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Insightful Books, part 1 of 2

I have listed below a small bibliography of some interesting and insightful books on a variety of mainly religious themes. While it is generally unwise to judge a book by its cover, the books below can indeed by judged by the distinguished reputations of their authors, many of whom, as one can see from their names, especially if one reads them aloud, are international scholars of high repute.

 

Lord willing, I will supply a few more of these in a few weeks in an upcoming post.  If you have any comparable books to recommend, please feel free to supply their names in the comment section.

Roman Catholicism by I. D. O’Latry

Transubstantiation by Istil Bred

Islam: Religion of Peace by Gno Wei

Jihad: A History by Blough M. Upp

Is Anglicanism Apostate? by Sir Tanley

The New Evangelicalism by Vichy Vashey

Contemporary Christian Music Practices  by Kray Z.

Ellen White: A Life by Fals P. Rofet

Put Your Child in Public School by R. U. Nutts

How To Make Your Spouse Happy by Luv Yu

What Should We Do With the Bible? by Obei Itall

Methodist historian John Clark Ridpath: The Baptist Succession Quote

A number of weeks ago, I posted evidence that the quote by Catholic cardinal Stanislaus Hosius on Baptist succession frequently referenced by Landmark Baptist writers was legitimate, and later I wrote about the Baptist succession quote by the Dutch Reformed writers Annaeus Ypeij and Isaak Johannes Dermout, which is also legitimate. Baptist successionists likewise reference the Methodist historian John Clark Ridpath on the ancient heritage of Baptists.

 

Methodist historian scholar John Clark Ridpath

Methodist historian John Clark Ridpath

 

For example, William Dudley Nowlin, in his book Fundamentals of the Faith, wrote:

 

Church historians agree that Baptist principles and practices can be traced back to Christ and his apostles. Prof. John Clark Ridpath (Methodist) of De Pauw University says “I should not readily admit that there was a Baptist church as far back as A.D. 100 though without doubt there were Baptists then, as all Christians were then Baptists” (Baptist Church Perpetuity by Jarrell, page 59).

If, as this Methodist historian says, “all Christians in the year A.D. 100 were Baptists” and if they had any churches then they were Baptist churches, for a church composed of Baptists is a Baptist church. No logically minded man can escape this conclusion. (William Dudley Nowlin, Fundamentals of the Faith [Roger Williams Heritage Archives, 1922], 316)

 

Did this leading Methodist scholar admit that Baptists were around in A. D. 100?  Yes, he did! As I note in my study on famous Baptist historical succession quotes in context:

 

The quotation comes from Willis Anselm Jarrel, Baptist Church Perpetuity (Dallas, TX: Jarrell, 1894), 58-59.  The text records personal correspondence from Professor John Clarke Ridpath of Du Paw University in response to Dr. Jarrel’s written questions:  “When, where and by whom was the first Baptist church originated?”  … There is no objective reason to suspect the reality and accurate reproduction of the correspondence between Dr. Ridpath and Dr. Jarrel.  This quotation on Baptist succession is also accurate.

 

(By the way, Jarrel’s Baptist Church Perpetuity is a good book which is well worth reading.)

 

Thus, this Methodist historian provided further evidence, as did the Roman Catholic and Dutch Reformed historians Hosius, Ypeij, and Dermout, that Baptists did not originate at the time or after the Protestant Reformation, but are the true churches with continuity from the first century until the present time, in accordance with Christ’s promise that the gates of hell would not prevail against His church (Matthew 16:18). Both Scripture and history affirm Baptist succession.

 

TDR

Evangelistic / Apologetic Pamphlet for Buddhists on Buddhism

Since there are many Buddhists in the San Francisco Bay Area, and not a great deal of literature available to reach them with the gospel of Jesus Christ, I have written an evangelistic pamphlet for Buddhists. You can view it at the link below:

 

The Buddha and the Christ:

Their Teachings Compared

 

Because Buddhism does not consider the sovereign, Almighty God important for its religious system, the presentation of the gospel is designed to be especially God-centered, explaining the work of the Trinity to reconcile sinners.  It also seeks to assume that someone has no preexisting knowledge of the BIble or of Christianity, as is the case with great numbers of Buddhists.

 

Both the persons of Buddha and of the Lord Jesus Christ and their respective teachings are compared.  The evidence overwhelmingly favors Christ, to the detriment of Buddhism.

