[Illustration: Anthropoid Sarcophagus, or Cartonnage]
Dead Men Tell Tales
by
HARRY RIMMER, D. D., Sc. D.
_With 37 Plate Illustrations in the Text_
_Eleventh Edition_
_Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co._
_Grand Rapids, Michigan_
Dead Men Tell Tales
BY HARRY RIMMER, D.D., SC.D.
_Copyright 1939 by
Research Science Bureau, Incorporated
Printed in the United States of America
All rights in this book are reserved
No part of the book may be reproduced in any manner whatsoever without
written permission.
For information address the publishers._
ELEVENTH EDITION
FOREWORD
In an older generation, especially among the writers of the more lurid
types of fiction, it was an accepted axiom that “Dead men tell no
tales!” But this was before the great era of modern archeology had
impressed its findings on the general public, and indeed before most of
those discoveries had been made.
Our generation knows better. Dead men _do_ tell tales, and marvelous and
wonderful are the stories they bring to us. By means of an archeological
resurrection, the great men of antiquity are with us again. Once more we
hear the accounts of their fascinating lives and adventures, and read
again the records of their culture. The tongueless tombs of the distant
past have suddenly become vocal, and this mighty chorus of the dead
great has forced us to revise many of our once cherished opinions.
Nowhere is this more strikingly true than in the case of the coincidence
of these old ages with the page of the Holy Bible. The richest finds of
archeology come to us from the very periods of history that are dealt
with in the pages of Holy Writ, and names that were known only from the
record of the Scripture are now the common possession of the scholarly
world. So much is this the case, that we have a new technique of Bible
study in our day. Just as the microscope is the instrument for the study
of biology, and the spectroscope has become the means of study in
physics, so the Bible is best read today in the light that is reflected
upon its pages from the blade of a spade! This, of course, is intended
to apply to the historical sections of the Book, and refers to the
problem of its authenticity and historicity. It still remains true that
_spiritual_ understanding of its message can be derived only from study
that is supervised and directed by the Holy Spirit.
This volume, the fourth in the promised series to be known as the
“JOHN LAURENCE FROST
MEMORIAL LIBRARY”
will deal with some of those fascinating discoveries that bear
particularly on the problem of the Old Testament. The succeeding and
companion volume, which will be entitled “Crying Stones,” will deal in
like manner with the records of the New Testament.
The material contained in this apologetic is derived from various
sources. Much of it came from records in the famed British Museum, in
London, England. This marvelous storehouse of treasure from the most
remote antiquity is the greatest collection of evidence bearing upon
these questions, that is at present in the possession of man. There is
scarcely a section of the Bible that does not receive some
authentication from the limitless wealth of this noble treasury.
A great deal of the remainder of this information and proof has been
derived from other museums, such as the Egyptian Museum at Cairo, Egypt,
and the Museum of the University of Pennsylvania. Much of the contents
of this book has come from the excavations now in progress in Egypt, and
from the ruins at Sakkara, Luxor, Karnak, Iraq, and other centers of
present activity. The earth seems eager indeed to offer its treasures of
proof concerning the Word of God.
The author is especially grateful for the help accorded to him in Egypt
by Mr. and Mrs. Erian Boutros of Cairo, and by certain officials of the
Egyptian government, chief of whom in helpfulness was M. Abdul Nabi, and
the Egyptian Tourist Bureau, whose gracious efforts on our behalf won us
many privileges from the Department of Antiquities.
The illustrations used in this volume are largely from the author’s own
photographs of exhibits and evidences, made by him and presented with
the assurance that they are not retouched or altered in any manner. In
the course of his studies and travels in search of this material, he
made hundreds of negatives, only a few of which appear in this work. The
exceptions to this are noted where they appear. The zinc etchings are
made from original drawings by Miss Elizabeth Elverhoy from our
photographs, and are authentic in all details.
We hand you now Tales of Dead Men, rendered by Men Long Dead, as they
unconsciously accredit the sacred page of the Word of God. If you have a
tithe of the pleasure and profit in the reading of these pages that we
have experienced in the gathering of their contents, we shall be repaid
for the labor involved.
