AN AGNOSTIC ARCHAEOLOGIST DISCOVERS EVIDENCE FOR THE VIRGIN BIRTH

 

Of the four Gospels, Luke gives the most detailed account of the Nativity and mentions Mary 12 times, more than any other biblical writer. In addition to the birth of Christ, he also gives special, detailed attention to the birth of John the Baptist and many see his gynecological interests to be a result of his training as a physician.

The agnostic Oxford professor and archaeologist, Sir William Ramsay, thought he would scientifically prove Luke to be a bogus, unreliable writer by retracing Luke’s account of Paul’s travels in Acts. However, after years of retracing Luke's account of Paul's travels and doing archaeological excavations along the way, Ramsay completely reversed his view of the Bible and first-century history.

He Sets Out to Disprove Luke

Ramsay, considered one of the greatest archaeologists of all time, was a product of the skeptical, German higher criticism of the 19th century. According to these critics, the New Testament was written in the second century by individuals far removed from the events described and, therefore, filled with inaccuracies, myths, and legends.

Ramsay set out to prove these theories, which he taught and had become accepted as facts in much of academia. However, after many years of archaeological research he became convinced that Acts was written in the first century by Luke, the traditional author, and he acquired a very high regard for Luke as a historian. He wrote,

Luke is a historian of the first rank; not merely are his statements of fact trustworthy, he is possessed of the true historic sense; in short, this author should be placed along with the greatest of historians (Hyatt, Christmas is for Real, 10-11).

In 1896, Ramsay began publishing his discoveries in a book entitled St. Paul the Traveler and the Roman Citizen. The book caused a furor of dismay among the skeptics of the world, for its affirmation of the biblical record was totally unexpected. The evidence was, in fact, so overwhelming that many atheists gave up their atheism and embraced Christianity.

Over the next 20 years, Ramsay published other volumes showing how he discovered Luke to be accurate in the tiniest details of his account. In his book, The Bearing of Recent Discovery on the Trustworthiness of the New Testament, he wrote, "You may press the words of Luke in a degree beyond any other historian's and they stand the keenest scrutiny and the hardest treatment" (Hyatt, Christmas is for Real, 11).

To cite just one example, Luke’s use of the term “politarch” to describe officials in Thessalonica was widely considered to be a bogus term since it was unknown in all other ancient literature. But in his archaeological excavations, Ramsay uncovered the term no less than five times in ancient carvings in the city, demonstrating beyond doubt the authenticity and reliability of Luke’s authorship. 

The evidence piled up and became overwhelming. Ramsay eventually gave up his agnosticism and came to faith in Christ. He concluded that if Luke was this careful to get right the most minute facts about words, dates, roads, waterways, and different cultures, then he could also be trusted to have gotten his facts right about the supernatural things he described such as the Virgin Birth.

Indeed, at the beginning of his Gospel, and just before describing the angel’s visit to Mary, Luke says that he has utilized eyewitness accounts of the events described. The detail Luke presents about the Virgin Birth does indicate that he has derived his information from a primary source, either Mary herself or someone to whom Mary had relayed the intimate details of the event.

Conclusion of the Matter

The famous Oxford historian, A.N. Sherwin-White, carefully examined Luke’s references to 32 countries, 54 cities, and nine islands, finding not a single mistake. The noted New Testament scholar, F.F. Bruce, noted that where Luke has been suspected of inaccuracy by modern critics, archaeology has again and again proven Luke to be right and the critics wrong.

The evidence begs the question that if Luke was this careful to get his facts right about names, places, events and dates, can we not be confident that he was just as careful to get his facts right concerning the more important things about which he wrote, such as the Virgin Birth of Jesus Christ?

Charles Wesley, the Anglican cleric and Methodist revivalist, believed so and wrote his magnificent hymn, “Hark the Herald Angels Sing,” after hearing London church bells ringing as he walked to church one Christmas day. He wrote,

Hark the herald angels sing,

Glory to the newborn king.

Peace on earth and mercy mild,

God and sinners reconciled.

 

Joyful all ye nations rise,

Join the triumph of the skies.

With angelic hosts proclaim,
Christ is born in Bethlehem.

This article is derived from the book, Christmas is for Real, by Dr. Eddie L. Hyatt and available from Amazon and his website at www.eddiehhyatt.com.

TEXAS, THE BIBLE & THE U.S. CONSTITUTION

The inclusion of Bible stories in Texas Public School curriculum is being challenged with the claim that it violates the U. S. Constitution. This, however, is a fallacious claim, based on a contorted interpretation of the First Amendment wrenched from its historical setting.

The truth is that the Bible in public schools is in complete harmony with the thinking of America’s founding generation. This is obvious from the following examples from America’s early history.

The first English Bible printed in America in 1782 included an endorsement from Congress. The producer of this Bible, Robert Aitken, called it, “a neat Edition of the Scriptures for the use in schools.” Congress enthusiastically responded to his request for an endorsement and offered the following recommendation, which was included in this first English Bible printed in America.

Resolved: That the United States in Congress assembled, highly approve the pious and laudable undertaking of Mr. Aitken, as subservient to the interest of religion as well as an instance of the progress of the arts in this country, and being satisfied from the above report, of his care and accuracy in the execution of the work they recommend this edition of the Bible to the inhabitants of the United States and hereby authorize him to publish this recommendation in the manner he shall think proper.

This was neither surprising nor controversial for the Bible was the most popular book in America at the time of its founding. America’s founding generation found in the pages of the Bible its moral compass, its guide for ethics, and the intellectual underpinnings for its worldview.

This is why, on September 5, 1774, the First Continental Congress opened with the reading of the entire 35th Psalm followed by an extended time of prayer. John Adams wrote to his wife, Abigail, of the impact of the Bible reading on the delegates, which included himself, George Washington, Patrick Henry, Samuel Adams, and other founding fathers. He wrote,

It was enough to melt a heart of stone. I never saw a greater effect upon an audience. It seems as if heaven had ordained that Psalm to be read that day. I saw tears gush into the eyes of the old, grave pacific Quakers of Philadelphia. I must beg you to read that Psalm (Hyatt, 1726: The Year that Defined America, 108).

A ten-year study to determine where the founders got their ideas for America’s founding documents discovered that they quoted the Bible far more than any other source (Hyatt, 1726: The Year thatDefined America, 167-68). This is why no one was surprised when George Washington took the first presidential oath of office with his hand on a Bible by which he made clear that he saw this public act as a sacred oath before God.

A December 27, 1982 article in Newsweek magazine, entitled “How the Bible Made America,” highlighted this profound impact of the Bible on America’s founding generation. The authors wrote,

For centuries, the Bible has exerted an unrivaled influence on American culture, politics, and social life. Now historians are discovering that the Bible, perhaps even more than the Constitution, is our founding document: the source of the powerful myth of the United States as a special, sacred nation, a people called by God to establish a model of society, a beacon to the world.

The First Amendment, which reads, “Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion or hindering the free exercise thereof,” was formulated to block Congress from ever establishing a government-run national church. That it was created to keep the Bible out of the public arena, is a new and novel concept rooted in a secularist worldview.

The First Amendment was created to keep government influence out of the church, not the other way around. We must remember the words of John Adams, who as America’s second president, declared, “Our constitution was made only for a religious and moral people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other” (Hyatt, 1726:The Year that Defined America, 168).

This article is derived from Eddie Hyatt's book, 1726: The Year that Defined America, and is available from Amazon and his website at www.eddiehyatt.com. He is the founder of the "1726 Project" whose purpose is to recover America's Godly Heritage of faith and freedom.