The Enemy of Biblical Critics - Archaeology

"Archaeology has over and over again proved to be the enemy of Biblical critics, unearthing their negative prejudices and confirming the accuracy of the Scriptures in historical particulars." ~ Dr. Greg Bahnsen

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"More and more the older view that the biblical data were suspect and even likely to be false, unless corroborated by extra-biblical facts, is giving way to one which holds that, by and large, the biblical accounts are more likely to be true than false..."
~H. M. Orlinsky
Ancient Israel (Ithaca, New York: Cornell University Press, 1954), p. 6.

"After more than two centuries of facing the heaviest scientific guns that could be brought to bear, the Bible has survived - and is perhaps the better for the siege. Even on the critics' own terms - historical fact - the Scriptures seem more acceptable now than they did when the rationalists began the attack."
~"How True is the Bible?" Time magazine, December 30, 1974,

p. 41

"Archaeological and inscriptional data have established the historicity of innumerable passages and statements of the Old Testament"

~W.F. Albright

"Archeology Confronts Biblical Criticism," The American Scholar, vol. 7 (Spring, 1938), p. 41

An Archaeological Discovery: Unbelief and the Authority of Scripture

Yahoo News (AP) – The fictional King Solomon's Mines held a treasure of gold and diamonds, but archaeologists say the real mines may have supplied the ancient king with copper.

The discovery occurred at Khirbat en-Nahas, which means "ruins of copper" in Arabic. Located south of the Dead Sea, the region was known in the Old Testament as Edom.

"We can't believe everything ancient writings tell us," Levy said in a statement. "But this research represents a confluence between the archaeological and scientific data and the Bible."

Read the article HERE

Note unbelief and the logic applied in each sentence above.

Concepción Solorio

For several years our family has enjoyed the joyous rigors of preparing tamales specifically on this day, October 27. This day is a day of remembrance. It was on this day 101 years ago, that a very special woman in our family's Mexican heritage was born. Most knew her as Concepción Solorio; however, to our family she was our dear Grandma Connie (my mother's paternal grandmother). As a Christian woman, Grandma Connie's legacy of faithfulness in many areas continues to inspire us to this day.

"Cleave to the Lord, mija (my daughter)" ~ One of Grandma Connie's earnest exhortations

The Mexican Art of Making Tamales

Anita Esperanza prepares the masa.

Emilia's efficient and experienced hands prepare the vegetable filling for the vegetarian style tamales.

Daniel carefully dries the hojas.

Mateo demonstrates the finer points of tamale making to Amada Graciela.

Instructed and encouraged, Amada Graciela tackles her first tamale of the year.

Timely Words from John Quincy Adams

"Always vote for principle, though you may vote alone, and you may cherish the sweetest reflection that your vote is never lost."

~John Quincy Adams

Legacy and Hope

Alexis de Tocqueville's Assessment of American Women in 1835

"Thus the Americans do not think that man and woman have either the duty or the right to perform the same offices, but they show an equal regard for both their respective parts; and though their lot is different, they consider both of them as beings of equal value. They do not give to the courage of woman the same form or the same direction as to that of man, but they never doubt her courage; and if they hold that man and his partner ought not always to exercise their intellect and understanding in the same manner, they at least believe the understanding of the one to be as sound as that of the other, and her intellect to be as clear...

As for myself, I do not hesitate to avow that although the women of the United States are confined within the narrow circle of domestic life, and their situation is in some respects one of extreme dependence, I have nowhere seen woman occupying a loftier position; and if I were asked, now that I am drawing to the close of this work, in which I have spoken of so many important things done by the Americans, to what the singular prosperity and growing strength of that people ought mainly to be attributed, I should reply: To the superiority of their women. "

~Excerpts from Democracy in America

Thoughts for Consideration

In this past century of American history, has "singular prosperity and growing strength of the people" continued, biblically speaking?

Biblicallly speaking what does, ""singular prosperity and growing strength of the people" mean?

To what might we attribute this cultural shift and change?

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Several Scriptures to consider: Psalms 144:12-15, 33:12-19, Ephesians 5:22, Isaiah 3:10-12, Proverbs 31:10-31, Titus 3:3-5, Psalm 128, 1 Corinthians 16:13, Colossians 3:18, and

Genesis 3:13-19.

A Book Review: Exploring Planet Earth

A unique nuance of a large, robust household is the privilege to easily learn from another member's study through oral presentations, written reviews or conversations around the dinner table. Recently, my sister, Emily, took a break from more strenuous reading to enjoy an effortless, fascinating book on discovery.

A Book Review: Exploring Planet Earth

The Journey of Discovery from Early Civilization to Future Exploration

By Emily Jones

Have you ever wondered who invented the air pump? or what about hot air balloons, clocks and compasses? Who discovered the ‘river in the ocean’ or the ‘three spheres’ or the cause of the ocean tides? In Exploring Planet Earth, John Hudson Tiner, the author, explains in simple and easy-to-understand language the more complex discoveries and inventions associated with our planet.

One of the first successful clocks, for example, was invented by a common English man named John Harrison in 1759. Being a self-taught mechanic, it took Harrison 33 years to make a clock that kept the right time.

The three spheres of our planet are the lithosphere, hydrosphere, and atmosphere. Lithosphere = solid, hydrosphere = liquid, and atmosphere = gas. Litho is the Greek word meaning stone; thus, it is all of the hard surfaces of the earth. Hydrosphere is the water that covers much of the Earth. Finally, the atmosphere is the gases that we breathe.

“What ever does ‘a river in the ocean’ mean?” one might wonder. The ‘river in the ocean’ was a discovery made by Benjamin Franklin. He studied currents for the purpose of making quicker trips to England from America. He called this the Gulf Stream. Though Franklin investigated the Gulf Stream, he never mapped it. The man who did this was Matthew Maury, an American naval officer. Maury described the Gulf Stream this way:

“There is a river in the sea. In the severest droughts it never fails, and in the mightiest floods it never overflows. Its banks and its bottom are of cold water, while its current is of warm. The Gulf of Mexico is its fountain, and its mouth is in the Arctic seas. It is the Gulf Stream. There is in the world no other such majestic flow of waters. Its current is more rapid than the Mississippi or Amazon, and its volume more than a thousand times greater.”

I could go on about amazing discovery after amazing invention, but I will now end this writing and encourage you to read it for yourself.