 

If your church does not already have something to evangelize Buddhists, let me encourage you to add it to the resources available on your tract or pamphlet rack.  An easy link to keep in mind with many different resources for the various world religions and groups in Christianity is also available here.

 

Learn when Buddha lived; how much we know about what he did and taught; the evidence, or lack thereof, for the truth of Buddhist Scriptures; the preservation, or lack thereof, of Buddhist Scriptures; the evidence, or lack thereof, for the many teachings of Buddhism; and how these compare to the evidence for the Bible and for the Lord Jesus Christ as the crucified and risen Lord.

 

TDR

“I’m sorry” vs. “I repent”

We often hear someone say, “I’m sorry,” after doing something wrong, or something that the person does not think is wrong but the person he is speaking to thinks is wrong.”  When one man says “I’m sorry” to another, the response can cover the range from “I’m sorry that I sinned against God and against you, because this is a godly sorrow, it will lead me to repent,” to “I’m sorry that you feel the way you do right now,” to “I’m sorry I got caught sinning,” to “I’m sorry that you are bothering me with your ridiculous complaint, and I wish you would go away and leave me alone–I didn’t do anything wrong.”

“I’m sorry.”

That range can be seen in the texts that contain the word “sorry” in Scripture.

 

child I am sorry crying

For example, Saul wants people to feel sorry for him when he is plotting evil, pursuing innocent David, and killing other righteous people right and left:

 

1Sam. 22:8 That all of you have conspired against me, and there is none that sheweth me that my son hath made a league with the son of Jesse, and there is none of you that is sorry for me, or sheweth unto me that my son hath stirred up my servant against me, to lie in wait, as at this day?

 

King Herod was sorry when he was asked to behead John the Baptist:

 

Matt. 14:9 And the king was sorry: nevertheless for the oath’s sake, and them which sat with him at meat, he commanded it to be given her.

 

In fact, Herod was not just a little bit sorry.  He was really sorry:

 

Mark 6:26 And the king was exceeding sorry; yet for his oath’s sake, and for their sakes which sat with him, he would not reject her.

 

Herod was “sorry.” Really sorry. He could have said to John, “I’m sorry about this,” and then gone ahead and ordered the guard to chop off the Baptist’s head.  He was “sorry,” but he certainly did not “repent.”  Being even “exceeding sorry” is not the same thing as being repentant.  Being “sorry” is simply saying that you have “sorrow” over something–whether that thing is your sin, or whether you are sorry that you didn’t get away with your sin, or whether you are sorry you can’t sin even more, is not expressed.

 

“I repent.”

 

Scripture does not say that if one sins against a Christian brother, he is supposed to say, “I’m sorry.” It does not say that when a child sins against another child, the sinning child should be made to say “I’m sorry.” Scripture says that when one sins against another, the sinning party is to say, “I repent.”

 

I repent turn around U turn

 

Luke 17:4 And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him.

 

This is not the place to do a comprehensive study of the Biblical doctrine of repentance, but the evidence provided here and in many other places indicates that genuine repentance always results in a change.  If I sin against you and say, “I repent,” I am telling you that what I did was sinful, and by God’s grace I will not do it any more.  I have sinned against heaven and in your sight.

 

If I say “I’m sorry,” I may mean the same thing as “I repent.”  On occasion being “sorry” is associated with repentance:

 

Psa. 38:18 For I will declare mine iniquity; I will be sorry for my sin.

 

2Cor. 7:9 Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance: for ye were made sorry after a godly manner, that ye might receive damage by us in nothing.

 

The sorrow of the Corinthians did lead to their repentance–that was good. But note that Paul specifically states that he was not glad that they had been made “sorry.”  He was only glad that they had repented as a result of that sorrow.  So even here, where sorrow and repentance are associated, they are still distinct.

 

Have I ever said “I’m sorry” when I meant “I repent”? Yes, I certainly have. Do I condemn parents who tell their children, when the children sin against another, “Say you are sorry!” No, I do not condemn such parents.  If someone sins against me and then says, “I’m sorry,” must I think the best (1 Corinthians 13) and assume he means “I repent,” and therefore forgive him, as commanded in Luke 17:4?  Yes, I certainly must forgive him, even though he did not say what Christ told him to say: “I repent.”

