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| Ruins of 'Peter's" House |
Who’s
right? Both could be.
It
could have been Peter’s house. Based on
material and design, it dates from the first century to the 4th
century C.E. Peter must have lived in
that range. He supposedly from Capernaum;
the locale is mentioned in all the Gospels. Also, a church was later built on
the site, which would imply some connection to a sacred individual.
As
a result, there are plenty of websites proclaiming the site as Peter’s home.
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| Inscribed crosses |
Second, visitors added the names and crosses.
Despite claims, historians cannot read the words left on the wall. The religious are sure they say Peter and
Jesus; no one else accepts that.
Third,
this was a first century home, but what part of the century? Peter had to have died by the time a horrific
Jewish revolt against the Romans ended in 73.
No early Church father is heard of again after that terrible war. In Christian mythology, Peter died in Rome
around 64 C.E. If the house was built later that that, Peter could not have
lived there.
Fourth,
the cross did not become a symbol of Christianity until later. Initially, the Jewish Zealots used it as
their symbol. That implies the house was
built toward the end of the century when Judaism and Christianity permanently
divided.
Fifth,
while Christians did build a church there, they did so long after Peter could
have lived there. Many sites in and
around Israeli cities have Christian connotations are described as religiously significant,
but all were so designated as long as 300 years after Jesus must have lived. Virtually all to date have been shown to be
mistaken, but promoters come down on the side of profit from tourists than
accuracy.
The
house reflects a vast difference between historians and the general
public. Historians insist that decisions
be made on facts. Unfortunately, hard
evidence is difficult with events that occurred thousands of years ago.
As
a result, history is not an exact science.
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| Biblical Exodus |
Take
the Exodus from Egypt, which is such a prominent part of Jewish history and
teachings. The Bible contains a book
largely devoted to Moses, the leader of the exodus of Jewish slaves, as well as
tales of plagues and other incredible events associated with this miraculous occurrence.
Historians
have little to go on. The events are not
dated or recorded anywhere else. The
name of the pharaoh is not given in the text.
Moreover, there’s no evidence in
the Sinai of anyone living there. There
are no graves of people who died on the trek, no discarded bits of clothing, no
hint of tents being set up and campfires during the cold desert nights. In Israel, there’s evidence of cities destroyed,
but none match up with the Exodus account.
Also, there’s no evidence of a new culture superseding the existing one
which must have happened when the Jews under Joshua supposedly invaded what was
then known as Canaan.
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| Extensive archaeology have found no evidence of an Exodus |
Also,
analysis of the biblical account show that Moses was a later addition to the
story. Historical research into other
writings has found that the Exodus had little place in Jewish practices until
centuries after it must have taken place.
Finally,
an Egyptian historian named Manetho writing about 2,300 years ago detailed the
dynasties of the pharaohs and included no evidence supporting the biblical
account. For example, no pharaoh drowned,
despite the biblical claim. Manetho’s
research so far has held up despite careful comparisons with known records.
In
essence, all the evidence is against an Exodus taking place. That doesn’t mean there can’t be evidence of
an Exodus, only that it hasn’t been found.
However, if any evidence is found, it will have to somehow counter the
reality that Canaan was not invaded by a foreign culture, although the Bible
details the arrival of the former slaves and the destruction they wrought.
As
a result, no unbiased historian accepts the historical reality of the
Exodus. It simply could not have
happened as described.
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| Sodom? |
As
Israel Finkelstein, professor of archaeology at Tel Aviv University and
co-author of the best-selling The Bible
Unearthed, noted, “We are probably dealing here with an etiological story,
that is, a legend that developed in order to explain a landmark. In other
words, people who lived in the later phase of the Iron Age, the later days of
the kingdom of Judah, were familiar with the huge ruins of the Early Bronze
cities and told a story of how such important places could be destroyed.”
That
did not stop true-believers from claiming that Sodom and Gomorrah have been
found. Maybe they have. Right now, all that’s been found are a few
ruined buildings. They could be
anything. Still, gullible folks
immediately proclaimed that the Bible is true.
No, it’s not. This story may be,
but these few ruins aren’t proof of anything except human habitation at some
time thousands of years ago.
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| Doctored photo to create Noah's Ark |
Nevertheless,
the internet is stuffed with such claims about all facts of the Bible. It’s really sad, too, that some people need
invented “facts” to support their beliefs.
Beliefs don’t need a single fact; that’s why they are called beliefs.
Historians,
on the other hand, do.
Long-time
religious historian Bill Lazarus regularly writes about religion and religious
history. He also speaks at various
religious organizations throughout Florida.
You can reach him at www.williamplazarus.net. He is the author of the famed Unauthorized
Biography of Nostradamus; The Last Testament of Simon Peter; The Gospel Truth: Where Did the Gospel
Writers Get Their Information; Noel:
The Lore and Tradition of Christmas Carols; and Dummies Guide to Comparative
Religion. His books are available on Amazon.com,
Kindle, bookstores and via various publishers.
He can also be followed on Twitter.
You
can enroll in his on-line class, Comparative Religion for Dummies, at
http://www.udemy.com/comparative-religion-for-dummies/?promote=1
