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Biblical Scroll Found in Desert
Guardian (U.K.) ^ | Saturday July 16, 2005

Posted on 07/16/2005 12:22:35 AM PDT by nickcarraway

An encounter with a Bedouin robber in a desert valley has led to what one Israeli archaeologist described as one of the most important biblical finds from the region in half a century.

Professor Chanan Eshel, an archaeologist from Bar Ilan University in Tel Aviv, said yesterday that the discovery of two fragments of nearly 2,000-year-old parchment scroll from the Dead Sea area gave hope to biblical and archaeological scholars, frustrated by a dearth of material unearthed in the region in recent years, that the Judean desert could yet yield further artefacts.

"No more scrolls have been found in the Judean desert since 1965. This encourages scholars to believe that if they bother to excavate, survey and climb they will still find things in the Judean desert. The common knowledge has been that there is nothing left to find there," Prof Eshel said. The two small pieces of brown animal skin, inscribed in Hebrew with verses from the Book of Leviticus, are said by Prof Eshel to be from "refugee" caves in Nachal Arugot, a canyon near the Dead Sea, where Jews hid from the Romans in the second century.

The scrolls are being tested by Israel's Antiquities Authority.

Prof Eshel said he was first shown the fragments last year in an abandoned police station near the Dead Sea. A Bedouin had been offered $20,000 (£11,000) on the black market and wanted an evaluation.


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Culture/Society; Foreign Affairs; Front Page News; Israel; Miscellaneous; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: archaeology; artifacts; bible; canon; canonical; christian; christianity; church; cults; deadseascrolls; epigraphyandlanguage; ggg; godsgravesglyphs; history; holybible; inerrancy; inerrant; israel; lds; middleeast; mormon; mormons; moroni; phonymoroni; religion; scripture; scriptures; scroll; solascriptura
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To: BibChr

You can call me what you wish for as long as you wish if that is what makes you feel good...I was pinged here because I have in interest in archeology. I have commented on the things that seemed important and I have read all the posts.

I was under the impression that this was a free country, and that as a FReeper, I am allowed to join in on conversations I'm interested in. Please, correct me if I'm wrong in that.

I am perfectly capable of forming an opinion when I am given the facts in a situation, but I don't like someone else giving me their opinion of the facts and saying is the truth.

And that's MS. Dude to you, Sir. ;o]


101 posted on 07/18/2005 12:48:31 PM PDT by Monkey Face (Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups.)
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To: carumba
The Book of Mormon... contains...the promise in Moroni 10:4.

Okay, but where did Moroni's Golden Plates get off to? How come nobody can find them, and Mormons do not look for them any more than O.J. Simpson looks for the real killer?


102 posted on 07/18/2005 12:51:10 PM PDT by Plutarch
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To: Plutarch; xzins
Okay, but where did Moroni's Golden Plates get off to? How come nobody can find them, and Mormons do not look for them any more than O.J. Simpson looks for the real killer?

ROFL!

Dan
Biblical Christianity BLOG

103 posted on 07/18/2005 12:59:04 PM PDT by BibChr ("...behold, they have rejected the word of the LORD, so what wisdom is in them?" [Jer. 8:9])
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To: Monkey Face

D'oh! When I said "Dude," I thought, "But what if...." Then I thought, "'Monkey Face'? A woman? Nahhhh."

So, "Dudette" it is.

(Mostly kidding alert in 3... 2... 1....)

So anyway, I should have known you were a woman.

1. You ask questions you don't want answered.
2. When you get answers you don't like, you just ask them again.
3. You later repeat the question, as if no one had already answered it.
4. If anyone complains at your not listening to the answers... well, he's just a bad, bad man!

More seriously, you can do whatever you want until you're banned, if that ever happens. But you're not likely to earn a lot of respect by taking a potshot, then saying "I don't want to talk about it!" and running away.

Oh, as to your earlier remarks about the KJV, I've been reading the Bible in Hebrew and Greek for 30+ years. The areas in which Mormonism and Christianity are galaxies apart are not significantly obscured by any decent English translation.

Dan


104 posted on 07/18/2005 1:05:17 PM PDT by BibChr ("...behold, they have rejected the word of the LORD, so what wisdom is in them?" [Jer. 8:9])
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To: FatherofFive
>>I am sorry if I offended you. Trying to understand is
>>not belittling. To a non-Mormon, your “god cycles”
>>and men growing up to be gods does seem strange,
>>especially while claiming to worship the same God as
>>Christians and Jews. Nor am I am looking to embarrass
>>anyone. I actually appreciate your candid answers.

