The Hebrew Stones of North America

According to a news report in the Columbus Dispatch, a recently released DVD, The Lost Civilizations of North America, explores archaeological findings in North America and compares them to ancient civilizations in Egypt, Rome, and Israel. The documentary was featured in the Glenn Beck television program.

The following is an excerpt from the report:

A major focus of the documentary, and Beck's television segment, were the Newark Holy Stones. Discovered in the 1860s by David Wyrick, a Licking County surveyor, the stones contain Hebrew writing and are used by some to prove the link between the prehistoric Americans and Old World civilizations.

The Columbus Dispatch also reports that several archaeologists have released a letter declaring that the producers of the DVD are promoting unsubstantiated claims and that their work represents “fringe archaeological belief.”

As for the Hebrew stones, archaeologists have concluded that they are a fraud and that the stones were carved in modern times. I have not seen this documentary, but I am sure that the documentary is another attempt at proving that the ten lost tribes of Israel came to America some time after the fall of Samaria in 722 B.C.

Read the news report in its entirety here.

Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary


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Tags: Archaeology, Newark Holy Stones, Glenn Beck

The Prophet Amos

During the eighth century B. C., prophecy took a different turn in Israel. After the rise of the prophetic movement in Israel in the days of Samuel, the work and ministry of the prophets who ministered in Israel and Judah changed. That change is clearly described in 1 Samuel 9:9:

“Formerly in Israel, anyone who went to inquire of God would say, ‘Come, let us go to the seer’; for the one who is now called a prophet was formerly called a seer.”

This passage says that early in Israel’s history, an inspired person who spoke on behalf of Yahweh was known as the “seer” (Hebrew ro’eh). Most of the seers were visionaries or clairvoyants who attained prophetic inspiration through ecstatic experiences.

One classical example of prophetic inspiration through an ecstatic experience is the case of Elisha. When Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, wished to consult a prophet of the Lord to know whether he should go to war with the king of Israel, the king of Israel summoned the prophet Elisha, the son of Shaphat, to render an oracle and ascertain whether they should go to war against their enemies

When the prophet came before the two kings, Elisha said: “‘As the LORD of hosts lives, whom I serve, were it not that I have regard for Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, I would neither look at you, nor see you. But now bring me a minstrel.’ And when the minstrel played, the power of the LORD came upon him” (2 Kings 3:14-15). Music helped Elisha enter into an ecstatic mood in order to receive the Spirit of the Lord.

The prophets who began to prophesy in the eighth century were different from the seers. A prophet was overpowered by the Spirit of God and sent to the people with a message received directly from God. The prophet was known as the nabi. The word nabi means “one who is called.”

The early prophets came together in groups, popularly known as “school of prophets,” a term that does not appear in the Bible. The leader was known as “the father” and the followers were known as “the sons of the prophet.” The earlier prophets were political activists. The prophets who began to prophesy in the eighth century were not political activists. Their mission was to proclaim the word of God to a rebellious nation.

When Amos began to preach, he made an effort to distinguish himself from the ecstatic prophets. When Amaziah, the priest of Bethel, tried to stop Amos from preaching at Bethel, Amaziah told Amos: “O seer, go, flee away to the land of Judah, and eat bread there, and prophesy there”
(Amos 7:12). In response, Amos told Amaziah: “ I am no prophet, or one of the sons of the prophets; I am a headman and one who takes care of sycamore-trees” (Amos 7:14).

Little is known about Amos. According to the superscription of his book, he prophesied in the days of Jeroboam, king of Israel (786-746) and in the days of Uzziah, king of Judah (783-742). Amos began to prophesy “two years before the earthquake.” Although no precise date can be given to when this earthquake occurred, it is clear that this was a major event in Israel since this earthquake was remembered two centuries later (Zechariah 14:5).

The severity of the earthquake probably had done much damage to the cities of the Northern Kingdom and caused panic throughout Palestine. It is also possible that those who collected the oracles of Amos realized that the earthquake had validated Amos’ message.