CONTENTS
Chapter I The Premise Stated 13
Chapter II The Tides of Culture 37
Chapter III Converging Streams of Revelation and History 55
Chapter IV Modern Science and the Ten Plagues of Egypt 85
Chapter V Sources 125
Chapter VI Fragments 163
Chapter VII The Rebirth of an Empire 195
Chapter VIII The Resurrection of Edom 225
Chapter IX The Brazen Shields of Rehoboam 247
Chapter X Mingled Voices 269
Chapter XI Vindication of Daniel 317
Bibliography 349
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
Anthropoid Sarcophagus, or Cartonnage Frontispiece
Egyptians at a wine orgy Facing Page 32
Crude hieroglyphics on an ancient statue 33
Example of embellished statue 40
Colossi at Luxor 41
The Sheltered Wife 41
Khnum and Thoth in Creation Tradition 56
Colossi of Karnak 64
Colossi of Luxor 64
Colossi of Amen-Hetep III guarding Valley of Kings 65
At Tomb of Tutanhkamen 65
Open burial 72
Mural from an ancient tomb: Butchers at work 73
The god Hapi drawing the Two Kingdoms into one 73
Mace-head in British Museum 128
Cuneiform writing and sculpture on stone weapon 129
Ancient seals depicting historic events 136
Section of funerary papyrus, showing progress of the soul 137
Herds of cattle, such as Hyksos kings possessed 160
Ancient mural: Slaughter of cattle 161
Papyrus showing capture of quail 161
Cartonnage in the anthropoid sarcophagus 168
Outside and inside writings and decorations on anthropoid
sarcophagus 169
Detailed study of outside and inside of anthropoid coffin 176
Outside of rectangular coffin covered with writings 176
Murals and frescoes from tomb walls 177
Commemorative stele 184
Ancient boundary markers 185
Stone ouches, or door-sockets 192
The famed Black Obelisk, which confirmed record of Jehu 193
Hamath inscription 195
Small ivory lion from Ahab’s palace 200
Fragmentary frieze showing ancient chariots 201
Hittite inscription 208
Egyptian funerary papyri 209
Monuments of Petra, showing ruins from one direction 216
Monuments of Petra, looking in opposite direction 217
The rough approach to Petra 240
Approaching Petra by way of the main siq 241
“El Kahzne”, the Temple of the Urn 248
Building carved from living stone 249
El Deir 256
Additional view of El Deir 257
En route to the “High Place” 264
The Altar of Sacrifice 265
CHAPTER I
The Premise Stated
In the romantic vocabulary of the twentieth century few words are more
potent to arouse the interest of the average man than the fascinating
word “archeology.” A flood of volumes has come forth from the press of
our generation covering almost every phase of this now popular science.
After one hundred years of steady plodding and determined digging, this
school of research has at last come into its own and today occupies
deserved prominence in the world of current literature. This science,
which deals exclusively with dead races and the records of their conduct
is, to many, the most fascinating field of investigation at present open
to the inquiring mind of man. Nothing is of such interest to the human
as is humanity. The study of the life and record of our own kind rightly
means more to us than can most other subjects.
But the true appreciation of the value of the contribution of archeology
to our modern learning can be appreciated only by those who grasp an
outstanding fact that should be self-apparent, but is so often
overlooked: Namely, these records derived from musty tombs and burial
mounds constitute the daily events in the lives of _human beings_! The
folks who left these records were ordinary people such as make up the
nations of the earth today. They are not merely names on tablets or
faces carved in stone. They were actual flesh-and-blood individuals with
all that this implies. In hours of merriment they laughed, and they shed
tears in moments of sorrow. They hungered, and ate for satisfaction;
they drank when they were thirsty. They loved and they hated; they lived
and they died. Pleasure and pain were their alternating companions,
while ambition, aspiration, and hope drove them on the endless round of
their daily tasks.
