time of Jesus Christ. Papyrus was made from a water plant that grew in the Nile. From the fibers of this plant, sheets were made and glued together to produce a scroll of a little over 30 feet (later a primitive book called a codex).
Archeologists have discovered many papyrus fragments. In studying these fragments, they noticed that the material, ink, glue, script, punctuation, writing style, language, etc., was slowly evolving.
Just as a book printed at the time of H.G. Wells is easy to distinguish by the trained eye from a book published in 2000 C.E., so too can the trained papyrologist distinguish the subtleties of different fragments and date them reasonably accurately (generally within a thirty-year window).
An example of this took place recently and created quite a stir among Biblical Scholars. Dr. Carson Theide of the Paterborn Institute was analyzing a fragment of the Gospel of Matthew. He found it to be identical to a fragment found at Qumran. Furthermore, it matched a second legal document. This legal document was dated, while the fragment from Qumran was known to be written around 65 C.E. (in any event, before the community was destroyed by the Romans in 68 C.E.).
Thus, Theide had two dated documents from the 60s that have the same ‘time signature’ as the Canonical Matthean fragment.
Therefore, he argues that we know that the Canonical Matthean Gospel was written in 65 C.E. (+ or – 15 years).
Biblical scholarship has shown that the fragment Theide used was of a much later version of the Canonical Matthean Gospel. Therefore, the original of the Matthean Gospel was composed in 55 C.E. (+ or – 15 years).
Biblical scholarship has proved that the writer of Matthew based his work on three earlier documents (M source, Mark, and Q source). Therefore, the three primary source documents for the Canonical Matthean Gospel would have been written between 40 and 55 C.E. (+ or – 15 years). Yet the debate has just begun and the dating of Matthew is far from being resolved. (See Markan priority)
[edit] The Oxyrhynchus Papyri
Papyrus fragments were discovered in the late 19th century at Oxyrhynchus, Egypt. The following are surviving fragments pertaining to Jesus.
Logion 1 Jesus taught saying, “A city on a hill shall neither fall nor be hidden.”
Logion 2 Jesus taught saying, “If you do not fast, you will not find the Kingdom of Heaven. And if you do not remember the Sabbath Day and keep it holy, you shall never see your Heavenly Father.”
Logion 3 Jesus continued to teach saying, “Then and only then will you will see more clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.”
Logion 4 Jesus taught saying, “Do not worry all day or all night about your food, wondering what you will eat, or your clothes, wondering what you will wear. You are worth far more than the lilies that grow but do not spin. If you have one garment, what do you lack? Who can add years to your life? He, Himself will provide you with clothing!”
Logion 5 Jesus taught saying, “Pray for those who persecute you.”
Logion 6 Jesus taught saying, “Everything that is not obvious, indeed all that is hidden from you shall be revealed. In truth, there is nothing closed that will not be revealed, nor is there anything which is buried, which will not be uncovered.”
Logion 7 Jesus taught saying, “He who seeks will find, he who finds will be surprised. He who is surprised will prevail and he who prevails will find peace.”
Logion 8 Jesus taught saying, “For many who are first shall be last, and those who are last shall be first. However, only a few truly find the Kingdom of Heaven.”
Logion 9 Jesus taught saying, “Just as a doctor does not treat his own, neither is a prophet acceptable in his own land.”
Logion 10 Jesus taught saying, “The Kingdom of Heaven is within you. Only he who knows himself can find it.”
Logion 11 Jesus taught saying, “He who is against you is for you and he who is far from you will draw near tomorrow.”
Logion 12 When the Rabbis and Pharisees and priests saw Him, they were greatly upset, for he reclined with sinners. Overhearing them, Jesus explained, “The healthy have no need of a doctor”.
Papyrologists believe these sayings of Jesus were recorded earlier rather than later (some fragments from Oxy. 1224 may be from 40 C.E.). Others have linked these papyri to the Gospel of the Hebrews. Most scholars believe the Oxyrhynchus Papyri to be of great significance in the quest for the Jesus of History, as they offer parallels to all the Canonical Gospels.
[edit] Papyrus Egerton 2
Papyrologists believe Egerton 2 to be the second oldest surviving papyrus fragment. It is of great historical significance.
Excerpts:
A leper came, saying, “Lord Jesus, I have traveled and eaten with lepers. Now I have come down with leprosy myself. If it be your will, make me clean.”
The Lord said, “It is my will – be clean.” Immediately that man was cured. Then the Lord continued, “Go and show yourself to the priests.”
And they tested the Lord, saying, “Rabbi, we know you are from God, for the Prophets testify to your deeds. Tell us if it is lawful to pay taxes? What should we do?”
Jesus sensed their deception and said, “Why do you call me Rabbi, yet you do not practice what I preach? The Prophet Isaiah spoke of you when he said, ‘They honor me with their lips but their heart is not with me. They worship me in vain, teaching as doctrines the precepts of men!’ ”
Most scholars believe the aforementioned excerpts to be amongst the most primitive tradition of Christianity. Some have linked them to the Gospel of the Hebrews, yet most papyrologists agree that nothing for certain can be said about authorship or place of composition.
The Fayyum Papyrus
The Fayyum Papyrus was part of the Rainer Papyrus collection.
Excerpt:
Jesus predicted, “This night, all will fall away and desert me, for it is written, ‘I will strike the Shepherd and the sheep will be scattered.’
Peter replied, “Everyone may fall away, but not me.”
Jesus again predicted, “You will deny three times before the cock crows twice!”
Most papyrologists believe this fragment is of great scholarly significance.
[edit] External links
- Pontificio Istituto di Archeologia Cristiana.
- Excavation Sites Archaeological work and volunteer pages.
- Archaeology in Popular Culture
- Anthropology Resources on the Internet - Anthropology Resources on the Internet : a web directory with over 3000 links grouped in specialised topics.
- Archaeology magazine published by the Archaeological Institute of America
- Archaeology Directory - Directory of archaeological topics on the web.
- The 2003- Iraq War & Archaeology Information about looting in Iraq.
[edit] Further reading
- Ashmore, W. and Sharer, R. J., Discovering Our Past: A Brief Introduction to Archaeology Mountain View: Mayfield Publishing Company. ISBN 0-7674-1196-X. This has also been used as a source.
- Neumann, Thomas W. and Robert M. Sanford, Practicing Archaeology: A Training Manual for Cultural Resources Archaeology Rowman and Littlefield Pub Inc, August, 2001, hardcover, 450 pages, ISBN 0-7591-0094-2
- Renfrew, Colin & Bahn, Paul G., Archaeology: Theories, Methods and Practice, Thames and Hudson, 4th edition, 2004. ISBN 0-500-28441-5
- Sanford, Robert M. and Thomas W. Neumann, Cultural Resources Archaeology: An Introduction, Rowman and Littlefield Pub Inc, December, 2001, trade paperback, 256 pages, ISBN 0-7591-0095-0
- Trigger, Bruce. 1990. "A History of Archaeological Thought". Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-33818-2
- Frend, William Hugh Clifford, The Archaeology of Early Christianity. A History, Geoffrey Chapman, 1997. ISBN 0-225-66850-5