According to the opening words of the book, Amos was from Tekoa, a town that was situated about five miles south of Jerusalem. The town was a strategic location for the defense of the nation. After the death of Solomon and the division of the united monarchy, Rehoboam, Solomon’s son, fortified Tekoa in order to defend against possible invasion from the south (2 Chronicles 11:5-6).

When the word of the Lord came to Amos, he was “among the shepherds of Tekoa” (Amos 1:1). In addition, in Amos 7:14, Amos called himself “a herdsman.” This expression may indicate that Amos and his family possessed both sheep and cattle.

Amos also said that he was “a dresser of sycamore trees” (Amos 7:14). The meaning of Amos’ second occupation has been interpreted differently by scholars. Some scholars believe that the word “dresser” means “to scrape” or to “scratch open” in order to promote fast ripening of the sycamore fig. Others believe that Amos gathered the sycamore figs either for sale ot to use them as cattle fodder.

In light of this information about Amos’ occupation, it is impossible to decide the nature of his economic situation. Was Amos a poor man who needed two jobs to survive? Or was Amos a wealthy man who had sheep and cattle and who was a seller of sycamore figs? The book does not provide enough information for a conclusive answer.

What the book of Amos tells its readers is that Amos did not belong to one of the prophetic guilds in existence in Israel and that he was gainfully employed when the Lord took him from following the flock and said to him: “Go, prophesy to my people Israel” (Amos 7:15). In obedience to the divine call, Amos left his home and what he was doing and went north to proclaim God’s word to a rebellious people.

In a future post I will discuss the call of Amos.


Other Studies on Amos:

1. Amos and Social Justice

2. Amos, Justice, and the NIV

3. The Prophet Amos

4. The Call of Amos

5. Amos’ First Vision and the Power of Intercessory Prayer

6. Amos’ Second Vision and the Repentance of God

7. Amos’ Third Vision and the Plumb Line

8. Amos’ Fourth Vision and the Basket of Summer Fruits

9. Amos’ Fifth Vision and the Judgment of Israel

Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary


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Tags: Amos, Elisha, Prophets, Prophecy

A Special Recognition

I want to thank Jonathan Robinson for this special recognition: he called me the “The Sagely and Saintly Claude Mariottini.”

But I am not sure I deserve such an honor.

Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary


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Tags: Blogging

Merry Christmas

Last night I finally finished grading the research papers for my three courses. I believe grading is the most difficult task a professor has. When students come to seminary, they want to do well and want to receive a good grade in the courses they take. The fact is, although students work hard in class, not every paper submitted to the professor deserves the top grade. I am glad that what one learns in the classroom is not measured by the grade one receives on a paper.

This has been one of the busiest quarters for me in a long time. The reason for the challenges of this quarter was because I had to teach one additional course in the Fall quarter. This was a new course at Northern Seminary. This additional course meant that I had to develop a set of new lectures, read additional papers, and make additional preparation each week.

I have to confess that it was a wonderful course. I had thirty students in my new course “Exploring the Bible.” These students came to my course eager to learn and to develop a deeper appreciation for the Bible, its formation, and its content.

When a teacher has eager students who want to learn, it becomes easier to teach, and the dialogue in class becomes more exciting. Over all, it was a great quarter. Now that the Fall quarter has ended, I can concentrate on other things, like reading books and blogging.

Because of my heavy schedule, regular blogging has suffered this quarter. The reason I did not blog regularly was because of the amount of reading I had to do. Since my academic work required so much time, something had to give. And what had to give was blogging regularly.

I will be taking a few days off to celebrate Christmas with my three sons and my granddaughters. Christmas is always a time of celebration in the Mariottini household and I am glad that my wife and I will be able to spend Christmas Eve in worship and Christmas Day with our children.

I take this opportunity to wish you and your loved ones a blessed Christmas and a happy New Year. Once again, I would like to express to you my appreciation for supporting my blog. I am glad to share with you the results of my study of the Old Testament. At times, you may not agree with what I write, but what I write comes from the heart of a teacher who wants to impart instruction.

Enjoy this Christmas video. It is my Christmas card to you.

Merry Christmas.

Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary


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Tags: Blogging, Christmas

The Messianic Promise of the Old Testament

In a few days, Christians all over the world will celebrate the birth of Christ. The faith of the New Testament believers proclaimed that the baby born in the manger of Bethlehem was the promised Messiah of Israel. This was the song the angels proclaimed the night Christ was born:

Then an angel of the Lord stood before the shepherds, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for see -- I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah” (Luke 2:9-11 NRSV).

The people of Israel, like the aged Simeon, were “looking forward to the consolation of Israel,” the one who would be “the Lord's Messiah” (Luke 2:25-26 NRSV). Christmas time is the most appropriate time to learn the origin of the Messianic hope in Israel.

The Messianic hope of the Old Testament, the hope that found its fulfillment in the birth of Christ, had its origin in the covenant of God with David (2 Samuel 7:1-29). From the perspective of God’s redemptive purpose for the world, God’s covenant with David is one of the most important theological statements of the Bible.

The occasion for the establishment of God’s covenant with David was David’s desire to build a house for God in Jerusalem. The proper understanding of God’s promise to David requires a review of the use of the word “house” in 2 Samuel 7.

The Hebrew word בַּיִת (bayît) appears fifteen times in 2 Samuel 7, seven times as part of God’s promise to David (7:11, 16, 19, 25, 26, 27, 29). The word “house” appears with four different meanings in 2 Samuel 7:1-17. In 2 Samuel 7:1, when the text says that the king dwelt in his house, the word means “the king’s palace.” In 7:5 when the LORD said: “Are you the one to build me a house to live in?” the word means “a temple.” In 7:11, when the prophet Nathan told David that “the LORD will make you a house,” the word means a dynasty that would begin with Solomon and end with Zedekiah. When David spoke of “your servant's house also for the future” (2 Samuel 7:19), the word refers to a lasting dynasty.

Thus, David’s desire to build a house for the Lord was rewarded with a promise that would transcend David’s expectation. The Lord said to David:

Moreover the LORD declares to you that the LORD will make you a house. When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come forth from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom for ever. I will be his father, and he shall be my son. When he commits iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men; but I will not take my steadfast love from him, as I took it from him who was before you, And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure for ever before me; your throne shall be established for ever (2 Samuel 7:11-16).

God made three important promises to David: that David’s throne would be established forever; that a son of David would build a house for God’s name; and that David’s son would become God’s son. These three promises became the basis of all Messianic prophecies in the Old Testament.

Part of God’s promises found fulfilment during David’s lifetime. Solomon, his son, built a majestic house of worship in Jerusalem. David’s descendants became God’s sons by adoption (Psalm 2:7; Isaiah 9:6). But Solomon and the descendants of David who sat on the throne of Jerusalem did not meet all the criteria of God’s promises to David, since God’s promise was that David’s dynasty would be an everlasting dynasty.

With the destruction of the Temple and the deportation of the people of Judah to Babylon, including the members of the royal house, some people believed that God’s promise had failed. In desperation, the people said: “We have become old, dry bones – all hope is gone. Our nation is finished” (Ezekiel 37:11 NLT).

But all was not lost. The prophet Jeremiah promised that after the exile, the people of Israel would again “serve the LORD, their God, and David, their king, whom I will raise up for them” (Jeremiah 30:9). The hope of Israel for the future was based on the birth of a new David who would be born in Bethlehem, just as the first David was born there. The Lord said that from Bethlehem “a king will emerge who will rule over Israel on my behalf” (Micah 5:2).

Several oracles of the prophet Ezekiel speak of the coming of a New David:

Ezekiel 34:23: “I will set up over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he shall feed them: he shall feed them and be their shepherd.”

Ezekiel 37:24: “My servant David will be their king, and they will have only one shepherd. They will obey my regulations and be careful to keep my decrees.”

Even the prophet Hosea speaks of the coming of a new David in the last days: “Afterwards, the people of Israel will return and seek the LORD their God and David their king. They will come with awe to the LORD and to His goodness in the last days” (Hosea 3:5).

