Category Archives: Ancient history

Ancient history, book reviews

Egypt – eternally fascinating

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There is trouble in the land of the Egyptologists. The history of Ancient Egypt remains a fascinating topic for a large number of people. The significance of Egypt as a partner and antagonist for the nation of Israel is undeniable. But academia at large, and Egyptologists in particular have been reluctant to admit what has become increasingly obvious over the past 20 years – the accepted chronology of Egypt must be drastically revised. The chronology of Israel, by contrast, has a high degree of confidence among scholars. It appears that the Ancient Egyptians have succeeded for a century or more in hoodwinking the rest of the world by exaggerating the antiquity of their dynasties. Velikovsky pointed out many of the problems in the 1950s and 1960s, but was dismissed (unfairly) as a crank. In the 1990’s, David Rohl and Peter James offered new evidence documenting the dating problems and offering several new revised timelines that would better fit the data. We sold Rohl’s Pharaohs and Kings through Greenleaf when it came out. I wish it were still in print.
Unwrapping PharaohsThere’s a new book that picks up the argument, reinforces and advances the investigation and presents an update to the proposed “new chronology” of Egypt. The book is Unwrapping the Pharaohs by John Ashton and David Down. This is an exciting time for Egyptologists! The field is wide open and ripe for new discoveries, new analysis, and new ideas. The crux of the Ashton-Down book is a revision of the Egyptian timeline and an exploration of the new synchronicities which occur. The text is beautifully illustrated with lots of new color photographs, taking full advantage of the recent discoveries in Egypt made during the last 20 years. Also included with the book is a DVD with 86 minutes of foot filmed on location in Egypt. On pages 205-210 of the book is the payoff – a proposed detailed revised chronology which eliminates the First Intermediate Period and drastically shortens the Third Intermediate Period. This makes Hatshetsup a contemporary of Solomon (and possible the Queen of the South?) and Rameses II (Rameses the Great) a contemporary of Jeroboam II. Ashton-Down agree with Rohl in asserting the the Plagues of the Exodus (especially the destruction of Pharaoh’s army in the crossing of the Red Sea) are the reason for the astonishing conquest of Egypt by the Hykos c. 1440 BC. For all those who are interested in Egypt, and especially those looking for evidence that confirms the biblical account and reconciles Egyptian history with the biblical dates, I highly recommend this book.

Imagining EgyptA second book on Egypt, also high recommended, is Imagining Egypt by Mark Millmore. The book combines stunning color photography of Egyptian monuments with computer graphic recreations of what the Egyptian temples and villas would have looked like in ancient times. In addition, the book includes a wonderful chapter with a detailed explanation of the system of symbols used in hieroglyphic inscriptions. In addition to the computer graphic recreations of ancient monuments, the book also includes current photographs, original diagrams, maps, and timelines. A fascinating book that helps us to imagine what Egypt looked like at the height of its glory.

-Rob Shearer,
Director, Schaeffer Study Center
Publisher, Greenleaf Press

Ancient history

The gods must be angry

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A group of humans experience natural disasters. They conclude that “the gods must be angry.” They also conclude that regaining the favor of the gods requires a sacrifice.

This logic is as old as recorded human history. It is a recurring and defining pattern of human behavior. It does not offer any conclusive proof about the existence of the gods, but there seems to be overwhelming proof of man’s need for the explanatory story of the gods behavior.

To put it another way, man (on overwhelming evidence across many places and many times) appears to be wired for a belief in the gods. I’m at a bit of a loss to conceive of an evolutionary advantage for this belief, but then, since I’m not a “believer” in the gods of evolution, this is not personally troubling.

But most moderns are quite proud of their “sophisticated” accomplishments and view with some disdain the “primitive” ideas of ancient (and not so ancient) cultures. Especially their quick resort to supernatural explanations for natural disasters and their rush to propitiate the gods.

I would submit to you, however, that most moderns are wired the same way as all other humans, and though they may dress up their underlying fear that, “the gods must be angry” with moden vocabularly and sophistication, they are living the functional equivalent of the egyptians babylonians canaanites, mayas, aztecs, and others.

For moderns, the “angry god” is gaia, mother earth. Our sins are as black as carbon and must be paid for. Mother Earth demands a sacrifice or she will destroy us all.

Torrential rains in NYC? Humans are at fault.

Earthquake in Utah? again, its us evil humans (of course those in the SUV’s are the most guilty)

Bridge collapse in Minneapolis? Again, forgive us gaia, we have sinned.

C.S.Lewis once observed that, “every age gets the science that it wants.”

The 20th century wants to believe that the evils that befall us are the fault of the capitalist sinners of advanced western economies.

The truth is, we really DO feel guilty. Because we really ARE guilty. But its not our carbon footprint that is the problem. It is our rebellion against the one true GOD. Our selfish hearts have chosen rebellion and disobedience. And we know we have sinned. We feel guilty because we ARE guilty. But buying carbon credits will not fix the problem.

God does not want a mechanical transaction to clear up the ledger books. God wants us to lay down our arms, turn around, and enter into a relationship with him. He does not call us to keep a set of rules. He wants a relationship with us.

