Daylight Atheism » Archaeology

Civil War Denialism: A Further Response to "The Jewish Prophecy of Exile"

Ebonmuse — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 10:38:53 +0000

I didn't notice until recently that Narabelad, the apologist for Judaism whose claims I addressed in "The Jewish Prophecy of Exile", has written a further reply to me. In this post, I'll address it briefly.

First, let me note that my correspondent has evidently conceded that his visit site to read more]

The Jewish Prophecy of Exile

Ebonmuse — Mon, 10 May 2010 10:51:05 +0000

In a previous post, "An Unserious Response to the Theist's Guide", I poked fun at a religious apologist - apparently a Jewish rabbi - who made a set of obviously insincere demands for what evidence he would require to become an atheist. So much for that. But our friend the rabbi also thinks that he has convincing evidence for the existence of God. In this post, I'll consider his claims ... [visit site to read more]

Weekly Link Roundup

Ebonmuse — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 02:29:55 +0000

A couple of noteworthy articles from this week that I didn't have time to write more about:

• To begin with, there's this excellent and in-depth profile of the FFRF's Dan Barker and Annie Laurie Gaylor, from a local alternative paper in Madison.

• Archaeologists have discovered a genuine burial ... [visit site to read more]

The Rise and Fall of the James Ossuary

Ebonmuse — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 13:23:37 +0000

In October 2002, a dramatic find exploded onto the scene in the field of Biblical archaeology. At a Washington press conference, Hershel Shanks, editor and publisher of the Biblical Archaeology Review, presented a large audience with what he called "the first ever archaeological discovery to corroborate Biblical references to Jesus." The find was an ossuary - a stone box used in the ancient world to bury the bones of a deceased person - with an Aramaic inscription reading, "Yaakov bar ... [visit site to read more]

Do You Really Believe That? (III)

Ebonmuse — Wed, 26 Sep 2007 12:36:54 +0000

The Ten Plagues

The third installment of "Do You Really Believe That?" will examine another famous story of the Old Testament, the ten plagues of Egypt. As the Book of Exodus tells it, the Israelite prophet Moses was chosen by God to set his people free from their long slavery in Egypt. But when the hard-hearted Pharaoh refused to release them, God sent ten plagues upon the land, each more terrible than the last, until the Egyptians' resistance finally crumbled.

These are the ... [visit site to read more]

The Tomb of Jesus?

Ebonmuse — Thu, 01 Mar 2007 13:08:01 +0000

The media has been abuzz lately over a Discovery Channel special about a tomb in Israel that, according to the show's producers, may once have contained the bones of Jesus Christ.

The tomb was discovered in 1980 during an archaeological excavation in Jerusalem. Inside, researchers found ten ossuaries - carved stone boxes used in many ancient cultures to inter human bones. Six of the ten ossuaries bore inscriptions of the names of their occupants, including, allegedly, "Jesus, son of Joseph", ... [visit site to read more]