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A modern verification of an ancient event and tangible evidence of an ancient person. And once again, biblical history is verified.Our team of thinkers and writers at the Colson Center are archaeology nerds. Seriously, we get giddy whenever another archaeological discovery sheds light on biblical narratives or confirms their historical accuracy. And even more fun, it seems to happen all the time these days.Keep in mind that biblical faith is grounded in historical events, events to which the Bible testifies. This is one of the factors that sets the Bible apart from other religious texts. Recently, two announcements made illustrate...

Archaeologists have identified a grand street in Jerusalem that was built by Pontius Pilate, the Roman prefect of Judea who is famous for overseeing the trial and crucifixion of Jesus. The nearly 2,000-foot-long (600 meters) street would have connected the Siloam Pool -- a place where pilgrims could stop to bathe and get fresh water -- to the Temple Mount, the most holy place in Judaism. The street was likely used by ancient pilgrims on their way to worship at the Mount, the researchers said. Archaeological evidence for Pontius Pilate is limited and the discovery sheds a bit of light...

In the Gospel of John, Pontius Pilate poses a question to Jesus of Nazareth: “What is truth?” It’s a question that could also be asked about Pilate’s own history. From the perspective of the New Testament of the Christian Bible, the Roman governor of Judea was a wavering judge who initially exonerated Jesus before bending to the will of the crowd and condemning him to death. By contrast, non-Biblical sources portray him as a barbarous leader who willfully defied the traditions of the Jewish people he oversaw. Which was the truth?

New analysis has revealed an unusual inscription on a copper-alloy finger ring uncovered at Herodium 50 years ago. Documented by a team of archaeologists in Israel Exploration Journal, the ring briefly caught the media’s attention last month.Based on the surrounding material, the ring was presumably deposited towards the latter half of the first century, probably about the period of the first Jewish revolt against Rome in AD 66-71. The broken hoop has a diameter of two-thirds of an inch, while the oval bezel measures one-half inch by one-third inch. The bezel relief features a krater (mixing vessel) as the...

A 2,000-year-old bronze ring found near Bethlehem bears the name of Pontius Pilate, the Roman official who ordered Jesus Christ to be crucified, archeologists have revealed.

Researchers have deciphered an ancient inscription on a bronze ring first found 50 years ago pointing to Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor who ordered Jesus Christ’s crucifixion. Haaretz reported that the ring in question was first discovered at the site of Herodion near the West Bank’s Bethlehem by professor Gideon Forster from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, shortly after the Six-Day War in 1968-69. The owner of the ring had remained a mystery for some 50 years, however, but a recent cleansing and special camera work at the Israel Antiquities Authority labs found Greek writing on the ring, which translates...

The Israeli daily Ha’aretz is reporting that a bronze ring found 50 years ago at the Herodion excavation near Bethlehem has been discovered to bear the name of Pontius Pilate, Roman governor of Jerusalem and the man who ordered the crucifixion of Jesus, according to the New Testament. Ha’aretz reports that the name was discovered on the ring with the use of a special camera at the Israel Antiquities Authority labs. The letters on the ring spelled out in Greek writing “Pilatus.” The words surrounded a picture of a wine vessel. Hebrew University Professor Danny Schwartz told Ha’aretz that Pilatus...

The weak, vacillating and ultimately cruel and cowardly figure of Pontius Pilate is one of the most enigmatic figures in Sacred Scripture. From the Gospel accounts, he seems to be a man who almost wants to be a hero, to defend the innocent victim, Jesus, against the murderous lynch mob besetting Him. Indeed, Pilate is urged by his wife to "have nothing to do with that just man." In the end, however, he lacks the courage to act virtuously. He condemns Christ to a horrible death, despite knowing with certainty that He is innocent. But who was Pontius Pilate? Did...

I'm not exactly a Biblical scholar, so be a little gentle with the flames. I was watching Passion of the Christ yesterday for Easter (my third time seeing it), and a thought occurred to me. Both the movie and the Gospels note that Pilate tried, repeatedly, to not sentence Jesus to death. His wife lobbied for Jesus, he declared "this man has done nothing", he sent him to Herod declaring him not guilty, and he even tried the once-a-year prisoner release gambit. At every turn, the high priests and the crowd pushed for his death. Even after finding him guilty...

In the Gospels, it mentions that the wife of Pontius Pilate has a dream that Jesus is innocent and she tells Pilate that he should not condemn Jesus. What she is saying, is indeed true, and if Pilate listened to her, he may have avoided falling into sin. Yet, if Pilate listened to her, this would not have been according to God's will. Thus, I am curious to hear your thoughts if this dream came from God, Satan, or other source.

The Ethiopian and Coptic Orthodox Churches hold that Pontius Pilate, the governor who condemned Jesus Christ to death, later converted to Christianity himself. So they revere Pilate as a saint. Pontius Pilate is a curious character in the New Testament. He is the symbol of Rome’s authority in Judaea, and yet he declines to punish Jesus for insurrection against that authority. When the Sanhedrin present their prisoner to him, Pilate cross-examines him and then famously declares to the crowd: Behold, I bring him forth to you, that ye may know that I find no fault in him. John 19:4 Pilate...