All of these oracles connect this coming David with the promise God made to David. Even after the tree of David was fallen, God promised to raise a branch for David: “The days are surely coming, says the LORD, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch” (Jeremiah 23:5).

The hope expressed by Jeremiah was not a new insight gained by the prophet in the seventh century B.C. Nor was Ezekiel’s hope for a new David a new theology developed in exile. The coming of an offspring of David was an integral expectation of the restoration of Israel. This is what David expressed in his last words: “Is it not my family God has chosen? Yes, he has made an everlasting covenant with me. His agreement is arranged and guaranteed in every detail. He will ensure my safety and success” (2 Samuel 23:5).

Thus, in the fulness of time, God’s promise to David became a reality. According to the genealogy of Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus Christ was a descendant of David (Matthew 1:1). The angels proclaimed that Messiah was born in the city of David (Luke 2:11). And eventually, even the people of Jerusalem recognized that Jesus was a son of David: “Hosanna to the Son of David” (Matthew 21:9) and that he was the one bringing back David’s kingdom: “Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David” (Mark 11:10).

God’s covenant with David found its realization in Solomon and all of David’s descendants through the end of the monarchy in Judah. However, God’s promise to David found its culmination in Jesus Christ, because only in him does David’s throne become an eternal throne.

Thus, as Christians celebrate the coming of the son of David, they join with Simeon praising God for the arrival of the consolation of Israel:

“Sovereign Lord,
I have seen your salvation,
which you have prepared for all people.
He is a light to reveal God to the nations,
and he is the glory of your people Israel!"
(Luke 2:29-32).

Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary


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Tags: Hebrew Bible, Christmas, Messiah, David, Covenant, Jesus Christ

The Word “Confess” in the NIV 2010

Matt Dabbs wrote a post studying the use of the word “confess” in the revised NIV (NIV 2010). I have been calling the new version NIV 2011 because it will be published in 2011, the 400th anniversary of the King James Bible. However, since that new revised Bible is already available on line, I guess the copyright will make it NIV 2010, as Matt used it on his post.

The purpose of Matt’s post was to study how the NIV 2010 differs from the NIV 1984 in the translation of the word “confess” (Greek ομολογεω). What Matt discovered was that there were few changes between the two translations. Matt finished his post as follows:

So you can see not all instances were actually a change from the 1984 edition. In many of those places they kept it the same. The toughest place for me on this is the Gospel of John. John is big about confessing Christ both in his Gospel and in his letters. Yet, the 2010 NIV only sees fit to have John use it once. For such a big theme that is a little uncalled for. The context is key. I am perfectly fine with some of their decisions where acknowledge makes perfect sense. But confession implies some things that profess or acknowledge do not (guilt being one) and I think that language still has biblical use, so I hate to see it go in such a wholesale manner as it is in the 2010 NIV.

In a comment on my Facebook page, Matt asked me whether I had done a study of the word “confess” in the NIV 2010 to see if they are refraining from using the word “confess.” I told Matt that I had not done such a study, but that I would do a survey and see what I discovered.

Matt’s concern was that the translators of the NIV 2010 were avoiding the use of the word “confess.” Matt wrote on his Facebook comment: “If you do a search for that word you will quickly see that they chose to rarely use that word.”

If the translator of the NIV 2010 were avoiding the use of the word “confess,” then that would be a matter of concern. So, I decided to investigate this issue and this is what I found. However, I have to confess that my conclusions are provisory, since I do not have a copy of the NIV 2010, but had to check the translation online.

In the NIV 1984, the words “confess” and “confession” appear 19 times in the following verses:

NIV1984

Leviticus 5:5: “confess”
Leviticus 16:21: “confess”
Leviticus 26:40: “confess”

Numbers 5:7: “confess”

1 Samuel 7:6: “confessed”

1 Kings 8:33: “confess”
1 Kings 8:35: “confess”

2 Chronicles 6:24: “confess”
2 Chronicles 6:26: “confess”

Ezra 10:1: “confessing”
Ezra 10:11: “make confession”

Nehemiah 1:6 “confess”
Nehemiah 9:2: “confessed”
Nehemiah 9:3: “confession”

