The pre-existence of the God of Abraham: the Bible and limits of ancient evidence
Preface:
So that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding; Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding; If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures; Then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God. For the Lord giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding. He layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous: he is a buckler to them that walk uprightly. He keepeth the paths of judgment, and preserveth the way of his saints. Then shalt thou understand righteousness, and judgment, and equity; yea, every good path. (Proverbs 2:2-9)
Divine Truth, with its Probity, Precepts, Pathway, Principles, sagacity and surety, can be analogically likened to a beautiful but veiled, fully clothed women, who is seen at first from a distance.
Ravenous carnal men insist that the women come near and bare all to prove she is Truth, but such men have no right to see any more revelation, and would not value a women that is so cheap and in need of affirmation so as to unveil herself to such. And the degree of revelation that they do see is often abusively scorned and verbally attack any attestation to her reality.
Other carnal souls are rather ambivalent, not caring much to seek, and not caring much about the women as they are content with their imaginations.
In contrast are those who value this Divine Truth so much that they earnestly seek this women as hidden treasure, with a motive that is increasingly pure, despite distractions. Therefore they seek to acquaint themselves with her and respond accordingly to this revelation. T
To which respondent/obedient seekers more is increasingly revealed yet experiential reality of this awaits entering into covenant with her, one to being joined as one spirit. And yet the full and experiential revelation awaits deliverance from this darkened earthly tabernacle into the glorious transformation of the believers resurrection.
The above is critical in dealing with the issue of the historicity of God of Abraham as evidenced by worship of Him. For when atheists and anti-theists denigrate this faith as by asserting that belief in the God of Abraham is simply another “bronze age religion,” they are basing this upon very limited archaeological evidence from that period (when written records begin to be found) which is insufficient to make that claim as to its origin. And they can only presume that this belief did not flow from prehistory, in which era some evidence of monotheistic religious belief exists.
Meaning that the basis for their argument is that there is a lack of evidence for monotheism, at least as Abrahamic, until the The Bronze Age (3300 BC to about 1200 BC, thus up to about 5300 years ago in scientific dating).
Thus the anti-theist assertion is based sparsity of evidence from before the Bronze Age, this being the earliest period in which some civilizations basically began introducing written records, thus passing from prehistory to recorded history.
Moreover, the assignment of the Bronze Age as being the beginning of Abrahamic religion also presumes way more of archaeology than it provides. For archaeology has only discovered a small percentage of the material objects that once existed. While “thousands of archives have been discovered, but an enormous amount of material has been lost. For example, the library in Alexandria held over one million volumes, but all were lost in a seventh century fire Only a fraction of available archaeological sites have been surveyed, and only a fraction of surveyed sites have been excavated.”
And even excavations that have been made “only recover a small percentage of the original artifacts, and different researchers may have conflicting interpretations of the evidence unearthed.” .
Which extends from the authenticity of what is found to its meaning. For as described in “Pitfalls of Using Science to Authenticate Archaeological Artifacts,” “while scientific data are inherently objective, their interpretation is almost always subjective.”
Wikipedia (the veracity of which is only as good as its sources are) states that “Scholars have frequently used in textual analogies such as 'record', 'source' and 'archive' to refer to material evidence of the past since at least the 19th century. The term 'archaeological record' probably originated this way...” “the extent to which archaeologists' understanding of what constituted 'the archaeological record' was dependent on broader currents in archaeological theory, namely, that processual archaeologists were likely to subscribe to a physical model and postprocessual archaeologists a textual model.[1]) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archaeological_record)
For in “archaeology, as with any other science, the existing body of knowledge obtained through the scientific method, lies at varying levels of certainty. Some facts are so well-attested that their certainty is virtually absolute. There is, for example, extremely little likelihood that any evidence will turn up to dis- prove the existence of a nation called the Hittites or of such persons as Sargon II (formerly known only in the Bible, and then only in one place, Isaiah 20:1), or of a Babylonian king named Belshazzar; yet each of these now-accepted facts was at one time regarded as mythical.”
“It was once argued that the Book of Daniel must necessarily be of late date because it contains Greek names for certain musical instruments, and Greek was surely unknown to the Hebrews of the traditional date of Daniel. The finding of Greek shields and weapons at the site of the battle of Carchemish, however, revealed the fact that Pharaoh Necho had Greek mercenary soldiers marching in his army when he came through Israel in Josiah's day.” (https://biblicalstudies.org.uk/pdf/grace-journal/11-3_03.pdf)
Thus the argument against the existence of Abrahamic faith not only presumes of archaeology far more than what it provides but that none shall be found. And assertions of fact based upon sparsity of information as well as certain interpretations must face the reality that such can be shown to be wrong in the light of more information.
