Date

8-25-2022

Department

Rawlings School of Divinity

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy in Theology and Apologetics (PhD)

Chair

Chet Roden

Keywords

Apologetics, Archaeology, Ark, Tabernacle, Amarna letters, Merenptah Stele, Berlin Pedestal, Ugaritic Tablets, Karnak Temple at Thebes: Pharaoh Shishak, Taylor Prism, Mesha Stele or Moabite Stone, Tell Dan and the House of David, Dead Sea Scrolls, Rosetta Stone

Disciplines

Christianity | Religion | Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion

Abstract

Scholars are divided over the idea of archaeology providing more information than anthropomorphic data about people groups. In the Levant, biblical archaeology used the Bible to connect artifacts with biblical accounts; however, scholars began to believe that interpretation was being forced to fit the biblical accounts. Apologists began to embrace more technical results and archaeology and different schools of apologetics began to see a place for archaeology in the study of apologetics. The most accepting form of apologetics is the Cumulative Case Apologetic, as it blends into its apologetic argument anything needed to further the argument. However, the ability of archaeology to be used for anything other than anthropology hinged on the archaeologist’s conclusion on an open or closed universe. The camps came to be known as “maximalist” and “minimalist” camps focused on the factuality or mythology of Genesis, specifically the creation and flood accounts. In conclusion, archaeology is one of the few fields of study that can reach back and provide a serious investigation of the ancient data. To date, archaeology has uncovered numerous artifacts that allow scholars to draw conclusions that the biblical accounts can be accepted with a high level of probability. This work will investigate apologetic properties of a sample of artifacts addressing events and people from the Tanakh and the New Testament.

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