In a word, they were _real_. Their life was as important to them as is
your life, and they lived it in much the same way. Therefore, the
records written by humans and studied by their kind, who now live these
thousands of years later, constitute the source of the most human
science with which our generation has to deal.
The contributions of archeology have reached almost every branch of
study, but to no particular group of people have they been more timely
and valuable than to students of the Bible. The hoary antiquity of the
Book which has been received in every generation by the intelligent and
the discerning as the Word of God, has its roots in the same generations
that archeology is investigating today. It is inevitable that much of
the material being recovered by modern excavations shall have important
bearing upon the various questions skepticism may raise concerning the
text of the Scripture.
To the open-minded scholar who approaches this subject without
prejudice, the science of archeology has a twofold contribution to make.
Some of the evidences derived from digging are (a) of incalculable value
in illuminating the text of the Scripture, and are (b) equally priceless
when viewed as a body of indisputable evidence. Under this latter
heading the proofs would come into four classifications:
1. The historicity of the text
2. The accuracy of the account
3. The authenticity of the record
4. The inspiration of the whole
By way of illustrating the manner in which the Scripture may be
illumined by the findings of archeology, we would introduce a
semi-humorous and partially tragic event that occurred in the dim and
distant days of our own earlier studies. During a short term spent at a
well known California college, we were specializing in the field of
history. The teacher of this course, Professor Rosenberger, was one of
the ablest pedagogues who ever wasted her life in the more or less
important task of teaching a rising generation how to think! At the end
of the first few weeks in a class in English history, she informed the
student group that the following day we would be privileged to have a
test in this particular subject. When the class gathered for the happy
event, there were twenty questions written on the board which were to
constitute our examination.
The first question was something like this, “What new treaty had just
been signed between France and Spain at this particular period?”
The next question had to do with the political commitments of the Holy
Roman Empire.
The third question took us into the Germanic states, and in all of the
twenty questions not one word concerning England was mentioned!
As the class sat with the usual and habitual expression of vacuity which
generally adorns the countenance of a college student facing a quiz, the
Professor said, “You may begin.”
Some hapless wight procured the courage to protest, by saying, “But you
said this was to be an examination in English history!”
The Professor replied, “Quite so! This _is_ English history!”
Then leaning forward over the desk she said, in impressive tones, “How
can you expect to know what England is doing, and why, if you do not
know the pressure upon her of her enemies and friends at that particular
period?”
A long distance back in our mental vacuum a dim light began to glow, and
we never were caught that way again! When the teacher said French
history, we read everything else! When she said German history, we
specialized on the surrounding countries. One day as we were thinking
over this helpful technique of understanding, the idea began to grow
that if this was the proper way to study secular history, _it ought to
apply to Bible study as well_!
There is an illumination that brightens the meaning of the Sacred Text
when read in the light of collateral events that can come no other way.
As an instance of this, we will remind the reader of the background of
Isaiah. When this prophet first began to write, there was trouble
between Israel, the northern confederation, and Judah, the southern
kingdom. The king of Israel at this time was Pekah, the son of Remaliah,
and although his people were numerically superior to Judah, he was
fearful that he might not be strong enough to overcome the southern
kingdom in the threatened war. Therefore, he made a close alliance with
Rezin, the king of Syria, promising him all the spoils of the battle, if
he would aid with his army and strength. The Syrian king hastened to
accept this offer, and signed the required covenant. When this alliance
became known in Judah, a natural alarm spread throughout the tiny
kingdom. Realizing that they were incapable of resisting the strong
forces of Israel and Syria which had combined against them, the princes
of Judah desired outside help. The only apparent source of such
assistance was Egypt. So in the court of Ahaz, the king of Judah, a
strong party began agitating for a military alliance with Egypt. That
being the only apparent aid within any reasonable distance, it seemed
natural to turn to them for a military alliance.
