Greatest historian tries to disprove the history of the Bible

Reflection

Attempts to disprove the historical claims of the Bible are nothing new, and some of the most rigorous scrutiny has come from scholars who set out expecting to undermine it. A number of well known figures in archaeology and history have described beginning their research with sceptical assumptions, only to find the evidence more compelling than anticipated, though it is worth being cautious about which specific claims and individuals are involved in any given account, since such stories are sometimes exaggerated in retelling. What can be said more broadly is that the Bible has withstood an extraordinary amount of historical and archaeological examination over the centuries, and continues to be a subject of serious academic study rather than dismissal. This does not settle every question or resolve every difficulty in the text, and honest scholarship continues to debate details. But it does suggest that scepticism and rigorous investigation are not automatically opposed to faith, and that some of the most searching examinations have led people toward belief rather than away from it.

Questions to sit with

• How do you respond when someone who set out to disprove something ends up persuaded by it?
• What assumptions do you bring when you examine claims that challenge your own views?
• Have you ever changed your mind after genuinely investigating something you doubted?

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