I am not offended by any honest question.

Does the analogy of Animals and yes even people having
offspring like unto themselves not make sense to you?

>>A few follow up questions -
>>
>>“God didn't "Start off"”
>>So, God evolved? When God said to Moses, “I am who I am”
>>(Exodus 3:14), I understand this in the Aquinas sense of
>>God being the first cause. So, to Mormons, is there a
>>first cause of "all type and Shadows of all the eternities?"
>>

God is the "Primal Cause" of all we can or will know in this existence.


Also, how does this square with Moroni 8:18: “For I
>>know that God is not a partial God, neither a changeable
>>being; but he is unchangeable from all eternity to all
>>eternity.” It seems that your answer would require this
>>to be read as “from one eternity to another”. So I
>>should understand “all eternity” as “this eternity”?
>>
Mormons Believe that we will only live on the earth once as mortals. (No reincarnation) Since we believe we were created spiritually before the world was created corporally we also believe we existed for an unspecified but long period of time with god before we were born. There are statements made in the bible that support this, John 9:2 "And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?" is a good example.

>>“No one was "Made God the Father" of this world”
>>
>>If “God didn't "Start off"” then he was made, no? If
>>not, how did he get here?

Is it harder to believe that God just has always been, than that this process has always been? (Don't ask me who the first God was, I don't know and don't need to. :-) God The Father Predates us, and has always been God to us, therefore he is eternal. Since there is an eternity before and after this mortal existence, from all eternity to all eternity makes sense because this break in the eternity is ours, not god's it is all one eternity to him.
105 posted on 07/18/2005 1:06:47 PM PDT by DelphiUser ("You can lead a man to knowledge, but you can't make him think")
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To: BibChr
>>I've been reading the Bible in Hebrew and Greek for 30+
>>years. The areas in which Mormonism and Christianity are
>>galaxies apart are not significantly obscured by any
>>decent English translation.

So, How long have you spent reading the book of Mormon?

Just curios :-)

P.S. On a series note, wish I could read Hebrew and Greek.
106 posted on 07/18/2005 1:15:22 PM PDT by DelphiUser ("You can lead a man to knowledge, but you can't make him think")
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To: DelphiUser; xzins
Do you really believe that nothing has been lost from the bible over the years?

Yep, on the basis of Yeshua HaMashiach's (Jesus Christ's) own words:

Do not think that I have come to destroy the Torah or the Prophets. I have not come to destroy but to fulfill. For truly I say to you, Till the heaven and the earth pass away, not one jot or one tittle shall in any way pass from the Torah until all is fulfilled. --Mt. 5:17-18

The heaven and the earth shall pass away, but My words shall not pass away. --Mt. 24:35

So we see Yeshua promising that the Tanakh, the OT, would not lose so much as a letter before heaven and earth passed away, and later saying that His words would never pass away. Therefore, about the only parts of the NT you might logically claim to have been lost are Acts and the epistles--which from history we know have been preserved with the utmost care! Even if you claimed that some epistle or some part of a Scriptural epistle were lost, you would not lose or change one iota of the meaning of the whole of Scriptures, since God always repeats His lessons over and over again.

Yeshua was and is God's manifest and visible presence, His sh'khinah, and was therefore in a position to speak with absolute certainty about whether any of His Scriptures would be lost or not. He was and is also God's Living Word, the "action" of God if you will, that created and sustains the universe by His power; the Living Word is certainly in a position to say whether the written Word would be lost.

He said it wasn't and wouldn't be. If you say that it has, then it is the Son of God that you are arguing with, not any of us.

107 posted on 07/18/2005 1:18:19 PM PDT by Buggman (Baruch ata Adonai Elohanu, Mehlech ha Olam, asher nathan lanu et derech ha y’shua b’Mashiach Yeshua.)
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To: Plutarch
Okay, but where did Moroni's Golden Plates get off to? How come nobody can find them, and Mormons do not look for them any more than O.J. Simpson looks for the real killer?

The angels took them back to Heaven.

I'm Catholic, not Mormon, but when the Mormon witnesses come to the door, we get them chairs & non-caffeinated drinks. We're not much on door-knocking ourselves, but when someone comes to the door to witness to US, we figure that it's our responsibility to witness to them. The last pair couldn't get more than a few words in before we redirected the conversation to Catholic theology. They left with a copy of the Catechism, and we haven't seen any since.

108 posted on 07/18/2005 1:22:54 PM PDT by nina0113
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To: BibChr

"So anyway, I should have known you were a woman."

You make it sound as if being a woman is a bad thing. What would your mother say to that?