The prophet Isaiah, who was a strong force and exercised a vital
influence in the policies of Judah, began to object most strenuously. In
the light of this background, we can understand such outbursts of Isaiah
as are found in the thirtieth chapter of his prophecy, verses one to
three:
“Woe to the rebellious children, saith the Lord, that take counsel,
but not of me; and that cover with a covering, but not of my Spirit,
that they may add sin to sin:
“That walk to go down into Egypt, and have not asked at my mouth; to
strengthen themselves in the strength of Pharaoh, and to trust in the
shadow of Egypt!
“Therefore shall the strength of Pharaoh be your shame, and the trust
in the shadow of Egypt your confusion.”
His protest seems to reach a climax in the thirty-first chapter in that
magnificently written plea for faith in God which we find in these
graphic words:
“Woe to them that go down to Egypt for help; and stay on horses, and
trust in chariots, because they are many; and in horsemen, because
they are very strong; but they look not unto the Holy One of Israel,
neither seek the Lord!
“Yet he also is wise, and will bring evil, and will not call back his
words: but will arise against the house of the evil doers, and against
the help of them that work iniquity.
“Now the Egyptians are men, and not God; and their horses flesh, and
not spirit. When the Lord shall stretch out his hand, both he that
helpeth shall fall, and he that is holpen shall fall down, and they
all shall fail together.”
All through this period of prophecy, Isaiah’s voice is aggressively
raised against the folly of trusting Egypt. His protest is, “Since God
redeemed us once from bondage in that land, why put ourselves back again
under their yoke?”
The princes replied in some such terms as this: “The objection is o. k.
_in principle_; as a basic thesis we will admit that it is safe to trust
in God. But right now we need real help and we need it in a hurry.”
The prophet cried out in response, “God will send the help that you
need!”
The natural question was “Whence? Syria and Egypt are the only two
powers near us. One is arrayed against us and the help of the other you
forbid us to seek. Whence then is the aid that God will send?”
The prophet’s reply was short and terse, “God will send aid from very
far off.”
The reluctant court agreed to take a chance on Isaiah’s insistence, and
so to trust their cause to the God of Israel. Quickly, then, upon the
heels of this decision, as we learn from the records of archeology,
there came one of the earlier battles that were fought at Charchemish.
The rising power of Assyria first made itself felt in that engagement.
As a result, Syria was shattered and Israel made captive. The help that
God had promised did come, and now the definite prophecy of Isaiah, in
chapters seven and eight, may be correlated into this simple summary;
and against this background we can understand the vehemence of Isaiah in
crying out against an alliance with Egypt.
It is not too much to say, as we shall later show in detail, that in our
present possession there is sufficient knowledge derived from the
monuments and records of antiquity to authenticate every prophecy that
Isaiah made concerning Egypt, Israel, Syria, and Assyria. Thus the text
of the Old Testament is illumined, and a floodlight of understanding
thrown upon its prophetic utterance by the findings in this field.
Even more striking is the contribution of archeology in the second
field, that of evidence in defense of the accepted text. The museums,
monuments, and libraries of the world are teeming with such evidences,
and it shall be the purpose of this volume to condense, epitomize, and
present much of that evidence in a simple and readable form, divorced
from technical obscurities. Right here, however, we offer just one
simple illustration under each of the subdivisions suggested in the
paragraph above.
To demonstrate the evidence of the Bible’s historicity, we shall offer
the illustration made famous by the late Dr. Robert Dick Wilson, as to
the record of the forty-seven kings of antiquity. It is probably known
to the reader that the historical sections of the Old Testament contain
the names of forty-seven kings, aside from the rulers of Israel and
Judah. These foreign, or Gentile kings, have been known by name for many
centuries to every reader of the Old Testament.
The odd thing is that until comparatively recent times, these names had
been dropped out of secular history. Mighty as these men had each been
in his day, they were completely forgotten by posterity and for some
twenty-three hundred years their names were unknown to the scholars of
secular events. For this reason the learned leaders of “higher
criticism” relegated these forty-seven monarchs to the columns of
mythology. They were grouped among “the fables and folklore of the Old
Testament” which this deluded school mistakenly taught was one of the
basic weaknesses of the text. Then one after another these disputed
monarchs began to rise from the dead in an archeological resurrection.