And that relationship begins with an acknowledgement of the man, Christ Jesus. Fully God and fully man. The incarnation of God, who makes it possible to have that restored relationship with God.

Don’t trade your birthright for a mess of carbon credits. It is not gaia who needs to be propitiated. It is not gaia who will save us.

It is God himself, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who calls us to come to Him.

 – Rob Shearer
    Director, Schaeffer Study Center

Ancient history

Thoughts on human sacrifice

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Human sacrifice in Europe has been in the news lately. The following two stories are representative examples, one from the National Geographic news service, the other from LiveScience. AOL picked up the LiveScience story and included it on its sign-on screens for part of one day this week. 

Human Sacrifice Clues Found in European Stone Age Burials

Common Stone Age graves in Europe that include the remains of physically disabled people hint at ritual human sacrifice there, a new study says.

Early Europeans Practiced Human Sacrifice

Europe’s prehistoric hunter-gatherers may have practiced human sacrifice, a new study claims.

[. . .] The diversity of the individuals buried together and the special treatment they received could be a sign of ritual killing, said Vincenzo Formicola of the University of Pisa, Italy.

“These findings point to the possibility that human sacrifices were part of the ritual activity of these populations,” Formicola wrote in a recent edition of the journal Current Anthropology.

The news is neither shocking nor surprising. Human sacrifice has been widespread across cultures and through the ages. The prevalence of the practice points to a widespread shared belief that our alienation from God is deep and serious, and that our guilt before God (God’s righteous anger and judgement) cannot be easily assuaged. This widespread, shared belief is not easily dismissed as simply a primitive supersitition.

In fact, most human cultures have practiced human sacrifice. It is not, unfortunately, a thing of the past. It is reappearing in the new millenium. It was the coming of Christianity which put an end to human sacrifice. And it is the waning of Christian influence in the west, which is allowing it to re-emerge.

The evangelion of Christianity is that God himself provided the uiltimate, voluntary human sacrifice – that God himself became incarnate as a man, and offered himself as a subsitute for us, so that we might be reconciled.

Apparently the writers of these stories are without a trace of irony when they solemnly intone that “The new findings could mean the hunter-gatherers were more advanced than once thought.”

The findings are only surprising if you share the modern prejudice that we, of the current age, are obviously much more sophisticated, advanced, and evolved than all who have gone before us.

The truth is, human nature has only ever changed dramatically once – when Adam and Eve ate the apple and acquired a knowledge of good AND evil. Since then we have all shared the same nature. Our technological abilities have waxed and waned (The Ancient Egyptians and the Romans were quite advanced in many ways), but human nature has not changed. Man is still both noble and cruel. He bears the image of God, yet is a slave to sin.

And the solution to man’s predicament has not changed either – we cannot change ourselves. We cannot please God with our own offerings, not even a human sacrifice – for no human is spotless and perfect. We cannot save our selves. We can only be saved.

And that is why Christians for 2,000 years have sung and recited the following: 

Agnus Dei, qui tolis peccata mundi, miserere nobis.

Lamb of God, who takes away sins of world, have mercy on us.

– Rob Shearer
   Director, Schaeffer Study Center
 

Ancient history

News from Ancient Egypt

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You wouldn’t think that there would be much left to discover of Ancient Egypt. But, you’d be wrong. New discoveries are added every year. And old theories often have to be revised – or even abandoned.

News from EgyptEgyptian civilization flourished from about 2500BC until about the time of the close of the Old Testament in 500BC. It was overrun by the Assyrians about 600BC, Alexander the Great in about 300BC and finally the Romans in about 40BC.

When the Arabs displaced the Romans in about 600AD, Egyptian culture disappeared from the radar of western civilization.

The language of the Ancient Egyptians was completely lost and many of the cities of the Nile valley were abandoned and then covered by drifting sands.

Today, I noticed the story associated with the picture above. My point in linking to it is to remind everyone that what we know of ancient Egypt is, in many respects still incomplete and based on conjecture. Hieroglyphs were deciphered only about 170 years ago. Many of the archives are still being recovered, transcribed, and translated. There are clearly still lots of sites unexplored.

In particular, the chronology of Ancient Egypt is still very much a speculative exercise. The evidence that establishes firm dates in the history of Israel is much more complete than it is for Egypt.

Those who subscribe to a biblical world-view need not be threatened by new discoveries from Ancient Egypt. Indeed, we should be excited. Its likely, indeed probable, that evidence of the Patriarchs and the sojourn of Israel in Egypt is still there – waiting to be discovered. There have been tantalizing hints over the past 40 years. Who knows what the next 40 might bring?

You might start with this wikipedia article, if you’re interested in Egyptian chronology.

Here’s another interesting article, with the provocative title, Unsolved Problems in Egyptology. Students of history should know that there are lots of opportunities out there for anyone interested in pursuing a career.

For those who really want to delve into this, I highly recommend the research of Egyptologist David Rohl. A pretty good place to start on Rohl and his new chronology, would be this article. Be forewarned, Rohl is a maverick, and controversial.

While one must always be cautious in reading a wikipedia article, they are often a valuable overview of a topic and provide both links to further information and often some assesment of the pros and cons associated with any controversial issue.

-Rob Shearer
  Director, Schaeffer Study Center