WORLD NEWS
WORLD NEWS
Archaeological finds line up with biblical accounts
Above: the Mt Zion archaeological site. Right (from top): earring; arrowhead; remnant from a church in Bethsaida.
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“FOR THE BIBLE TELLS ME SO” Nobody abandons goes the old refrain, and researchers golden jewellery working on Mt Zion in Israel are and nobody has finding artefacts which confirm the arrowheads in their Babylonian conquest of Jerusalem, domestic refuse.” detailed in the book of 2 Kings. The arrowheads are In 586BC, the city was under dis cove r e d siege from the forces of King known as Scythian Nebuchadnezzar. The Bible records arrowheads and have that Babylonian forces “set fire to the been found at other temple of the LORD, the royal palace archaeological conflict and all the houses of Jerusalem. sites from the 7th and Every important building he burned 6th centuries BC. down. The whole Babylonian army “They are known to under the commander of the have been used by the imperial guard broke down the walls Babylonian warriors,” around Jerusalem. Nebuzaradan the Professor Gibson said. commander of the guard carried “Together, this evidence into exile the people who remained points to the historical in the city, along with the rest of conquest of the city by the populace and those who had Babylon because the only deserted to the king of Babylon” major destruction we have (2 Kings 25:9-11). in Jerusalem for this period is the Researchers from the conquest of 587/586 BC.” University of North Carolina, digging at the Mount Zion Archaeological Project, have just announced they have uncovered clear evidence of that invasion. The discovery is of a deposit including layers of ash, arrowheads dating from the period, as well as Iron Age potsherds, lamps and a significant piece of period jewellery – a gold and silver tassel or earring. In another excavation this year “We know where the ancient in Israel, archaeologists may have fortification line ran,” a Professor of found the home town of Peter and History at UNC Charlotte, Shimon two other apostles of Jesus. They Gibson, said, “so we know we are believe they have found the lost within the city. We know that this Roman city of Julias (earlier known is not some dumping area, but the as Bethsaida), near the Sea of Galilee southwestern neighbourhood of in northern Israel. the Iron Age city. During the 8th The New Testament describes century BC the urban area extended Bethsaida as the home of Jesus’ from the ‘City of David’ area to the apostles Peter, Andrew and Philip. southeast and as far as the Western Jesus also healed a blind man there Hill where we are digging.” (Mark 8:22-26), while the book of The ash deposits are not conclusive Luke describes the feeding of the evidence of the Babylonian attack in 5000 nearby. themselves but are confirmed by the Researchers have partially other materials. “For archaeologists, uncovered a large church from the an ashen layer can mean a number Byzantine period, which was said to of different things,” Gibson said. “It be built over the house of Peter and could be ashy deposits removed Andrew. Electromagnetic imaging from ovens, or it could be localised around the church by the Centre burning of garbage. However, in for the Study of Ancient Judaism this case, the combination of an and Christian Origins reveals that a ashy layer full of artefacts, mixed much larger settlement once stood with arrowheads and a very special at the site of Beit Habek (el-Araj), ornament, indicates some kind near the Jordan River estuary on the of devastation and destruction. northern shore of the Sea of Galilee. Southern cross
OCTOBER 2019
China removes the Ten Commandments REPORTS FROM CHINA INDICATE deepening persecution of Christians, including the closing of Sunday schools and replacing the Ten Commandments with slogans from Communist Party leader, President Xi Jinping. Chinese authorities have reportedly become nervous about the rise of Christianity and the protests in Hong Kong, in which Christians have played a key role. Official estimates put the number of Christians in China at 30-40 million, but the persecution watchdog Open Doors estimates there are up to 100 million believers. China is forecast to have the world’s largest population of Christians by 2030, overtaking the United States. As well as in larger centres such as Beijing, Christianity is booming in rural regions such as Hebei, Henan and Anhui, with large areas of disadvantage or poverty. The Christian population is split between membership of
2014
The Ten Commandments has been replaced by Communist slogans in Chinese churches. photo: courtesy Bitter Winter
state-sponsored churches – such as the so-called Three-Self Patriotic Movement – and underground or house churches. The religious liberty magazine Bitter Winter has reported several recent incidents that show persecution is worsening. The magazine says churches in the
2019
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OCTOBER 2019
central province of Henan have been forced to replace signs showing the Ten Commandments with quotes from President Xi Jinping. “The core socialist values and Chinese culture will help to immerse various religions of China,” reads one of Xi’s quotes. “Support religious community in interpreting religious
thought, doctrines and teachings in a way that conforms with the needs of the progress of the times.” Church leaders say it is part of eroding Christian doctrine in the official Three-Self churches, which can be blacklisted or shut down if they don’t display the messages. Another report says the Communist Party has begun to restrict Christian activities for children, in line with a long-standing law against religious conversion under the age of 18. The Religious Affairs Bureau has reportedly begun to enforce the law by closing Sunday schools and ordering churches to erect signs accordingly. Police stations have even been given quotas that reward them for the number of Christians they arrest. One Protestant pastor told the magazine that “The Communist Party’s ultimate goal is to ‘become God’. This is what the devil has always done”.
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