Nuggets from Seeking and Finding God—Archaeological Verification

The Bible deals accurately with the history, location, and geography of many nations, countries, and cities. For example, 29 of the ancient kings mentioned in the Bible are also named on monuments of their time, some dating back 4,000 years. Of the 195 consonants in their names, there are only two or three that could be questions as to whether they are written in the Bible exactly as on the monuments. By comparison, the greatest scholar of his day, the librarian at Alexandria, Egypt, in 200 B.C., refers to 38 Egyptian kings, of which only three or four are recognizable. Of the Assyrian kings he lists, only one is identifiable and it isn’t spelled correctly. In the list Ptolemy made of 18 Babylonian kings, not one is spelled properly and none could be identified without help from other sources. Yet in the Bible, each of the 29 kings from 10 countries has his complex name spelled correctly, and each is given his right place and time in history, as verified by ancient monuments discovered by archaeologists. Such accuracy in every detail reinforces the truth of the doctrines being taught at the same time.

No other scriptures have been critically investigated like the Bible. It has been under the skeptics’ microscopes for centuries and analyzed from every conceivable angle by critics determined to discredit it. None of the scriptures of any of the world’s religions has been subjected to comparable scrutiny, nor could they withstand it if they were. Even a cursory reading of scriptures other than the Bible reveals multiple errors of fact, history, and science.

Yes, critics have often claimed to have found errors in the Bible based upon what was known at the time. When further facts have been discovered, however, the Bible has proved to be 100 percent accurate and the critics wrong. For example, earlier in the last century, it was claimed that the Hittite peoples, given prominent mention in the Bible (as strong and numerous from the time of Abraham to David), had never existed. Later, the archaeological evidence began to pour in. Today, there is an entire museum in Ankara, Turkey, devoted to the Hittites and filled with proof that what the Bible said about them was accurate.

Great museums around the world display masses of evidence fully supporting what the Bible has to say. In comparison, consider the Book of Mormon. For decades, at the cost of millions of dollars, the Mormon Church has maintained an aggressive archaeological program literally scouring North, Central, and South America in search of evidence to support the Book of Mormon. To date they have not found so much as a pin or coin or stone or inscription. There is no evidence whatsoever that any of the cities described in the Book of Mormon ever existed. Even the geography can’t be verified.

Furthermore, its claims that the American Indians are descended from Jews who came to the uninhabited Americas in about 600 B.C. is disproved by genetics. The video, DNA vs. The Book of Mormon, features interviews with geneticists who testify that the DNA of thousands of American Indians, living and dead, from North, Central, and South America, has been examined, and there isn’t a drop of Jewish blood in any of them. Their ancestors all came across the Bering Straits from Siberia.

Similar scientific errors, superstitious nonsense, and make-believe “history” are found in the Bhagavad-Gita and other Hindu writings, as in the legends of various indigenous peoples around the world. Israeli students, however, study the history of their country and ancestors from the Bible, and archaeologists use the Bible as a guide for locating the buried ruins of ancient cities.