The Word Set in Stone - How Archaeology, Science, and History Back up the Bible

by Dave Armstrong

Anti-Christians have a lot of slick, smart-sounding attacks against the Faith, and their favorite target is the Bible. How can you really believe that Moses parted the Red Sea? they’ll ask. What makes you think Abraham, Joseph, and King David were real people and not just fantastical characters? That’s not what the experts say. And how can you take the Bible seriously when the Old Testament is filled with camels . . . way before camels even existed in Israel? Supernatural faith is a beautiful thing, and strong theology is indispensable, but wouldn’t it be great if we could prove the Bible with hard science, too? In The Word Set in Stone, veteran apologist Dave Armstrong uses secular historiography and proven scientific disciplines such as archaeology, meteorology, and even zoology and hydrology, to show that not only are some of the most fantastic-seeming episodes of the Bible possible, they are probable―even quite likely. From the Gospels to the Prophets all the way back to the Garden of Eden, you’ll see that Scripture skeptics don’t need a leap of faith to see that the Bible is one of the most historically reliable documents ever written. (And yes, that goes for the Red Sea, too.) Presenting rigorous scientific research and theory, yet written in a way that’s accessible to the average reader, The Word Set in Stone levels the playing field between those anti-Christians who cling to a caricature of science and the amateur apologist in all of us. The truth of the Bible is not just a matter of faith; it’s elementary.

Genres: History

320 pages, Paperback

Published March 14, 2023

About the author

I was received into the Catholic Church in 1991 (was evangelical); conversion story in the book Surprised by Truth (1994). Articles: The Catholic Answer, This Rock, Envoy, & The Coming Home Journal. Many nationally syndicated Catholic radio appearances including Catholic Answers Live; Faith and Family Live. My website, Biblical Evidence for Catholicism, was online from March 1997 to March 2007. My blog began in February 2004 & contains more than 2500 papers (including more than 50 separate web pages and 570+ dialogues). Sophia Institute Press has published four of my 23 books: A Biblical Defense of Catholicism (2003), The Catholic Verses (2004), The One-Minute Apologist (2007), and Bible Proofs for Catholic Truths (2009). I am co-author (with Dr. Paul Thigpen) of the inserts for The New Catholic Answer Bible (Our Sunday Visitor: 2005), & editor for The Wisdom of Mr. Chesterton: The Very Best Quotes Quips and Cracks from the Pen of G. K. Chesterton (Saint Benedict Press / TAN Books: 2009).

Happily married to Judy since October 1984: three sons & a daughter.

Reviews

[Jeff Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very good summary of the state of biblical archaeology and how it historically backs up scripture. It does not present this as proofs to back up scripture, but as counterpoints to claims made about the historicity of what scripture portrays. In the same way, science is used to lend more credence to some events that are usually dismissed by skeptics.