Pilate: What is truth? in "The Passion of the Christ" OUR FAITH IN ACTION The Pontius Pilate of "The Passion of the Christ" is a more multi-dimensional man than traditionally portrayed in film. Not just a mean-spirited bureaucrat, he is an all-too-human proxy for modern man. Sadly, we may see a little of Pilate in ourselves. A product of the Roman military, Pilate is a "results-oriented" ruler who finds himself in a most uncomfortable situation; he must determine Christ's fate. Should he give the enemies of Christ the blood they desire? Should he stand up for the rights of an...

A high level Vatican official has reminded US bishops of their responsibilities to pro-abortion Catholic politicians, including the possibility of withholding Communion. Cardinal Antonio Canizares Llovera, the head of the Vatican's liturgical office, told LifeSiteNews.com in an interview today that the guiding principle for bishops considering withholding Communion from pro-abortion politicians in their dioceses should be "caritas in veritate" or "charity in truth." Canizares explained that according to Catholic teaching those who insist upon receiving Communion in a state of serious sin are in grave spiritual danger and emphasized that the withholding of Communion is meant for the person's spiritual...

‘Unshakable’ Rationalist Blogged Her Way Into the ChurchJennifer Fulwiler “always thought it was obvious that God did not exist.” Fulwiler grew up a content atheist. Having a profound respect for knowledge, particularly scientific knowledge, Fulwiler was convinced that religion and reason were incompatible. Not surprisingly, she was also emphatically anti-Christian and, especially, anti-Catholic. “Catholic beliefs seemed bizarre and weird,” she says. Fulwiler would have been astonished to know that she and Joe Fulwiler, her husband, would come to embrace those “bizarre,” “weird” beliefs. On Easter 2007, they entered the Catholic Church with deep joy and a sense of coming home...

How does it feel, I wanted to know, to be tossed out of your job as a church music director and choir leader because you’re gay? It happened this summer to Charles Philyaw. After four years at St. Andrew Catholic Church in the Dane County community of Verona, he was fired for living an openly gay life — monogamously, I would add — with his partner, who also was an active member of the parish. The story was told last Sunday by Wisconsin State Journal writer Doug Erickson, who found that five of the congregation’s 1,600 adult members complained about...

He then listed the 95 propositions that would be debated. The act of posting this challenge is generally credited with starting, what is called, The Protestant Reformation. After more than 1000 years of spiritual darkness the Gospel was rediscovered and people began to experience, through the power of the Holy Spirit, the comforting reality of Christ's Salvation. Roman Catholic teachings were rejected, because it was seen that they were not the religion of Jesus Christ. The purity and strength of New Testament Christianity and the genuine Gospel was once again preached, souls were genuinely saved and lives changed. But,...

Homosexuality is a disordered behaviour that must be condemned, a Vatican official said yesterday.Walter Cardinal Kasper made the remarks during an address at the Lambeth conference, the once-a-decade gathering of the world's Anglican bishops in Canterbury.Kasper, who is president of the pontifical council for promoting christian unity, reminded delegates of the catechism of the Roman Catholic church on homosexuality: "This teaching is founded in the Old and New Testament and the fidelity to scripture and to Apostolic tradition is absolute."Quoting from a key document on Anglican and Catholic relations he said: "Homosexuality is a disordered behaviour. The activity must be...

Pope Benedict XVI has reasserted the universal primacy of the Roman Catholic Church, approving a document released Tuesday that says Orthodox churches were defective and that other Christian denominations were not true churches. Benedict approved a document from his old offices at the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith that restates church teaching on relations with other Christians. It was the second time in a week the pope has corrected what he says are erroneous interpretations of the Second Vatican Council, the 1962-65 meetings that modernized the church. Benedict, who attended Vatican II as a young theologian, has long...

In the fall of 1985 I was a rather complaisant Evangelical Protestant. If not quite fat, dumb, and happy--well, at least I was happy. Or so I thought. I was confident in my Evangelicalism and took it for granted that I possessed the truth absolutely. I had had a vivid conversion nearly thirteen years before. I studied the Bible diligently, and I belonged to a solid, growing, thoroughly Evangelical church. I had many well-educated Evangelical friends; I had a sense of purpose in pursuing apologetics as my ministry. Then I chanced upon a slim little book by Thomas Howard entitled...

LORENZAGO DI CADORE, Italy - Pope Benedict XVI has reasserted the universal primacy of the Roman Catholic Church, approving a document released Tuesday that says Orthodox churches were defective and that other Christian denominations were not true churches. In the latest document — formulated as five questions and answers — the Vatican seeks to set the record straight on Vatican II's ecumenical intent, saying some contemporary theological interpretation had been "erroneous or ambiguous" and had prompted confusion and doubt. It restates key sections of a 2000 document the pope wrote when he was prefect of the congregation, "Dominus Iesus," which...