Indiana Jones and Biblical Archaeology

From exotic tales of treasure-hunters to intriguing History Channel documentaries, archaeology has long captured the public imagination. Of course, digging for ancient artifacts never looked better than when it involved Indiana Jones.

Indy, complete with dusty fedora and bullwhip, has returned to the big screen after a 19-year hiatus in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. As always, his adventures take him out of the hushed environs of the classroom and library and into the dark and dangerous world of the antiquated and the paranormal. Bad guys are never far behind and one never knows what mythological power is waiting to be unleashed.

The legendary, mysterious nature of ancient civilizations, in addition to romanticized folklore of modern times, lends archaeology a mythical status. In reality, the fieldwork in archaeology is much less eventful than Indy’s escapades—but its results much more poignant.

Archaeology as we know it is a relatively new practice. According to Randall Price, author of The Stones Cry Out, “The earliest ‘archaeologists’…were grave robbers who plundered the tombs of antiquity…in search of buried treasure.” The quest for ancient relics began primarily as a mercenary profession focused on “fortune and glory.” Gradually, it morphed into a science concerned with preserving history, rather than destroying it.

When the word “archaeology” first appeared in the 1600s, it was in association with ancient Israel and the Bible. Prices states, “From the beginning, the idea of archaeology was linked to the Bible,” but eventually its umbrella extended to include other civilizations and time periods, and biblical archaeology became its own branch of study.

Although the Ark of the Covenant has yet to be rediscovered outside of Hollywood, archaeology provides important keys to the Bible’s historical accuracy and context, and our interpretation of its original languages. Price claims this field’s purpose, as regards Scripture, is “to confirm, correct, clarify, and complement the Bible’s theological message.” It confirms our understanding of God’s word and corrects us when we have interpreted something incorrectly. It also clarifies our vision of the civilizations described in the Bible, particularly ancient Israel. And it also complements Scripture by filling in blank spaces and expanding information in areas where the Bible does not elaborate.

However, Christians must not assume that archaeology proves the validity of the Bible’s truth-claims and spiritual messages. To begin with, the actual amount of artifacts recovered is small compared to the areas that remain unexplored due to lack of funding and personnel, and political tensions. More importantly, however, it is essential to remember that archaeology is about history, not theology. As Indy himself puts it in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, “Archaeology is the search for fact, not truth.”

Price puts it another way, “While archaeology is of great help to the understanding of the Bible, those who use archaeology with this purpose in mind must avoid using material evidences to critique the authenticity or accuracy of the Bible.”

When I asked RTB apologist and author Krista Bontrager about this, she said, “What we can say is that the stories of the Bible have historical ‘support’ and ‘corroborate’ with Scripture. We just want to avoid words like ‘prove’ and ‘authenticate.’”

The facts of archaeology support the truth of Scripture, but in the end, “it must be remembered that the Bible itself is our finest example of an archaeological document.” Archaeology functions best, as Price puts it, “as a handmaiden to the Bible,” illuminating our interpretations of language, thoughts, and customs.

For further information on the Bible and archaeology, see Alfred J. Hoerth’s Archaeology and the Old Testament.