The Popular Handbook of Archaeology and the Bible: Discoveries That Confirm the Reliability of Scripture

by Joseph M. Holden, Norman L. Geisler

From two leading Christian apologists, here is a fascinating survey of the most important Old and New Testament archaeological discoveries through the ages.

Biblical archaeology has always stirred excitement among believers and curiosity among unbelievers. The evidence dug up with a spade can speak volumes--and serve as a powerful testimony of the reliability of Scripture.

Norm Geisler and Joe Holden have put together an impressive array of finds that confirm the biblical peoples and events of ages past. In a user-friendly format written in popular style, they...


examine the latest finds and explain their significance
include dozens of photographs
provide an instructive chart of artifacts (along with fast facts)
sample a variety of finds--papyri, inscriptions, scrolls, ossuaries, and more
If readers are looking for just one book to cover this topic both concisely and comprehensively, this is it!

Genres: Christian, Religion, History, Theology, Christianity

432 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 2013

Reviews

[Mason Frierson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant book, well-researched, includes maps, tables, pictures, and scriptural references. Prof. Holden outlines the geographical clues in the Scriptures that led to the discovery of the ruins of Sodom -- actually located in a huge mound north of the Dead Sea -- and shows the evidence of a powerful blast that incinerated the city at well over 2000 degrees Fahrenheit. He notes that nobody built on top of the ruins for some 700 years, and shows pictures of molten pottery that match samples taken from outside a little town in New Mexico, USA, called Los Alamos -- the first nuclear bomb test site.

This book also compares various ancient Middle Eastern myths and Bible stories with archaeological evidence to determine what's realistic and what's not. He knocks down a number of skeptical arguments, but always with historical records and solid reasoning. This is not your granny's "faith-based science" -- this is the real McCoy. If you wanted to bring one extra-Biblical text to help demonstrate the historical value of the Scriptures, this would be it. It would be like bringing a cannon to a knife fight.

[Canny Tay · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first book I have read about the hard subject of biblical archaeology. Thank God, I finished the reading finally! It is an eye-opening experience for me when I saw how those ancient biblical manuscripts were preserved in miraculous ways and many events that took place in the Bible (like the ten plagues of Egypt, the Amarna Letters on the conquest of Canaan, the pool of Bethesda, etc.) just came alive once again! I would recommend this book to anyone who aspires to know something, yet not too deep and not too complicated, about biblical archaeology.

[David Diaz · Rating 4 out of 5]

As the name implies, this book is a popular handbook, which means that it is basically a survey of archaeology topics in an accessible style. Even for a brief survey work, this book is surprisingly comprehensive. If you are interested in an introduction to the topic of biblical archaeology, this would be a solid choice.

[Daniel Sloan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good overview of many of the issues.

[Shannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had a LOT of mixed feelings about this book. Some of the issues I had with this book could be attributed to a difference between what I thought/wanted this book to be, and what it actually turned out to be. I'll try to explain, though be warned, you may encounter some ramblings.
LIKED:
A lot of archaeological evidence is listed in extensive detail, complete with sources to follow for more information.
DISLIKED:
No color pictures, and sometimes no pictures at all (what does it say about me that I prefer my nonfiction books with LOTS of pictures?)
LIKED:
You don't have to be an expert on either archaeology or the bible to get something out of this book - hence "popular" in the title.
DISLIKED:
uber-intellectual phrasing and circular arguments - I felt like I was back in college where they would use 3 large words when 1 small word would convey the meaning just as well. Are they showing us how smart they are, or showing us how stupid we are? It also contains extremely long sentences; maybe I just need a longer attention span. "The Scriptures, though inerrant, infallible, and authoritative, are an expression of God's voice to reveal Himself (John 5:39), give us examples (1 Corinthians 10:6), sanctify His church (John 17:17), and to thoroughly equip and instruct the people of God (2 Timothy 3:16-17)." p94. On a side note, I have now come to hate that word "inerrant"
LIKED:
The book does explain some of the arguments against the evidence found. Unfortunately, there's no back and forth discussion, so we always end up with one side's view, which leads us to...
DISLIKED:
Bias. I felt it was told in a "This is what was found and this is what is true" way. Now granted, the title alone should have clued be in that this would be a work from the pro-bible side of things. But I was hoping this would be presented as "This is what was found and this is what we believe is true, and this is what other people think, now decide for yourself." I felt like I couldn't just accept everything as fact, since I was getting a one-sided argument. I probably shouldn't judge a book based on my preferences and expectations. But I write reviews for me and others who might think the same as me, so my own personal bias is reflected in my reviews.

Notable Quotes:
"Critics are swimming upstream, drowning in waves of evidence against their view." p.135 - too much symbolism
"Many critics who find conspiracies involving the Bile and who do not warrant much attention due to their lack of credentials and poor research (Dan Brown)." p.143 - slam!
"The purpose of this book is not to "prove" the stories of the Bible, but rather to show the narratives of Scripture are historically reliable and consistent with what has been discovered through various excavations and historical research." p.182 - accurate for the text, although doesn't really mesh with the title
"We must beware of the fallacy of arguing from silence." p.183 - like this point, you see it all the time
"They (minimalists) say the biblical archaeologist will "see" what he or she wants to see in the data...these objections fail to realize that one must discriminate against the Bible (which is itself a bias!) as a legitimate text in order to operate this way." p.183
"But never do we see earlier myth traditions (such as these Mesopotamian and Egyptian creation accounts) become more historical-sounding, believable, or simple over time." p.205 - God created the heavens and earth...

[Rick · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a useful book for Christians wishing to be more informed about the reliability of the Bible. Though it is intended as a handbook of biblical archaeology, the first part of the book doesn't deal so much with archaeology, per se, but more with issues of textual credibility and canon (which books are authoritative), though there is a worthwhile discussion of the Dead Sea Scrolls. In this sense, the first chapters are more of general "apologetic" for the Bible than a book on archaeology. Beginning at about a third of the way into the book archaeology, as such, is more directly discussed. This part of the book contains a wealth of information from archaeological research that confirms or coincides with countless historical claims and statements made in both the Old and New Testaments. Further, the authors demonstrate the complete lack of archaeological evidence that might actually disprove any historical statement in the Bible. The also refute the notion that the lack of evidence from archaeology to support a particular statement or claim in the Bible constitutes evidence against such statements. This is, as they point out, an argument from silence. Simply because supporting evidence has not yet been unearthed, that does not mean that the statement is false, but only that it is unverified by an actual archaeological discovery. They also argue that to refuse to give the benefit of the doubt to the Bible on an historical claim or statement without external verification, is a bias not applied to other, less supported, ancient texts. Such a bias is at times justified on the claim that the authors of the Bible were writing from a religious bias. But, of course, so were virtually all authors of ancients texts, whose texts are typically given the benefit of the doubt until proven unreliable. As Holden and Geisler demonstrate, a presupposition of skepticism towards historical statements in the Bible is both philosophically and historically unwarranted. Their Handbook, written at a generally popular, rather than academic level, is a useful tool in addressing the issue of the credibility of the Bible.

[Janet · Rating 5 out of 5]

The first time I read it, I thought this is a great book. I had to read it two times because I liked it so much. I learned a lot especially about the early scribes and their tedious work. I will read this book again.

[Matthew Kutilek · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book on reliability and historical accuracy if the Bible. Certainly a book that I will reference many times in the future.