 

However, maybe we all ought to reevaluate our use of language in the light of Scripture, and start saying “I repent” instead of “I’m sorry” when we sin against another person (and also use this language when we confess our sins to the Lord).  Saying “I’m sorry” is easier than saying “I repent.” There is a lot more wiggle room in “I’m sorry.” Maybe we should start telling our children to say “I repent” instead of “I’m sorry.”  This is the pattern in Scripture, and it is always good to stick as closely to Scripture as possible.

 

TDR

Eastern / Buddhist Meditation Harms You, Psychologists Agree

In our world today people often assume that meditation, as practiced by Buddhists or other advocates of Eastern religion, is healthy and beneficial.  Areas of society where Christian religion are excluded are often open to Eastern meditation, although it is just as religious–albeit a different (and false) religion.

Buddhist monks meditation / meditating

Eastern meditation is diametrically opposed to the godly and Biblical practice of meditation.  Eastern meditation involves emptying the mind, while Biblical meditation, commanded in Joshua 1:8, Psalm 1, and many other texts, is a crucial part of the Christian life that involves carefully and actively employing the mind to carefully ponder God and His Word for the purpose of living for God’s glory.  Eastern meditation, evaluated by Scripture, opens one up to the influence of demons.

 

Scripture is sufficient to teach that Eastern meditation is evil and harmful. However, even secular psychologists are now issuing many warnings, warnings that do not get sufficient public notice. Modern psychology itself is unbiblical, dangerous, and has way too much pseudoscience, but it is nevertheless interesting that, for example, Cheetah House, which is affiliated with organizations such as Harvard Medical School, Brown University’s Mindfulness Center, Tufts University, the UK’s National Health Service, has published a list of 59 health dangers from practicing Eastern meditation, as well as compiling an extensive bibliography of peer-reviewed studies discussing the dangers of Eastern meditative techniques.  To quote from my pamphlet “The Buddha and the Christ: Their Teachings Compared:

 

[A] shockingly high percentage of “regular meditators experience negative effects,” and among people who meditated only one time nearly 10% “experienced impaired functioning,” while “nearly 60%” of those who “experienced negative effects … were meditation teachers. Some even required inpatient hospitalization. … People’s demons come out and play[.]” (Christ Lyford, “Is Meditation as Safe as We Think? The Risks We Don’t Talk About.” Psychotherapy Networker 46:1 [January/February 2022] 11-13.)

 

Many people become Buddhists because of the alleged benefits of Buddhist meditation, rather than because careful study indicates that what Buddha said is actually true. The reality is that what the Buddha taught is not true, and Eastern meditation is harmful, as proven by Scripture and validated by science.

 

TDR

Piankhy (Piye) Victory Stele & Isaiah 18

The video below about the Piankhy (Piye) Stele, commented on by leading Egyptologist and evangelical scholar James Hoffmeier in situ at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, Egypt, forms the topic of this post.  I have already posted Dr. Hoffmeier’s discussion of Darius I Hystaspes’ Suez Inscription and Hoffmeier’s discussion of the famous Mernephtah Stele.

 

The Piankhy (Piye) Victory Stele or Stela narrates Nubian King Piankhy’s victory over both Upper and Lower Egypt. It is the foremost historical inscription of the Egyptian Late Period. Some modern scholars have concluded that the king whose name was traditionally read as “Piankhy” was really “Pi” or “Piye.” It is possible that the Nubian form was “Pi” or “Piye” while the Egyptians understood it as “Piankhy.”

The Piankhy Victory Stele Validates Isaiah 18, which describes the actions of King Piankhy:

 

Woe to the land shadowing with wings, which is beyond the rivers of Ethiopia: That sendeth ambassadors by the sea, even in vessels of bulrushes upon the waters, saying, Go, ye swift messengers, to a nation scattered and peeled, to a people terrible from their beginning hitherto; a nation meted out and trodden down, whose land the rivers have spoiled! (Isaiah 18:1-2)

Watch the video on YouTube by clicking here.   Watch on Rumble by clicking here.


I make further comments on the stele in my expanding “Evidence for the Bible from the Land of Egypt” post as well as in the Rumble and YouTube descriptions at the links above.

Lord willing, I will continue to post Dr. James Hoffmeier’s discussions relevant to validating the truth of the Bible from our fantastic trip to Egypt with Tuktu Tours.

TDR

 

The Gospel In the Stars and the Gospel in the Bible

The Gospel in the Stars!