For indeed, archaeology has many times supported “historical accounts of the Bible that were once dismissed or questioned. “It has verified many ancient sites, civilizations, and biblical characters whose existence was questioned by the academic world and often dismissed as myths.”
Noted archaeologist Nelson Glueck writes, "As a matter of fact, however, it may be clearly stated categorically that no archeological discovery has ever controverted a single biblical reference. Scores of archeological findings have been made which confirm in clear outline or exact detail historical statements in the Bible.” (Nelson Glueck, Rivers in the Desert, (New York: Farrar, Strous and Cudahy, 1959), 136.)
“Although many archeologists remain skeptical of the biblical record, the evidence for the historical accuracy of the Bible continues to build.” (https://bible.org/article/archaeology-and-old-testament)
In addition, it should be conceded that religious faith did not come out of atheism, and while if skeptics hold that Abrahamic monotheistic faith came out of polytheism, then it should presume that polytheism preceded recorded history. And therefore it also should be conceded that it is not unreasonable to allow that monotheistic faith also could have existed in prehistory, versus that monotheistic faith awaited thousands of years, until records were made which were preserved and discovered. The issue then becomes how to exclude Abrahamic faith as being one of them, since (as the Bible affirms) his monotheism certainly had competition.
Note that on the scientific level, so far the argument from silence also applies to assertions of the pre-existence of Abrahamic faith. However, here the issue is that of examining scientific warrant for a claim of skeptics whose assertion rests upon it. Meanwhile, evidential arguments for Abrahamic faith are not dependent upon the sparse amount of extant recorded historical evidence by the spade of men, but evidence which transcends that, although that is beyond the scope of this already lengthy response.
Moving from the problem of sparsity of evidence for excluding the existence of Abrahamic faith until about 5500 years ago in scientific dating, we should consider some claims for evidence in support of at least monotheistic faith, of which Abrahamic faith is a part.
Monotheism defined.
Contrary to some statements, Biblical monotheism is not belief that only one God exists, but that there is only one true God, distinct to both inferior gods which are not worthy to be one’s God, as well as false gods which do not exist. And whatever is our ultimate source of security, object of spiritual affection and allegiance is our God, and finite, fallible and hence ultimately failing created entities as not worthy to be one’s god, versus the only omniscient (knowing all that can be known, including all the effects of every choice and action, not simply in the present time but in all time and eternity), and omnipotent (all powerful) and thus able to make everything to work out for what is Good, in both justice and mercy and grace, depending on man’s response to the revelation of God’s, leading one to the Christ, and resultant choices.
In the Hebrew Scriptures the devil is certainly described as real, and possessing significant power which was given to him by God, but whose was cast down due to his utterly self-willed, selfish unwarranted attempt at self-exaltation, presuming to sit in God’s throne. Yet whom God uses, as on a leash, in order to provide morally sentient beings an alternative to obedience to God, to what is right (for the ability to choose is effectively meaningless if there are no choices to be made). And in so doing to manifest the character of men as well as to improve the same as regards the true children of God. The classic example of which that of Job.
The Bible also states that “ the Lord your God is God of gods, and Lord of lords, a great God, a mighty, and a terrible [fearsome, as in attributes] which regardeth not persons, nor taketh reward.” (Deuteronomy 10:17) “For thou, Lord, art high above all the earth: thou art exalted far above all gods.” (Psalms 97:9) For all the gods of the nations are idols: but the Lord made the heavens. (Psalms 96:5)
In the New Testament it is stated that, “For though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth, (as there be gods many, and lords many,) But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him.” (1 Corinthians 8:5-6)
In conclusion, the assertion that faith in the God of Abraham is simply a “bronze age” belief is based upon the fallacious premise that very limited archaeological evidence is sufficient from that period (when written records begin to be found) is sufficient to make that claim. And which can only presume that this belief did not flow from prehistory, in which era some evidence of monotheistic religious belief exists (the Zoroastrian religion itself enters recorded history around the middle of the 6th century BC, with its monotheistic counterfeit of the one true God) ), though certainly not exclusively so, or well-developed, and which is exactly what is attested to in the Bible.