"1. You ask questions you don't want answered"

I ask questions because I DO want answers, but I prefer answers that are not "stock"...I've heard all the arguments you have made here today, and I was hoping for something a little more original.

"2. When you get answers you don't like, you just ask them again."

If I ask a question a second time, it's because the first answer was not adequate to satisfy my curiosity.

"3. You later repeat the question, as if no one had already answered it."

I will continue to ask a question if I feel I am being fed a dose of misinformation. If I get the same answer repeatedly, then, yes, I will ignore it.

"4. If anyone complains at your not listening to the answers... well, he's just a bad, bad man!"

Contrary to your opinion, I don't think men are bad for what they think, say or do. If I can see that a discussion is going nowhere, I will ignore it, because it is counter-productive to what FR is all about.

"More seriously, you can do whatever you want until you're banned, if that ever happens. But you're not likely to earn a lot of respect by taking a potshot, then saying "I don't want to talk about it!" and running away."


I suspect the only way I will get banned is if someone complains about a post I made or an answer I gave, or a non-response to an answer I have heard time and time again.


Since when is stating an opinion "taking a pot-shot?" I don't care for a lot of the things you have said, or the way you have delivered them, but I will defend your right to say and do them, especially here. And, as you can see, I have not run away.

"Oh, as to your earlier remarks about the KJV, I've been reading the Bible in Hebrew and Greek for 30+ years. The areas in which Mormonism and Christianity are galaxies apart are not significantly obscured by any decent English translation."

I chose the KJV because I like it. I have several other Bibles that I also read, but I prefer the KJV, if that is OK with you. *not*

Have I answered all your questions?






109 posted on 07/18/2005 1:26:25 PM PDT by Monkey Face (Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups.)
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To: Monkey Face
Have I answered all your questions?

You have indeed managed to deal, in some manner, with every word I said, yet somehow without actually dealing with one point I was making or had previously made to you.

I'm content to let the record stand as is, rather than expend further unrecoverables.

Dan

110 posted on 07/18/2005 1:30:22 PM PDT by BibChr ("...behold, they have rejected the word of the LORD, so what wisdom is in them?" [Jer. 8:9])
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To: Buggman
>>Yep, on the basis of Yeshua HaMashiach's (Jesus
>>Christ's) own words:

Your version of the scripture:
>>Do not think that I have come to destroy the Torah or
>>the Prophets. I have not come to destroy but to fulfill.
>>For truly I say to you, Till the heaven and the earth
>>pass away, not one jot or one tittle shall in any way
>>pass from the Torah until all is fulfilled. --Mt. 5:17-18

Is different from mine:
Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill.
KJV Matt 5:17

And
yours:
>>The heaven and the earth shall pass away, but My words shall not pass away. --Mt. 24:35

Mine: Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.
KJV Matt 24:35

You can say nothing has changed, I will say the law is the same, the words really don't matter unless they try to change the law's meaning, or are missing.

Hey, can you pass me your copy of the book of the wars of the lord? or the book of Jasher?
111 posted on 07/18/2005 1:31:40 PM PDT by DelphiUser ("You can lead a man to knowledge, but you can't make him think")
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To: BibChr

"You have indeed managed to deal, in some manner, with every word I said, yet somehow without actually dealing with one point I was making or had previously made to you.

"I'm content to let the record stand as is, rather than expend further unrecoverables."

If you were looking for some deep theological dissertation on the points you have made, you were looking in the wrong place. If I can see that you are adamant in your opinions on a certain subject, why would I antagonize you with statements that I know you are going to disagree with, or turn around, or obliterate?

That would show a certain naivete on my part, don't you think? Not to mention the fact that it would most definitely bring out the people with the torches, and ONE of us would get flamed.

You show up on a lot of Religious threads, and that's good, if that's where you want to be. As I said earlier, I was pinged to this thread because I'm interested in archeology, and this thread suddenly became about the differences in religions instead of the wonderful find in the desert.

I was disappointed in that, because I have seen your posts and admired them.
'Face


112 posted on 07/18/2005 1:40:03 PM PDT by Monkey Face (Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups.)
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To: Monkey Face
As I said earlier, I was pinged to this thread because I'm interested in archeology, and this thread suddenly became about the differences in religions instead of the wonderful find in the desert.

My precise point. You said that, and were answered. And you still said it again, and again. My point exactly.

Dan

113 posted on 07/18/2005 1:49:58 PM PDT by BibChr ("...behold, they have rejected the word of the LORD, so what wisdom is in them?" [Jer. 8:9])
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To: BibChr

"My precise point. You said that, and were answered. And you still said it again, and again. My point exactly."