In some cases a burial mound was uncovered; in others, an annalistic
tablet, a boundary marker, or a great building inscribed with the
monarch’s name. Now, all forty-seven of these presumably fabulous
characters have been transferred from the columns of “mythology” to the
accepted records of established history.
In forty-seven specific instances, as these kings rose from the dead
past, they were recognized, as their names were not strange to true
historians. Each was remembered from his appearance in the page of the
Old Testament which had preserved his memory with accuracy. Thus, in
this simple instance there are forty-seven definite and specific
evidences of the complete historicity of the text.
To stress this point, the accuracy of the record, we shall cite a
semi-humorous illustration. The great Greek historian, Herodotus, who is
supposed to be the “Father of History,” wrote some more or less accurate
observations concerning the land of Egypt. Among other things, he said
that the Egyptians grew no grapes and drank no wine.
There was another ancient who preceded this historian by many centuries,
who also wrote voluminously about Egypt and her customs. This was the
man Moses, who being reared in the bosom of the royal family as the
crown prince and heir apparent, might be presumed to know considerably
more about Egyptian customs than any casual visitor. Moses stated that
the Egyptians _did_ grow grapes and that they _did_ drink wine. In fact,
he recounts that Joseph was in jail with the chief cupbearer of Pharaoh,
the butler whose business was the purveying of wine to the royal table.
It may be remembered that in the butler’s dream he saw himself _standing
by the vine, squeezing the grapes into the cup_.
This brought these two authorities into sharp opposition. Since
Herodotus was supposed to be the final authority on matters of
antiquity, the critics fell upon this discrepancy with considerable
glee. The argument might still be going on, if it were not for the
discovery of an unquestionable bit of evidence among the frescoes that
decorate the tombs of Egyptian antiquity. These frescoes showed the
Egyptians engaged in the art of viticulture. In some of these pictures
they were dressing and pruning the vines, cultivating and tending their
crop. In others of the pictures they were seen to be gathering the
grapes and conveying them to the press. The ingenious method of
extracting the juice was clearly portrayed in these illuminating
frescoes, which showed the juice being stored in stone jugs, clay pots,
and skin bottles for future use. Since the ancients called any fruit
juice that was used for drinking purposes by the name of wine, whether
it was fresh or sweet, it is highly probable that some of this juice was
drunk in an unfermented condition.
However, one of the murals depicted an Egyptian party gathered around
the banquet board, making merry with the juice of the grape (See
Plate 1). The incidental evidences show very clearly that the juice was
fermented. Off in the corner, the picture depicts a noble lady who is
portrayed with her slave holding a silver bowl, while she gave up the
excess fluids that had evidently disagreed with the more commendable
parts of the banquet! Another of these murals showed the morning light
coming into such a banqueting hall, as the slaves were all carrying
their masters home; with the exception of one inebriate who had slid
under the table and had evidently been overlooked in the excitement!
Did the Egyptians grow grapes and drink wine?
Herodotus said “No.”
Moses said “Yes.”
The critics, to their later embarrassment, lined up solidly with
Herodotus.
But since archeology has accredited the accuracy of Moses, this argument
is no longer heard in the halls of learning.
When we come to the question of authenticity, we shall later give many
evidences that none of the records of the Bible, either the Old
Testament or the New, are, in any sense of the word, forgeries. They are
uniformly authentic in that they were written by the men whose names
they bear.
A classical illustration of this is found in the fact that Sir William
Ramsay, one of the greatest archeologists of our generation, began his
work in his early days under the bias of the critical position that Luke
was not the author of either the Gospel that bears his name or the book
of the Acts of the Apostles. After forty years of research in Asia
Minor, Sir William Ramsay himself discovered the evidence that converted
him personally to the orthodox and historical view, and demonstrated
conclusively that Luke unquestionably wrote the two books that are
accredited to him. As we shall deal with this matter more extensively in
the fifth volume of this series, we pass on to the present cause of
modern controversy, namely, the inspiration of the text.