Psalm 32:5: “confess”
Psalm 38:18: “confess”

Proverbs 28:13: “confesses”

Daniel 9:4: “confessed”
Daniel 9:20: “confessing”

NIV 2010

When I checked the same verses in the NIV 2010, I discovered the following: The NIV 2010 uses confess in all but five of these verses. Below is a list where the NIV 2010 differs from the NIV 1984:

1 Kings 8:33: “give praise”
1 Kings 8:35: “give praise”

2 Chronicles 6:24: “give praise”
2 Chronicles 6:26: “give praise”

Ezra 10:11: “honor” (with a footnote indicating another possible translation: “make confession”).

Thus, the NIV 2010 is very consistent in following the translation of the NIV 1984 when it comes to the word “confess” and “confession.” The differences in the five passages can be explained by a brief study of the word “confess” in Hebrew.

The Hebrew word יָדָה (yādâ) can be translated as “confess,” “praise,” and “give thanks.” This is how The Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament explains the meaning of yādâ:

The root verb is employed three basic ways. First, it was used to convey the acknowledgment or confession of sin, individually or nationally. The basic idea was clearly observed in David's personal confession described in Psa 32:5 in which the poetic parallelism demonstrates that confession was making known the sin to God and not hiding it. It is important to note that the confession of sin is to be made to God. The epitome of national confession is found in the Day of Atonement ceremony when the high priest laid his hands on the head of the goat, thereby symbolically transferring the nation's sins on to the goat, while the high priest confessed aloud all the sins of the nation of Israel (Lev 16:21 ). The Hithpael form is normally employed when this verb is used to convey the confession of national sins. This stem was also employed when the great confessions of Israel's sins were made by Daniel (Dan 9:4, 20), Ezra (Ezr 10:1), Nehemiah (Neh 1:6), and the people of Israel (Neh 9:2-3) during and after the Babylonian captivity. National confessions of sin were normally public. God greatly desires that we acknowledge our sins before him (cf. 1Jn 1:9) in order to maintain a proper relationship with him

This means that in these five texts, the NIV 2010 decided to adopt the meaning of the word as “give praise,” rather than adopting the meaning of the word as “confess.” Here is how five translations translate the five verses:

1 Kings 8:33 and 1 Kings 8:35

NRSV: “confess”
RSV: “acknowledge”
KJV: “confess”
TNK: “acknowledge”
HCSB: “ praise”

2 Chronicles 6:24 and 2 Chronicles 6:26

NRSV: “confess”
RSV: “acknowledge”
KJV: “confess”
TNK: “acknowledge”
HCSB: “praise”

Ezra 10:11

NRSV: “make confession”
RSV: “ make confession”
KJV: “make confession”
TNK: “ make confession”
HCSB: “make a confession”

One notices that the versions differ in their translations of the Kings and Chronicles passages, but they all agree in their translation of Ezra.

Finally, one must also note that whenever the NIV 2010 differs from the NIV 1984, they do so because they follow the translation of the TNIV. This then is another place where the NIV 2010 departs from the NIV 1984 to follow the TNIV.

Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary


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Tags: Hebrew Bible, Confess, Confession, NIV 2010

Best of Archaeology 2010

National Geographical News has selected their ten most-viewed archaeological stories of 2010.

Here is their most-viewed story:

Dead Sea Scrolls Mystery Solved?

The recent decoding of a cryptic cup, the excavation of ancient Jerusalem tunnels, and other archaeological detective work may help solve one of the great biblical mysteries: Who wrote the Dead Sea Scrolls?

The new clues, revealed in July, hint that the scrolls, which include some of the oldest known biblical documents, may have been the textual treasures of several groups, hidden away during wartime—and may even be "the great treasure from the Jerusalem Temple," which held the Ark of the Covenant, according to the Bible.

Read the Best of Archaeology 2010 here.

You can read the Dead Sea story here.

Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary

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Tags: Archaeology

Roman Statue Found in Israel

Photo: Roman Statue from Ashkelon




According to the newspaper Ha’aretz, a Roman-era marble statue was discovered in the southern city of Ashkelon. The well-preserved statue is 1.2-meter high, and it was uncovered by the 10-meter waves slamming into a crumbling seafront cliff near Ashkelon.