Your point is what, again?

*psych*


114 posted on 07/18/2005 1:55:27 PM PDT by Monkey Face (Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups.)
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To: Monkey Face; BibChr
...and this thread suddenly became about the differences in religions instead of the wonderful find in the desert.

That is the point - and that is what makes this archeological find relevant.
If it wasn't for the differences in religions, nobody would give a twit about this "wonderful find in the desert."

115 posted on 07/18/2005 1:57:27 PM PDT by XR7
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To: XR7

"...If it wasn't for the differences in religions, nobody would give a twit about this "wonderful find in the desert.""

Hmmmm....so much for archeology as a science...


116 posted on 07/18/2005 1:59:11 PM PDT by Monkey Face (Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups.)
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To: nickcarraway

I have been skeptical of these claims since the "James brother of Jesus" burial box hoax.

Antiquities is a huge business, and forgeries of antiquities are common. I mean, there is only a very small population of "experts" who can verify if something is authentic or a hoax.


117 posted on 07/18/2005 1:59:31 PM PDT by Alouette (Just when I think liberals can't get any more stupid, I'm wrong.)
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To: nina0113
The angels took them [Moroni's Golden Plates] back to Heaven.

Sounds like they were on loan from Heaven's library, and had to be returned.

I think Mormon's are the best. I can't think of a single Mormon I haven't liked, upon meeting. What's more, the more I get to know a particular Mormon, the more I appreciate them. Wonderful people, wonderful culture. But, geez, the Religion part of it is so risible. It's a shame really that such great people have a religion whose historical aspects are like an urban myth.

118 posted on 07/18/2005 2:07:06 PM PDT by Plutarch
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To: DelphiUser
Your version of the scripture . . . Is different from mine:

That would be known as a translation decision, not a loss from the original text. Your version translates the Greek nomos as Law. While it does mean that, nomos was also the Greek word used to translate the Hebrew Torah, and that is clearly what is in view here (as agreed by pretty much everyone), so I prefer the more specific translation.

You can say nothing has changed, I will say the law is the same, the words really don't matter unless they try to change the law's meaning, or are missing.

Insofar as a translation or copy is concerned, I agree. For example, I'm not concerned about spelling errors, variant spellings, or reordering of the words in sentences in the original Greek manuscripts in the NT, since none of these change the meaning. Neither am I concerned about scribal errors on some (not all) of the Hebrew Tanakh scrolls for the same reason. The enormous number of very old manuscripts from all over the word and discoveries like the Dead Sea Scrolls have proven that the text is sound. Centuries of archaeological and historical work have proven the Bible's record over and over again, and there is no discovery that disproves anything recorded in Scripture. The Book of Mormon cannot claim the same.

Hey, can you pass me your copy of the book of the wars of the lord? or the book of Jasher?

The fact that another book is referenced in Scripture does not make that other book Scripture. Sha'ul (Paul) quoted from pagan philosophers from time-to-time--are you going to say that we should canonize the pagan writings because of that?

But, if you want to read the Book of Jasher, here. We can't say for certain that it's as pure as Scripture, and it's generally considered to be pseudographia (a false text; i.e., not the original Book of Jasher), but go ahead and sate your curiosity.

119 posted on 07/18/2005 2:27:28 PM PDT by Buggman (Baruch ata Adonai Elohanu, Mehlech ha Olam, asher nathan lanu et derech ha y’shua b’Mashiach Yeshua.)
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To: Buggman
LOL! I agree to all your points about the Bible, and the translations thereof. The Book of Mormon does not claim to be a rework of known texts, but a record of a lost people, so no corroboration from that source, agreed?

The Book of Mormon does testify that Jesus is the Christ and the only way of salvation.
I would think that it might be interesting for the same reason I am going to go read that web site!

I have never, and will not ever speak in absolutes :-) But the Book of Mormon stands on it's own merits to support the Bible. The Bible leaves several things up to interpretation, baptism, Sacramental prayers etc. the Book of Mormon clarifies these, and speaks of the importance of reading all scripture.

I am not here to proselyte, but could not stand by while blatant falsehoods were being bandied about.

I have no bone to pick with you, you seem to stick to facts. It is a fact that the book of Mormon does not have the archaeological back drop of the Torah. No one is disputing that (that I know of) but that neither makes it False, or True, Does it?
120 posted on 07/18/2005 2:42:45 PM PDT by DelphiUser ("You can lead a man to knowledge, but you can't make him think")
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