The gospel is in the stars! So say a number of books, such as the Lutheran minister Joseph A. Seiss’s The Gospel in the Stars and the Anglican ultradispensationalist soul-sleep advocate and flat-earther E. W. Bullinger’s The Witness of the Stars, following Ms. Frances Rolleston’s book Mazzaroth: the Constellations. (Amazon affiliate links).  These advocates have been copied in modern times by people like the Presbyterian evangelical D. James Kennedy and Institute for Creation Research leader Henry Morris.

 

southern cross consellation gospel stars seiss bullinger mazzaroth rolleston

Baptists, however, have traditionally held with conservative Protestants that general revelation in creation is not saving. It reveals God’s power and glory (Romans 1), but the gospel is only revealed through His special revelation in Scripture. The “heavens declare the glory of God,” but only through special revelation does salvation come: “the law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul” (Psalm 19:1, 7).

 

It is clear that the Baptists are wrong and the Lutherans, ultradispensationlists, and women Bible teachers are correct. After all, just look at the picture above. You can just look at it and understand that Jesus Christ, the second Person of the Trinity, became Man, died a sacrifical death for the sins of the world, and then rose victoriously from the grave, so that you could receive eternal life by repentant faith alone in Him (1 John 5:7; John 1:1-18; 1 Corinthians 15:1-4; Romans 3:23-28).

 

Right?

 

Or maybe not?

 

The picture above is from the constellation called The Southern Cross. Without my telling you that–in words–would you have even known that there is supposed to be cross in that picture?

 

Let’s say you could see that some of the stars there have the shape of a cross if you squint just the right way. Would that mean that you understand the gospel? How many Catholics that worship before a crucifix understand the gospel? Would anyone understand the gospel by simply looking at the picture of a cross, or would someone need to explain to him in words what the cross means? Have people understood the gospel by looking at a cross on a church building?

 

How many people do you know have been truly born again by looking in the sky and understanding the “gospel in the stars”?  How many heathen have rejected their idols and astrology and false gods because of the “gospel in the stars”? What if the number is “zero”?

 

Let’s say another group of stars in the sky forms a circle, so someone decides that it looks like the fat belly of an idol of Buddha. Does that mean “the gospel of Buddha” is written in the stars?  What is another group of stars looks like the letter “Q.” Is that predicting the Quran?  One can draw lines between stars that look like anything.

The Gospel in the Bible!

Does the Bible tell us that the gospel is in the stars as well as in Scripture? The word “gospel” appears 104 times in 98 verses in the Bible: Matt. 4:23; 9:35; 11:5; 24:14; 26:13; Mark 1:1, 14–15; 8:35; 10:29; 13:10; 14:9; 16:15; Luke 4:18; 7:22; 9:6; 20:1; Acts 8:25; 14:7, 21; 15:7; 16:10; 20:24; Rom. 1:1, 9, 15–16; 2:16; 10:15–16; 11:28; 15:16, 19–20, 29; 16:25; 1 Cor. 1:17; 4:15; 9:12, 14, 16–18, 23; 15:1; 2 Cor. 2:12; 4:3–4; 8:18; 9:13; 10:14, 16; 11:4, 7; Gal. 1:6–9, 11; 2:2, 5, 7, 14; 3:8; 4:13; Eph. 1:13; 3:6; 6:15, 19; Phil. 1:5, 7, 12, 17, 27; 2:22; 4:3, 15; Col. 1:5, 23; 1 Th. 1:5; 2:2, 4, 8–9; 3:2; 2 Th. 1:8; 2:14; 1 Tim. 1:11; 2 Tim. 1:8, 10; 2:8; Philem. 1:13; Heb. 4:2; 1 Pet. 1:12, 25; 4:6, 17; Rev. 14:6.

 

I have listed below all the references where the word “gospel” is associated with looking at the constellations in the sky:

 

 

 

 

If you didn’t get it, here is that complete list again, in bigger font:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The gospel is not in the stars. The books at the beginning of this post do cite Scripture sometimes, but they take it totally out of context when they attempt to prove that the gospel is in the stars. The gospel is not in general revelation–it is in special revelation. General revelation condemns; it cannot save. The idea that the gospel is in the stars is unbiblical and false. If you have picked it up somewhere, reject it, along with the other evil teachings of those promoting the gospel in the stars, such as Lutheranism, ultradispensationalism and soul-sleep. Be thankful for Henry Morris’ defense of creation, but reject his false idea that the gospel is in the stars, as well as his willingness to work with the Seventh-Day Adventist cult and anyone else who accepts creation and rejects evolution, pretty much no matter what heresies they believed in on other matters.

