Show Records of Bible Confirmed Scientific Research Aided by Spades of Explorers Afford Afford Af ford lord Positive Proof of Truth of f. f Events Chronicled in Sacred Writings A. A B. B COOPER in the London Buff Magazine Mag Answer Answer The essential tr truth t of ot the Bible Is not cot dependent upon the accuracy ot of its history f and there are are arema ma many passages passages pas pea sages In the the Sa Sacred red Writings which m mu mint t be Interpreted In a a symbolic rather than thin a II literal sense sense It Is II remarkable however how Old Testament history att after r being labeled as 81 legendary or lr at best exaggerated has hill recently been beed c con confirmed n. n firmed Armed as a result of Independent nt re re- search For Instance a little while ago destructive critics simply limply laughed at atthe the story ot of- the Flood and at such Incidents Incident as 81 the crossing of Jordan and the collapse of the walls of But Cut today todal excavations on ancient sites In Palestine Egypt Mesopotamia and elsewhere have vindicated the Bible DIble narrative completely com com- even on the points most serl- serl challenged To take an example It used to be urged that Abraham must have been merely a nomad quite unlettered and utterly Incapable of the acts and words and vision attributed to him We now know from discoveries at atUr atUr atUr Ur of the that as a youth In that city ho ha was a member of a community enjoying a high degree of civilization The land of Ur bad had great nt dUes cities settled laws Jaws a state tate religion re re- religion ligion a thriving commerce schools and monasteries and libraries Springing as he did from an Influential influential In In- family Abraham would partake partake par par- partake take of the culture and learning of ot Ur In In short the circumstances of place and ana n 1 time as we wo now no know them are not opposed to the Bible DIble narrative But let Jet us see what modern methods meth meth- methods of Investigation have revealed about specific Incidents Take the Flood upon which so 8 so much scorn has been cast During the winter of 9 1023 the excavators of Ur In hi Babylonia came upon a stratum of alluvial deposit which made a eI clear ar break In the succession of ot civilize- civilize Lions occupying that site lite The They came cameto to the conclusion that It could only be explained by hI a flood of great extent extent ex tent and duration occurring about oo D. D 0 C or or earlier So quite apart from the account In Genesis and the one one on nn the Baby Ionian tablets In the ibe British museum It t would appear that the Account of a gr great at Hood flood which destro destroyed cities l la a end and d a vast region n Is II not legend but history The Tho very existence of Sodom and Gomorrah which the Bible DIble tells teUs us were destroyed In Abrahams Abraham's time has been doubted yet only last year lear an airman lying flying over the Dead sea saw sa through the crystalline water what appeared to be extensive ruIns rains Further Investigation Is to be made But ether other ruins have been found covered ered with ashes In the neighborhood neighborhood neighbor neighbor- neighborhood hood of the Dead ten sea We learn from the Bible that Lot I Abrahams Abraham's nephew chose the valley of ot Sodom because of ot Its extreme fertility fer Today Todal there Is perhaps no nomore nomore nomore more desolate region What ha happened to It In the heavily heavily ily bituminous soil Boll there probably o occurred one ot or those terrible explosions ex and conflagrations which have been noted In the similar geological geo gee logical formations of ot the oil districts of North America In such soil loll vast fast reservoirs of oil and accumulations ns of gas occur These may suddenly be released either by their own pressure or by earthquake The Tile gas explodes and flings up masses of oil which return In a n fiery Gery rain which will go on blazing Iv event even lf when It falls on water Saline Sonne mud may also be ejected and these things combined render a fertile land utterly barren Such a n phenomenon would account for aUthe all aU the statements In the graphic Bible narrative t I Now turn to Joshua 3 17 In the Revised Version In which Id is related how bow Israel crossed the Jordan dry dry- shod ehod M Moffatt translates The waters waters waters wa wa- that flow down stopped and were wert dammed up at a dl distance tance at Adam while willie the waters that flow to the Salt sea lien were cut off orr and failed Adam was a city 14 miles upstream Here there Is a ford now k known own as Jim ed cd ed h and during the he I earthquake period of 1027 1021 the west west I bank of this ford tord collapsed and part I of the cliff so dammed the Jordan that no water flowed Ved down It Us its bed bedfor bedfor bedfor for 21 hours hour I l IOn lOn On three occasions occasion during corny com com- recent times a similar re reo result suit sult has ensued from great falls fails of rock and earth It seems likely that some similar event took place piece when Israel crossed the river on their way to Jericho There followed Immediately the much discussed end and often otten ridiculed collapse of the walls of Jericho Professor Garstang who Is still occupied occupied oc oc- on this site Bite says There remains remains re reo mains no doubt that the walls walla of ot the city f fell outward so completely completE that the attackers were able to clamber up and over the ruins Into the elt city He Ile suggests an earthquake as the possible cause and earthquakes have bare occurred In this region recently Readers of the Bible know that although the Israelites lItes had bad large Jarge 1 Initial successes In their Invasion of I Canaan they thel failed to subjugate the I whole land and the city which was later known as Jerusalem held out out until the time of David It II was exceedingly small compared with the modern city occupying the summit summit summit sum sum- mit of a a great rock called caned Ophel the thearen area aren being not more than some BOme ten acres titres res When David Invested sted It It the Inhabitants Inhabitants In In- habitants felt feU so secure that they said sold the blind and lame Jame could hold It against him David said Who Whosoever Whosoever the let him go gl up tho the watercourse CA A. A V. V gut gutter gutter ter It used to be understood thus Whoever smites the le let lei him hurl Into the watercourse L L-e. L eo down the tho precipice the lame and blind Then Iben excavation takes place and makes the whole thing simple Warrens War ren's rens shaft named after the excavator excavator ela vator who ho discovered It provided the key to the tb city This shaft bad had been constructed to form a safe sheltered way WilY down downto to the Virgins Well from which water was drawn during durIn a n siege Bo So what David said in effect was this What we have to do Is to climb Into the city by way of or the water shaft ehatt The appearance of Joab and his bis companions took the tho garrison completely com corn by surprise the tho city fell and became tho the nucleus of Jerusalem the City of David These examples suffice to show how notably the Bible narrative Is II being confirmed by bl records long tong bid hid q qin In the depths of the earth and now being revealed by modern research |