Archaeology and Faith

French Dominican biblical scholar and archaeologist Roland De Vaux said, “If the historical faith of Israel is not founded in history, such faith is erroneous, and therefore our faith is also.”

William F. Albright, an early 20th century biblical archaeologist and scholar said as well: “[A]s a whole, the picture in Genesis is historical, and there is no reason to doubt the general accuracy of the biographical details.”

The first time I read these words I was impressed with the boldness of the message and did not think then and still do not believe any truer words could be spoken about the relevance of the Bible and the accuracy contained within its recorded history. But these words had been rooted in a belief that the findings would support their literal theological belief. Would these same men have made these same bold assertions should it had been discovered at their time of investigations, what the current archaeologists and professors such as Israel Finkelstein, Amihai Mazar and Neil Silberman have learned and shared through books such as The Bible Unearthed, David and Solomon, and The Quest for the Historical Israel?

The God Virus

I’m about to finish reading The God Virus: How Religion Infects Our Lives and Culture by Darrel W. Ray. It’s been quite a trip. He maintains the metaphor of religion as a virus throughout, using terminology such as “vector” for priests, rabbis, ministers and imams, “virus/viral” for religion/religious, and “infected” as a term for those who have been convinced and converted to religion.

I had never considered things in these terms, but the metaphor seems to work well. Religions spread in the same way that viruses replicate, going through mutations and competition, lying dormant and making an appearance when confronted by the right combination of factors, etc.

I’m fascinated by the book and just wanted to share it with you.