 

If you don’t understand the gospel, click here to find out what it is in the Bible.  Search the Scriptures to understand the gospel–it is there, very clearly, all over the place. Thank God for His wisdom and power when you look at the stars, but do not expect to find the gospel where He has not revealed it.

 

The following are some additional resources on the claims of the Gospel in the Stars:

Dave Hunt, The Gospel in the Stars

Danny Faulkner, The Gospel Message: Written in the Stars?

Charles Strohmer, Is There a Christian Zodiac, A Gospel in the Stars?

 

TDR

 

Jehovah’s Mercy is Holy–Chesed to the Chasidim

A core term for Jehovah’s mercy or lovingkindness in the Old Testament is chesed (חֶסֶד).  This crucial term for the mercy Jehovah shows His people appears in texts such as:

 

Gen. 19:19 Behold now, thy servant hath found grace in thy sight, and thou hast magnified thy mercy, which thou hast shewed unto me in saving my life; and I cannot escape to the mountain, lest some evil take me, and I die:

 

Ex. 34:6 And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth,
Ex. 34:7 Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.

 

Psa. 13:5 But I have trusted in thy mercy; my heart shall rejoice in thy salvation.

 

Psa. 23:6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.

 

Psa. 26:3 For thy lovingkindness is before mine eyes: and I have walked in thy truth.

 

Psa. 118:1 O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: because his mercy endureth for ever.

 

and many other texts.

 

The Hebrew chesed, “mercy/loving-kindness/goodness,” is related to the word chasid (חָסִיד), meaning “holy/godly/faithful.” The ultra-orthodox Jews who claim (falsely, unfortunately, as you cannot be holy and reject the Messiah, the Holy One that did not see corruption, but was raised from the realm of sin and death, Psalm 16:10, after His sacrificial death, Psalm 22; Isaiah 53) to be especially holy are called the Chasidim, practicing Hasidic Judaism. This word chasid appears in texts such as:

 

Deut. 33:8 And of Levi he said, Let thy Thummim and thy Urim be with thy holy one, whom thou didst prove at Massah, and with whom thou didst strive at the waters of Meribah;

1Sam. 2:9 He will keep the feet of his saints, and the wicked shall be silent in darkness; for by strength shall no man prevail.

2Sam. 22:26 With the merciful thou wilt shew thyself merciful, and with the upright man thou wilt shew thyself upright.

 

Mic. 7:2 The good man is perished out of the earth: and there is none upright among men: they all lie in wait for blood; they hunt every man his brother with a net.

Psa. 4:3 But know that the LORD hath set apart him that is godly for himself: the LORD will hear when I call unto him.

Psa. 12:1 Help, LORD; for the godly man ceaseth; for the faithful fail from among the children of men.

Psa. 16:10 For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.

 

What is the significance of this connection? The man who is the recipient of Jehovah’s chesed–His covenantal mercy and loving-kindness–becomes one who is holy, chasid, and who himself practices chesed, mercy, towards others.  There is no such thing as someone who has received Jehovah’s saving chesed but is not a chasid, a holy man.  Are there degrees of holiness? Certainly. Can believers experience spiritual decays and backslidings? Sadly, yes.  Is there such a thing as one who has received Jehovah’s saving mercy who is not holy–one who has received chesed who is not chasid? No, emphatically not.

 

This fact should encourage those who have received Jehovah’s blessed chesed to pursue holiness in a greater way–it is what God saved you for. He has united you to the resurrected Holy One (Psalm 16:10) and you are judicially holy and certain to grow in practical holiness, practicing chesed yourself, being merciful as your heavenly Father has shown you mercy, since the Holy Spirit sweetly influences your mind, will, and affections.  You have received God’s chesed and have become a chasid.

 

If you are not a holy one, but are still a sinful, unchanged worldling, do not deceive yourself into thinking that you have received Jehovah’s chesed.  All who have received His chesed become chasidim, holy ones.  Mercy and holiness from the holy God of mercy are inextricably joined.

 

Someone who does not understand basic Bible teaching like this is not “apt to teach” (1 Timothy 3) and should learn the basics of Christianity before he has any business in the Christian ministry.

