Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1905-05-02
SPADE CONFIRMS THE BIBLE.
Investigations Furnish corroboration
of Stories In Scriptures.


Palestine was until recently a coun-
try closed to all save superficial re-
search by the Biblical scholar. He has
not been able there, as he has In the
Nile and Euphrates valleys, to test the
pictures Of their old Life given in the
Bible with the spade Of the explorer.
He could not prove these pictures
correct by producing the things they
represented from the ruins of ancient
cities
Within the last few years system
attic archaeological research has become
possible in Palestine. The sites Of
several ancient cities have been thor
oughly excavated-among them Gezer,
which, according to the Bible, Solomon
received as part Of the dowry Of his
Egyptian wife, the Biblical Taanach,
on the plain of Negiddo, and the city
of Negiddo ITSELF Prof. z. Sellin Of
the University of Vienna, in the Neue
Kirchliche Zeitschrift, summarizes the
results Of these explorations as they
bear on Biblical problems.
It has become clear. says Professor
Sellin, in substance, that from $500
to 100 B. C. there existed in Palestine
a native culture and civilization dis
tinguishable from the Babylonian,
Egyptian and Phoenicsan types. Evil
dences of an IsraelitiAh period begin
to appear about 1900 B. C.--that is.
about the time when, according to the
Bible, Israel obtained real control over
regions formerly Cansanite or Phil
lstine."
These excavations have furnished
accurate data regarding the Canaan
ite religion; have shown that Its SUI
perstitious and sensusl character Is
correctly represented Ia the Bible, and
have made 1t clear that the life and
death struggle OF the Israelitish
prophets against this religion depict
ed in the Bible was one of self pres
ervation. We see that that contest
was no mere warfare Of sects or Of
schools Of philosophy, but conflict
between systems as different in spirit
as Christianity and paganism.
Despite certain external resemblan-
ces Of rites and ceremonies, more or
less common to all the religions Of
Western Asia, the evidence produced
by the spade confirms the evidence Of
the Bible. Both show that the creeds
Of the >Canaanites and the Israelites
were totally different in spirit--that
between them was a gulf which could
not be bridged-that Israels religion
could thrive only by adopting an at
titude of uncompromising hostility to-
ward all the religions around 1t, The
God Of Israel was not, and could not
be, as the gods Of nations rounda-
bout, though Israel might use the ex-
ternal forms OF these hostile faiths
might adapt them as the Christian
church later adapted the Roman Sat-
urnaIia and other pagan festivals.
"But Israel in appropriating these
FORMS" as Professor Sellin says,
gave them an entirely new and diff
ferent spirit. which can only" he
holds. zoe attributed 10 Divine reye-
lation." whether we go that far with
Professor Sellin or not archaeological
research is making 1t clear that "the
religion Of Israel was not Of a kind,
not even the best of a. kind, but the
only one of its kind That there was
none other like 1t among its neighbors
is a fact proved by the spade Of the
explorer as well as by :he Bible Chi
cago Inter- Ocean.