This white statue of a woman is missing its head and part of a hand. According to archaeologist Yigal Israel of the Israel Antiquities Authority, the statue is dated between 1,600 and 1,800 years ago.

According to Israel, “The woman depicted in the statue is wearing a toga and leaning on a square stone column. Her clothing was chiseled meticulously, her toes are delicate, we see her sandals and her small emphasized bosom. Simply a stunningly beautiful statue.”

CBS News has a video of the statue. However, notice that the video begins with a short commercial for an alcoholic beverage.

Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary


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Tags: Archeology, Roman Statue, Ashkelon, Yigal Israel

Top Fifty Blogs by Theology Professors

The people at Theology Masters blog have put together a list of the Top Fifty Blogs by Theology Professors. It is satisfying to know that my blog was listed at Number 4.

Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary


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Tags: Blogging

The Ark of Noah Will Be Found: In Kentucky

The people who gave America the Creation Museum are planning to give another gift to the world. Answers in Genesis is planning to construct a replica of Noah’s Ark in Kentucky. According to Mike Zovath, a senior vice president of Answers in Genesis, the exhibit will “present accurate, factual biblical information to people about a subject that they’re really interested in.”

According to a news report published in The New York Times, the full-size replica of Noah’s Ark will have real animals and actors who will portray what happened at the time of the flood. The animals, including small giraffes, will be kept inside the Ark. According to Mr. Zovath, there is a reason why they will have only young giraffes:

“We think that God would probably have sent healthy juvenile-sized animals that weren’t fully grown yet, so there would be plenty of room. We want to show how Noah would have taken care of them, taken care of waste management, taken care of water needs and food needs.”

In addition to a replica of Noah’s Ark, “The park will include a 100-foot Tower of Babel, a first-century Middle Eastern village and a journey through the Old Testament, with special effects depicting Moses, the 10 plagues and the parting of the Red Sea.”

The project will cost $150 million and will be completed by 2014.

The people who sponsor the Creation Museum believe that the world is six thousand years old and that creation took six actual days of twenty-four hours each. This commitment to the literal interpretation of the creation story in Genesis 1 is commendable, but it is a misguided commitment.

The people of Answers in Genesis are committed to the literal interpretation of the Bible but they are also committed to the almighty dollar. No one spends $150 million without expecting a profit in return.

Personally, I believe that projects such as the Creation Museum and the Ark Encounter bring ridicule to the community of faith. People who reject the message of the Bible do not need a theatrical presentation to convince them to give their life to Christ.

Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary


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Tags: Noah’s Ark

In Search of Sodom and Gomorrah

Israel National News is reporting that Jordan has signed an agreement with a Russian company to search the bottom of the Dead Sea for the remains of the Biblical cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. According to the report, the search project will begin in late December.

The following is an excerpt from the article published by Israel National News:

Biblical archaeologists have several theories as to where the Sodom and its associated cities were located. According to the Torah, G-d overturned Sodom, Gomorrah, and three other cities because of their degeneration, sin and iniquity, turning a once fertile plain into a stark wasteland. Abraham, who prayed for the cities, was unable to prevent G-d from mandating their destruction. Archaeologists and geologists have suggested that a major earthquake or meteor storm might have been the means by which it occurred. Research has centered on the area around the Dead Sea, and the modern city of Sodom, and nearby Mount Sodom, which is made almost completely of rock salt, is considered the most likely site of the ancient cities.

However, some archaeological evidence has emerged that indicates that the site could be on the east bank of the Dead Sea, with two sites in Jordan - Bab edh-Dhra, and Numeira, both considered viable candidates. The Jordanian-Russian search will center on Bab edh-Dhra, which also has several Christian monuments.