The fact of inspiration is stated so often by the writers of the
Scripture that we must accept their explanation of the origin of these
pages, or else classify them as the most consistent liars that humanity
has ever produced. They claim a supernatural guidance by the Holy Ghost
which has kept their records free from error or discrepancy. For one who
has examined and analyzed the Scripture in the unprejudiced light of
archeology, this claim is vindicated at every turn of the spade.
A simple illustration of the manner in which our science does show the
inspiration of the Scripture, may be found from the prophetic sections
of the Old Testament. In the days of Isaiah and his fellow prophets, the
capital of Egypt was the city of No. It is also called Amon, and
sometimes, No-Amon. It was a populous city of wealth and culture, being
the center of learning, as well as the seat of government. In a day when
Egypt dominated the world and No-Amon was the mistress of antiquity,
obscure Hebrew prophets raised their voices in denunciation of No in
such arbitrary and extreme statements as are found in the thirtieth
chapter of Ezekiel. Denouncing the sin of Egypt and their repeated
betrayals of Israel, Ezekiel warns Egypt that her land shall be overrun
with fire and sword, and that No-Amon shall be desolate and forsaken.
There must have been a strong element of humor in all of this outcry to
the proud mind of the Egyptian of that day! No-Amon, also called Thebes,
spreading out on both banks of the Nile, in complacent, serene command
of the ancient world, apparently had nothing to fear from the bitter
cries of a prophet of Israel. Yet today the visitor to the site of
Thebes, or No-Amon, to use the more ancient name, is faced with a scene
of desolation that is utterly devoid of any human habitation.
Since it is impossible for the human mind to pick up the curtain of time
and peer ahead into future events, prophecy can derive only from the
Holy Spirit. The work of archeologists in identifying the bleak and
barren site of No-Amon portrays the inspiration of the Scripture. The
proud city is forgotten except for its inscriptions on records of
antiquity and the denunciations to be found in the Word of God. Thus we
have simply illustrated how this dignified and sober science is bringing
to us illumination of the text, together with the evidences of the
HISTORICITY, ACCURACY, AUTHENTICITY, and INSPIRATION of the Bible.
This is eminently fitting, since this peculiar science is most
intimately concerned with the problem of the credibility of the Bible.
The unique and heavenly nature of the Book is in itself a divisive
factor. Multitudes of men and women love it and would die for its
preservation. Indeed, it is no exaggeration of fact to say that
multitudes _have_ died in its defense. There are others who hate the
Book and would go to any length to discredit it, except the extreme
length of martyrdom. It is very natural for men to die for what they
believe, but few men will surrender their lives for what they
disbelieve!
This division is decidedly fitting and proper. Men and women who are
saved by the grace of God recognize the supernatural nature of the Book
that is the means of their redemption. Men and women who are lost,
resent the honesty of that Book in that it condemns their sin and
iniquity.
In our day and age, infidelity has, under the guise of an attempted
scientific refutation, directed its chief argument against the integrity
of the Scripture. Living in an age of science, when all things are again
evaluated in the light of man’s technical knowledge, it is inevitable
that the Bible should come in for this type of investigation. No
exponent of Scripture would wish it otherwise. If the Bible is honestly
examined without prejudice, under any system of truth, it will maintain
its integrity and establish its own supernatural character.
The so-called scientific investigation of the Scripture, however, has
not been made on the basis of credible science. Rather, the prejudiced
enemies have sought to gather from pseudo-scientific claims such help
and hope for their opinions as would bolster their failing school. We
frankly admit that the text of the Bible _does_ refute the fallacies of
men of science. There is a great deal of theoretical speculation
indulged in by men who call themselves scientists, and who march under
the banner of technical learning. In every age, when such fallacious
theories are current, the Bible is necessarily repudiated by the
exponents of those false ideas. Few such men, however, know the Bible,
and their opposition has no lasting effect. This Book does not stand in
_any_ age by human consent, but has been able to maintain itself in
_every_ age by the inherent power of its supernatural character.
The science of archeology has played a great and leading role in
demolishing these fallacies of a pseudo-scientific generation.