 

TDR

Consider Fighting Inflation with Safe 7.12% and 9.62% Interest Rate I-Bonds

Because of our current high rates of inflation, Inflation-protected Treasury Bonds (I-Bonds) are set to earn 7.12% interest for the next sixth months, followed by 9.62% interest the six months after that. In addition to mutual funds with Christian values, which tend to adjust to inflation in the longer-term, but, as with all mutual funds, can have big swings in the shorter term, someone who wanted a guaranteed rate of return might find these US treasury bonds attractive.  I view their security as comparable to FDIC insurance. If you have confidence your money in your checking account is not going to disappear, the money in the I-bonds is not going to disappear unless the US government defaults on its debt, which is probably not going to happen in the short term, at least (and, while the high rate of inflation is terrible, it reduces the real value of our national debt, and so actually is a debt-fighting strategy–devalue the currency to devalue the debt–albeit an immoral one that repays lenders with currency worth less than what they lent out).

 

You can purchase up to $10,000 in I-bonds a year, per person (corporations can buy $10,000 each as well) and get up to $5,000 back on your tax return in I-bonds.  Whenever you sell them, you lose the last three months of interest if you have held them for under five years–after five years you don’t lose any interest.  So if inflation suddenly comes under control and their rate of return declines correspondingly (I’m not super hopeful), it would be wise to hold them for at least 15 months so you don’t lose out on the 12 months of high interest. You also can’t sell them before holding them for a year, so only tie up money you won’t need for at least a year.

 

I believe that churches, as charitable organizations, can also buy up to $10,000 a year, and a church school, as a separate entity, could do so as well.  There may be ways for individuals to buy $10,000 worth and donate them or get refunded for them by a church that wanted to get a lot of these instead of having inflation eat up their savings account, but I have not extensively looked into this possibility (feel free to post anything useful in the comment section of this post in this regard).

 

You do not pay federal taxes on I bonds, but you do pay state and local taxes, I believe. (I am not a tax advisor.)

 

To lock in the 7.12% and 9.68% rates, you need to buy them before the end of April.  So you might want to look into doing this soon.  The interest rate is very attractive.

 

Get more information or buy I-bonds online here.  I am thankful for Doctor of Credit for bringing this opportunity to my attention.

 

By the way, while I believe Biden is doing a terrible job, high inflation was just about inevitable after the insane increase in the money supply and crazily low rates of interest that we have had for years. If Trump had won, we would still have had high inflation right now, in all likelihood, although perhaps not quite as high, if Trump and Congress had not spent so much money this last year (by Trump not helping two Republicans lose in Georgia, flipping the Senate to the Democrats, and giving the Democrats a unified government so they could spend even more recklessly). Trump was “lucky” to lose and not be the one who gets the blame for the foolish money policy the USA has been pursuing for years.

 

TDR

Egyptian Evidence for the Bible: The Merneptah Stele (Pharaoh Mer-ne-Ptah) by Egyptologist James Hoffmeier

The video below about the Merneptah Stele, commented on by leading Egyptologist and evangelical scholar James Hoffmeier in situ at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, Egypt, forms the topic of this post.  Last week I posted Dr. Hoffmeier’s discussion of Darius I Hystaspes’ Suez Inscription. The Merneptah Stele or Stela is powerful and early corroboration of Israel’s presence in Canaan. In the words of agnostic Egyptologist William Dever:

 

“The Merneptah Stele is … just what skeptics, mistrusting the Hebrew Bible (and archaeology), have always insisted upon as corroborative evidence: an extrabiblical text, securely dated, and free of biblical or pro-Israel bias. What more would it take to convince the naysayers?” (Source cited here and more information)

 

I would encourage you to watch this video. Then you can tell skeptics who doubt the historicity of early Israel’s presence in Canaan that you have seen the stele mentioning them in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.  If you want to see the Merneptah Stele with your own eyes, going to Cairo with Tuktu Tours and Dr. James Hoffmeier in person is a great way to do it.  You can also see a nice picture of the Merneptah Stele in the PDF of my work on the Old Testament and archaeology here.

 

View the video on YouTube by clicking here, or on Rumble by clicking here, or watch the embedded video below:


If you want to know when more of these go live, please subscribe to my YouTube and Rumble channels. You can also comment on and “like” the videos and share them with others, including on social media like Truth Social, Twitter, and Facebook (if you have accounts on them–I don’t, nor do I intend to get any), actions which will boost their visibility to search engines. Thank you.

 

I intend to place all these videos on FaithSaves.net as well as they are prepared.

 

TDR

 

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