|
We’re into a new season. And for some autumn means a new school, a new class or a new university. For others it means applying a fresh coat of paint to the house or planting winter bedding to bring a little colour to the garden during winter. But some things are not new, as I was reminded recently while walking through Brislington village, in fact some things are very old. Passing the site of the recently demolished Holly Bush pub I noticed some archaeologists working on previous foundations that had been unearthed. I asked what these relics might tell us about old Brislington – the Brislington of long ago. The answer I got was not a decisive one; there was a strong possibility that an earlier pub had stood on the Holly Bush site or maybe a farmhouse!! And farther along the road, beneath the foundations of what was our old chapel, a curved wall apparently suggests some kind of plantation there – perhaps an orchard or maybe not!! It’s all a bit sketchy I’m afraid but that’s the nature of archaeology which without good, solid evidence to go on experts have little option but to guess a bit. That’s not a criticism it’s simply to say that where evidence is vague archaeologists have to make judgments based on experience and local knowledge. And some people place a lot of credence on archaeology being able to prove the truth of the Bible. And over the years archaeology has unearthed some very impressive artefacts that have assisted greatly our understanding of biblical events, peoples and customs etc. For example the Rosetta Stone (which unlocked the mysteries of Egyptian hieroglyphics), the Lachish Letters, (contemporary with Jeremiah), the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Nuzi Tablets (written in Babylonian cuneiform and which throw light on the patriarchs) and the library at Nag Hammadi (thirteen leather bound codices written on papyrus that tell much about Christianity from the second to the
fourth centuries) etc. etc. But mistakes have been made too notably John Garstang’s mistaken “discovery” of what was thought to be the ancient city of Jericho (Josh 6) etc. And so while archaeology has expanded our knowledge of the biblical text it must always be used with caution. Why? Well even experts disagree amongst themselves about events; old theories give way to new ones; new evidence cancels out old ideas and some evidence is at best circumstantial etc. Besides, we can never be sure what happened at a given time or even if in ancient times people deliberately falsified the evidence. So, whether a farm, a pub or both stood where the Holly Bush once stood we may never know for certain. And even if we could know we may not be able to reconstruct accurately what life was like when our great, great, great grand parents were alive. But as far as the Bible is concerned that shouldn’t disturb us at all. For one thing is certain we cannot “dig up faith,” and we always need to keep that at the forefront of our minds.
|
|
|
Faith doesn’t depend on what can be uncovered from the soil but on what God has done in Jesus Christ. Faith is living and dynamic; faith takes us beyond the limits of human reason into a new realm; a realm where intelligence, analysis and cognition are of less importance than acceptance, belief and trust. Trust in God whose word has stood the test of time and in Jesus Christ whose coming in history paved the way for our eternal future. But this is not a “new” story it’s as “old” as the hills themselves - just more trustworthy and dependable!
In Jesus’ name
Derek Marsh October 2007
|