As an instance of this, we may note that the theory of organic evolution
is unquestionably incompatible with the record of the Scripture. In the
“dark ages” of biology which began to draw to a close at the beginning
of this present decade, the thoughts of men were so darkened by the
general acceptance of the baseless and unscientific theory of man’s
animal origin, as sadly to handicap capable research and frustrate the
pursuit of real knowledge. We see again, however, that truth, though
crushed to the earth, will rise again. For certainly no one who is
within ten years of being up to date in the facts of biology and the
discoveries of archeology, will contend any longer for the animal origin
of the human species.
The theory cannot be harmonized with the record of the Scripture.
Therefore, in the days of blindness, when this particular theory
possessed the imagination of men, it was used as an argument against the
integrity of the text of the Word of God. This whole problem simmers
down to a simple illustration. In dealing with the origin of man, there
are two horses. The problem of every man is to decide which one he shall
ride. One horse is known by the name of “specific creation,” and the
other is called “organic evolution.”
It is impossible to ride them both at once. In riding two horses at one
time, it is necessary to keep them close together and both going _in the
same direction_. There is no record of anyone who successfully rode two
horses simultaneously when they were headed in _opposite_ directions!
These two premises are irreconcilable. The first is that man was created
in perfection. In the moment of his fiat origin, he was formed by the
hand of God, gifted with all the arts and cultures by a process of
involution. The word “involution” simply means “to come down into.” That
is to say, all of the graces and abilities possessed by man _were
imparted by creation_.
The second theory is that “man has himself consummated a gradual ascent
from a brutish state to our present high and civilized condition.” (If
there were room in such a work as this for sarcasm, we might say that
this is another way of noting that we have left the arrow and the club
for heavy artillery, poison gas and aerial bomb. If one were to wax
facetious, one might be tempted to suggest that if the present condition
of international hatred, mass murder, violated treaties, forgotten
honor, and civilian extermination in the holy name of war, are the best
that evolution can accomplish, we should hand the whole mess back to the
monkeys and ask them to stir up another batch!)
But to remain upon the sober grounds of scientific inquiry, it is not
too much to say that the archeologist speaks upon this problem with
absolute finality. There is nothing theoretical about archeology. _What
you dig up with your own hands, you are inclined to believe._
Some years ago we had a college lad on one of our expeditions who was
strongly addicted to the theory of organic evolution. At the beginning
of the work the lad showed some disposition to argue, and was somewhat
disappointed that we refused to enter into debate with him upon our
differing theories. As day followed day, however, and we got into the
rich contents of burial mounds containing a fabulous amount of ossi,
this lad became deeply concerned with the discrepancies between his
textbook learning and what he saw in his own personal recoveries of
ancient skeletons.
Every time he came to us with some bone that did not fit in with his
classroom theories, we would laugh and say, “Don’t bother us. _You_ dug
that up. This poor bone never read your textbook and it doesn’t know how
you want it to be. Now, which are you going to believe? The schematized
drawing in a textbook written by some professor who never saw a burial
mound, or this evidence that you yourself have acquired by your own
labor?”
At the end of that one summer, this student returned to the campus an
ardent and bitter anti-evolutionist, denouncing the false teachings
which had misled him by means of the printed page.
In a word, other sciences may speculate, theorize and deduce, but
archeology delves and demonstrates. Some of these demonstrations will be
seen in the contents of the following pages. We say _some_: for if all
the evidence from the realm of archeology were massed into one great
volume, no derrick ever built by man could lift its tremendous bulk and
weight. In such a work as this one we are handicapped and embarrassed,
not by the paucity of evidence, but rather by its over-abundance.
Plate 1
[Illustration: Egyptians at a wine orgy]
[Illustration: Crude hieroglyphics on an ancient statue. Depicting
the early development of art and writing]
It shall be the purpose of the following pages to cull and summarize
some of the striking facts of archeology, which demonstrate beyond
question that the Book which men call the Bible is historically
credible, scientifically accurate, and has been derived by inspiration
from the Spirit of God.