According to Madani, further evidence that the cities remains are located on the Jordanian side of the Dead Sea came after recent NASA photographs of the area indicated that the bottom of the sea is littered with debris and objects not found in other bodies of water. According to the Jordanian, Israel recently sent a submarine down into the Dead Sea in an attempt to explore the bottom of the sea, but discovered that the objects in the NASA photos were on the Jordanian side of the sea. Jordan prevented the Israelis from searching over the border, and now Jordan is seeking to discover what it believes are the remains of the cities by itself.

Personally, I do not believe the Russians will find the remains of Sodom and Gomorrah. The Russians are paying all the expenses of the search in exchange for exclusive rights to film a documentary of the search. To me, this venture is more a publicity stunt than an archaeological search.

Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary


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Tags: Archaeology, Sodom, Gomorrah

Evangelicalism in Today’s America

The Chronicle of Higher Education has published an excellent article titled “Among the Evangelicals,” an article that anyone who is interested in the evangelical movement in America should read. The article was written by Timothy Beal, a professor of religion at Case Western Reserve University. The article deals with the modern evangelical movement in America.

The subtitle of the article, “Inside a Fractured Movement,” reveals the aim of the author. Beal says that instead of being a monolithic movement, evangelicalism in the United States is a diverse, heterogeneous movement, filled with tensions, contradictions, and diverse ideologies.

Beal’s view of televangelists and megachurches reflects what is going on in many evangelical churches today. A study of the five best well-known evangelical celebrities today, T. D. Jakes, Brian McLaren, Joel Osteen, Rick Warren, and Paula White concludes that “these five figures [are] supply-side free agents who succeed not because of their status within a particular ecclesiastical hierarchy but because they are able to market their content, indeed themselves, in ways that embody changing American sensibilities.”

Beal describes the reason these evangelical celebrities succeed in their ministry. He wrote:

These five profiles suggest that the key to success is not theological or political strictness but effective marketing. Indeed, part of what allows these evangelical innovators to be so successful is that they find ways to "overtly avoid (yet subtly address)" potentially controversial issues among their constituents.

In the article, Beal describes the way American evangelicalism adapts its message to new media technologies and popular trends in the entertainment industry. He wrote:

It's impossible to imagine the likes of Osteen or Warren or Jakes without the teams of creators, editors, and marketers who publish them beyond their home churches, in books and on the radio, television, and Internet. It is not too much to say that their media producers actually create and sustain them as pop-culture icons. Their relationships with their publishers in the production of both medium and message are not unlike those of pop-music stars with their labels. Lady Gaga has Universal Music and Max Lucado has Thomas Nelson.

According to Beal, the megachurch service can be compared to a mass-media production show, designed to create an idealized recreation of an entertainment show. Beal wrote:

The worship experience resides as much in the editing and production of the show—in the "slow-motion images of a pastor laying hands on the heads of parishioners and zoom-in shots of a parishioner feverishly taking notes during the sermon"—as it does in the service or the evangelist. Indeed, the megachurch event is rendered an "incarnation" of the television show.

Beal’s article is a good study of American evangelicalism. He concludes his article by inviting researchers to become more familiar with the cultural practices and beliefs of the evangelical movement in America.

My reaction to the article is mixed. I recognize the vibrancy of the evangelical movement in America and how it has touched the lives of thousands of people. No one can dispute the good Rick Warren’s book, The Purpose Drive Life, has accomplished in the lives of thousands of people.

On the other had, it saddens me to read about the lack of theological coherence among those people involved in the movement. Beal tells the story of a person who was participating in a study of Proverbs 11-12. When that person questioned the view expressed in class that the righteous always prospers and the wicked suffers, the leader of the group provided an answer that did not address his concern. Without finding a satisfactory answer, that person ceased coming to the Bible study.

People have real problems that deserve real answers. The lack of theological depth in many of these groups is a detriment to the spiritual growth of the participants and this eventually will lead people to leave the church and seek answers elsewhere. Some people stop going to church altogether while others join cults and strange sects. In the end, the church suffers and the name of Christ is not glorified in the lives of those who leave the community of faith and become critics of the church.

Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary


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Tags: Evangelicals, Evangelicalism, Megachurches, Televangelists

The New NIV and Women in the Church

The New American has a good article that deals with how the revised NIV (NIV 2011) has been received in scholarly circles. One group critical of the NIV 2011 is the Christians for Biblical Manhood and Womanhood (CBMW). The article observes that the Christians for Biblical Manhood and Womanhood has made several criticism of the gender inclusive language adopted by the revised NIV.

Below is an excerpt from the article:

One “significant problematic” issue the CBMW found in the NIV update was the translation committee’s decision to render 1 Timothy 2:12 to read that the apostle Paul did not permit a woman to “assume authority” over a man, rather than “have authority,” which it said was more true to the original Greek. While the translation committee explained that it had sought to retain an openness in translating such traditionally controversial passages so that either “egalitarian” or “complementarian” interpretations could be embraced, the CBMW critics charged that the change served instead to intentionally introduce “a crucial ambiguity that is not found in the original NIV.”

Read the article in its entirety here.

The Revised NIV has come under much criticism, not only because of the use of “generic plurals (them/they) in place of singular pronouns (him/he),” but also for adopting readings that do not reflect the Hebrew text. As I wrote before, I had some problems with the NIV, but it was better than the TNIV. So far, I have been disappointed with the NIV 2011, in the same way I was disappointed with the TNIV.

Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary


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Tags: NIV 2011, TNIV, Bible Translation

The Financial Troubles of the Crystal Cathedral

In a previous post I reported that the Crystal Cathedral had filed for bankruptcy. Now, the Los Angeles Times is reporting that relatives of Robert H. Schuller, the founder of the Crystal Cathedral, and other insiders have received more than $1.8 million in the year preceding the church’s bankruptcy filing last October.

Below is an excerpt of the article published by the Los Angeles Times:

Financial documents filed Wednesday in the Crystal Cathedral bankruptcy case show generous compensation paid to insiders and family members of founding minister Robert H. Schuller in the year before the Garden Grove-based mega-church filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

During the same period, revenue plummeted, and church employees and vendors — from choral members to the livestock company that provided animals for its elaborate productions — were laid off or went without pay.

The church paid out more than $1.8 million to 23 insiders and members of Schuller's family in the 12 months leading up to the Oct. 18 bankruptcy filing, according to the financial statements. That sum included $832,490 in tax-exempt housing allowances given to eight people and payments to all five of Schuller's children and their spouses.

Read the article in its entirety here.

The bankruptcy of the Crystal Cathedral in itself was a tragic event. However, the extravagant expenditure of the money given to support the various ministries of the church is unforgivable. The profligate use of the Lord’s money to support relatives and friends is an abuse of the trust of those who gave their money to support the Lord’s work.

Mega-churches can do a lot of good in reaching people for Christ, but the wealth they accumulate at times may provide an opportunity for corruption to infiltrate into the life and ministry of the church. This embarrassing situation with Crystal Cathedral shames the work of Christ in the world. What happened there is one of the reasons the church is losing its influence in American society.

Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary



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Tags: Crystal Cathedral

The Amish Community Apologizes to the Jewish People

Israel National News is reporting that a group of people representing the Amish communities in the United States have traveled to Israel to apologize for their past anti-Semitism. Below is an excerpt from the news release:

Both in the U.S. and Europe, the Amish have had a history of anti-Semitism, believing that Jews have been “replaced” by Christians and even that Hitler was G-d’s agent in punishing the Jews for their rejection of Jesus.

“We are here to say we are sorry,” [Bishop Ben] Girod told Israel’s Channel 2 News during the group's visit to the Western Wall in Jerusalem. “We no longer want to reject you or look at you as not being G-d’s people. You were G-d’s people long before we were.” Another Amish member said, “Our people have had some bad attitudes toward the Jewish people and have rejected the Jewish people to a certain extent, and we have come to restore that and apologize.”

Read the news release in its entirety by visiting Israel National News online.

This is good news. Christians do not have any reason to be anti-Semitics. Jesus was a Jew and most of the people whose lives are part of the biblical narrative and loved the God of Israel were Semites. We owe this people of faith a debt of gratitude for preserving to us the story of God's work in the world.

Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary


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Tags: Amish, Anti-Semitism