The Exodus Syndrome

[ThePainefulTruth]

In politics, religion and even science, "finding" or manufacturing evidence to support one's viewpoint, and rationalizing it as the ultimate righteousness of one's cause, is an example of The Exodus Syndrome (TES). To use the Exodus as an example, "finding" Egyptian chariots, weapons and skeletons at the bottom of the Red Sea, that aren't there, is justified by the "undeniable truth" that the Bible is God's revealed word. This is also known as the MSU (making *stuff* up) and Ad Hoc logical fallacies, but TES brings to mind a more immediately intuitive name for the issue than the colloquial MSU, or the technical Latin, translation needed, terminology.

There are of course myriad examples of TES (e.g. finding the Ark, Climategate, some of George Washington's religious letters), so please feel free to offer other such instances you can think of which fit the mold, or ones you're using yourself which others might fault you for employing TES. I of course, being an advocate for the pursuit of Truth, am perfectly sin free in this regard.

[rikuoamero]

[Replying to ThePainefulTruth]

You might want to look at Chapter 6 of The World Peace Prophecies at: http://montebenson.wixsite.com/mysite It gives new proof that the Exodus and the Conquest actually happened.

I can already tell you one thing the book has gotten wrong.

The truth is that this book will revolutionize the science verses religion debate.

This is literally the first time I've heard of this book or its author, so explain that how you want!

For instance, it
proves that pain exists because God and His creations made mistakes. He had to learn and evolve.

Singular individuals do not evolve.

Also I love how it tries to 'prove' Old Earth Creationism by talking about the meaning of the Hebrew words from Genesis 1...but (from what I saw) does not even attempt to resolve the conflict with Genesis 2.

[H.sapiens]

[Replying to post 7 by jester32]

I can not take seriously an article that starts off by apologizing for the primary reference authors' lack of credentials by arguing that no one takes them seriously because they lack said requisite credentials. That's usually rather a clear sign that their claims do not stand on their own merit.

[Kenisaw]

[Replying to post 8 by Kenisaw]

I agree, except there is considerable archaeological evidence for the location of Sodom--though it apparently succumbed to natural causes (meteor), to which the evils there and God being the cause, were backed in.

http://popular-archaeology.com/issue/fa ... more-finds

http://members.bib-arch.org/biblical-ar ... iew/39/2/2 (subscription)

Right on, it might be the most likely spot as Collins claims. Too bad he didn't find everything burned to the ground, and since no other city can be found to match the abandonment date of that one, Sodom and Gomorrah is long on tale and short on fact.

[jester32]

[Replying to post 8 by Kenisaw]

There is actually solid evidence for David Rohl's new chronology, and all the major attacks on his chronology have been answered. All the cities the Bible states were destroyed during the conquest were destroyed near the end of the Middle Bronze IIB. Attacks on the reality of the Conquest are addressed in many places, for instance: http://bibleissues.atspace.com/history/conquest.htm

David Rohl documents the evidence for Sodom and Gomorrah in From Eden to Exile on pp. 133-136.

There was a shift from Urban living to pastoral living in the hill country of Canaan between the MB IIB and MB IIC. This was after the conquest, and thus when the Israelites lived in tents in Canaan. They may have taken on much Canaanite culture. Also, how much Israelite remains should we expect to find during this pastoral period?

[Kenisaw]

[Replying to post 8 by Kenisaw]

There is actually solid evidence for David Rohl's new chronology, and all the major attacks on his chronology have been answered. All the cities the Bible states were destroyed during the conquest were destroyed near the end of the Middle Bronze IIB. Attacks on the reality of the Conquest are addressed in many places, for instance: http://bibleissues.atspace.com/history/conquest.htm

David Rohl documents the evidence for Sodom and Gomorrah in From Eden to Exile on pp. 133-136.

There was a shift from Urban living to pastoral living in the hill country of Canaan between the MB IIB and MB IIC. This was after the conquest, and thus when the Israelites lived in tents in Canaan. They may have taken on much Canaanite culture. Also, how much Israelite remains should we expect to find during this pastoral period?

There actually isn't. If you want to accept it as good work, be my guest. I'll stick with the scholarly take that finds his work uninspired and errant. Your link from 2002 is pretty old. You sure there isn't anything more recent than that?

And to point out something from an earlier post, there were no Israelis until, at the earliest, 1200 BC.

[ThePainefulTruth]

[Replying to post 13 by Kenisaw] "Too bad he didn't find everything burned to the ground, and since no other city can be found to match the abandonment date of that one"

But he did. This is from the bottom (BAR) link:

"The violent conflagration that ended occupation at Tall el-Hammam produced melted pottery, scorched foundation stones and several feet of ash and destruction debris churned into a dark gray matrix as if in a Cuisinart.

"The latest Middle Bronze Age layer at Tall el-Hammam consists of 1.5 to 3 feet of heavy ash and destruction debris. A fortified town was then built atop the upper tall in the tenth century B.C.E. All of Tall el-Hammam and associated eastern kikkar sites also lay in ruins for this same period of time—approximately seven centuries. The terminal destruction layer at Tall el-Hammam lies across both the upper and lower tall and consists of a matrix of heavy, dark ash mixed with fragments of pottery, mudbricks, a wide range of object fragments and human bone scatter. Numerous pottery fragments of this matrix lie across the site and have outside surfaces melted into glass, with some bubbled up like “frothy� magma, indicating they were burned in a flash heat event far exceeding 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit. The conflagration must have yielded extremely high heat and effected catastrophic damage."

I question ALL of the supernatural events in the Bible, but it does contain a good bit of verifiable history. And this find appears to do both--denying its divine aspect, while suggesting a very likely historical natural cause.

[jester32]

[Replying to post 15 by Kenisaw]

There is plenty of evidence for the Israelites in Canaan from 1407 B.C. onwards. I suggest you read Chapter 6 of my book at: http://docs.wixstatic.com/ugd/c62dc8_68 ... efb3da.pdf

I think you would be amazed at the evidence if you did. It would not take long to read it. And that chapter gives only an overview of the evidence. David Rohl has written many books that give solid evidence for the Bible.

Another excellent source is:

[ThePainefulTruth]

[Replying to post 17 by jester32]

What evidence? After the very disputed date of 1407 for the fall of Jericho (a time at which it was only a small, unwalled settlement), there's nothing--which happens to match the lack of archaeological evidence for an Israelite invasion of Canaan.

Also, the city of Ai, which was supposed to have been another major conquest at the same time as Jericho, was destroyed c. 2400 BCE, and the site was abandoned until into the Iron Age.

[Kenisaw]

[Replying to post 16 by ThePainefulTruth]

I couldn't open that link. I did find another one for Collins here:
http://popular-archaeology.com/issue/06 ... -for-sodom

He talks about the air burst theory towards the bottom. I could not find any other claim that all the cities in the area were abandoned for 700 years...

[ThePainefulTruth]

[Replying to post 19 by Kenisaw]

The other link, Biblical Archaeology Review (BAR...subscription), is much more extensive, and is what I pasted the relevant quote from, and which puts up relevant references.