Digging for Truth Podcast

Dr. Mark Farnham joins Henry to talk about some basic apologetics for the ordinary Christian. Dr. Farnham is Professor of Apologetics at Lancaster Bible College in Lancaster, PA. Every Believer Confident - Book link You Can't Get Rid of God - DFT podcast episode

Dr. Scott Stripling joins Henry to talk about one of his latest academic studies, which analyzes the archaeological remains of crucifixion victims. Along with his co-researcher, Dr. Jonathan Moore, they found some new insights into how people like Jesus were crucified, that may challenge how we typically picture in our minds what it looked like. Dr. Jonathan Moore on Digging for Truth TV

Henry takes a deep dive with Dr. Hans Madueme about his book "Defending Sin: A Response to the Challenges of Evolution and the Natural Sciences" Defending Sin - book link Dr. Madueme on Digging for Truth TV

Henry and paleontologist Dr. Marcus Ross talk about the book: Perspectives on the Historical Adam and Eve: Four Views , which include: the Non-Historical Adam and Eve View (Kenton L. Sparks), the Mytho-Historical Adam View (William Lane Craig), the Genealogical Adam and Eve Model (Andrew Loke) and the Recent Adam and Eve View (Marcus R. Ross).  Monstrous Mosasaurs and the Bible - Digging for Truth TV Dr Wood Digging For Truth Podcast episode The Historical Adam & Eve | ETS 2023 (4 parts) - Reasonable Faith

ABR staff members Bryan Windle and Tommy Chamberlin join to talk all about the people and places in history that are related to the Christmas story. Top 10 Discoveries Related to Christmas - Bible Archaeology Report Quirinius, an Archaeological Biography - Bible Archaeology Report Who were the Magi? - Bible Archaeology Report

Ted Wright from Epic Archaeology joins Henry to offer some counterarguments to a previous episode we did on possible locations for Noah's Ark, and shares some of his research that he has done on Mt. Ararat and the surraounding region on his many expeditions there.  Babylonian "Oldest Map of the World" - British Museum The Epic of Gilgamesh & the Bible - Ted Wright The Case for Ağrı Dağı/Masis as Biblical Mt. Ararat - Randall W. Younker Noah's Ark in the Mountains of Urartu - DFT Podcast with Nate Loper Is Noah's Ark on This Mountain? - Bible and Spade Magazine

Dr. Mark Farnham, a professor from Lancaster Bible College, joins Henry to talk about apologetics, evangelism, and a little bit about karma. Every Believer Confident: Apologetics for the Ordinary Christian - book link

It's so easy to find differing opinions on the first two chapters of Genesis. Were the days of creation literal days? Are there contradictions between chapters 1 and 2? Did those chapters have different authors? Dr. Cornelis van Dam joins to talk about the authority of scripture, and how we should be listening to what is in Genesis 1 and 2. In the Beginining: Listening to Genesis 1 & 2 - Book link

ABR has had a few questions come in along the same lines recently including: did the Israelites just take God, YHWH, out of a pantheon of gods, or Canaanite gods and adopt Him as their God? Is YHWH the right name to use for God? The King James Bible uses Jehovah sometimes, is that right? Is the King James Version the best English translation? What about the ESV?  Henry breaks down these questions along with some written responses from ABR's president, Scott Lanser.

Where did Abraham receive his call from the Lord? Was it Ur? or Harran? Both? And which city of Ur was it? Dr. Matt Glassman joins to discuss the pros and cons of the two different cities of Ur, and which one Abraham may have lived in. In the Footsteps of Abraham - Podcast with Bryan Windle

Where do Neanderthals, Homo Erectus, and other skeletal remains fall into a timeline that fits a creation model? Were Neanderthals created in the image of God? What criteria makes someone human? Dr. Todd Wood explores these questions in a recent paper he co-authored with Dr. Marcus Ross, and joins to discuss them with Henry.  "Human History from Adam to Abraham" - Scientific paper by Dr. Todd Wood & Dr. Marcus Ross Homo Naledi - Digging for Truth TV Let's Talk Creation Podcast - Dr. Wood with Paul Garner Praise to the Lord, The Almighty - performed by Taryn Harbridge

ABR receives questions all the time about history and the Bible. Sometimes those get responses in ABR's magazine Bible & Spade. Questions like: What does it mean when a thousand years is like a day? How long is a day when in Genesis it talks about evening and morning? Did Moses use multiple sources when writing the book of Genesis?  If you have a question about anything related to Biblical history or archaeology, you can ask ABR by emailing comments@biblearchaeology.org   Bible & Spade Magazine Daniel 9 Project - Rick Lanser Is this the Face of God? - Biblical Archaeology Review

Henry and Dr. Brian Peterson look at the "Genesis mandates" in Genesis 1 and 2, and how the rejection of those mandates has led to the decline of sexual ethics in our post-modern world.  The Bible, Sexuality and Culture - book link The Authors of the Deuteronomistic History - book link

Have you ever wondered what the natural world was like before the flood? And how does that line up with the imagery we have in our minds about the animals on Noah's Ark? Paul Garner joins to discuss his book "The Fossils and the Flood" and gives a picture of what the old world may have been like, with floating forests, and the ancestors of modern animals that may have been on the ark.   Fossils and the Flood - book link Let's Talk Creation - podcast

Genesis 6:1-4 talks about the sons of God and the Nephilim. Everyone likes to talk about the Nephilim, but who were these sons of God? Dr. Tim Chaffey joins to discuss in depth about the spiritual realm and the sons of God, and how that can then help understand who the Nephilim were.   Fallen: The Sons of God and the Nephilim - book link The Unseen Realm - book link

Is there evidence for the Israelites time in Egypt and their Exodus? Dr. Titus Kennedy joins Henry to talk about a number of artifacts and locations that are consistent with the Exodus that happened in the Bible.  Unearthing the Bible - Titus Kennedy

There is somewhere around 4000 years of history associated with Mount Moriah and the Temple Mount in Israel, and Dr. Scott Stripling joins to discuss it all. Well, a lot of it anyway.  King David's Tabernacle - Digging for Truth TV The Temple Mount Sifting Project The Quest - book by Leen Ritmeyer on the Temple Mount The Copper Scroll Project - Shelley Nease Frankie Snyder assembles Opus sectile tiles from Temple Mount - Jerusalem Post Temple Mount Revisionism - Digging for Truth TV

Bryan Windle walks us through the archaeology and discoveries related to the death and resurrection of Jesus.  Cave of Gethsemene - Joan Taylor Three Tombs of Jesus - Bible Archaeology Report The Shroud of Turn - Digging for Truth TV The Top Ten Discoveries related to Easter - Bible Archaeology Report

Nate Loper from Canyon Ministries joins to discuss a few possible locations for the resting place of Noah's Ark, including Mt. Ararat, Durupinar, and Cudi Dagh (Mt. Judi).   3D map of Mt Cudi/Judi - created by Nate Loper Is Noah's Ark on This Mountain? - Bible and Spade Magazine Noah's Ark Articles - BibleArchaeology.org

Archaeologist Dr. Gary Byers joins Henry to discuss the ancient history of the Philistines, and find out if there is any connection to modern Palestinians.    Who Were the Philistines - Digging for Truth TV

Henry Smith got a chance to have a conversation with the late Dr. Kevin Anderson about the iDINO project and the finding of soft tissue in dinosaur bones that are supposed to be completly fossilized and mineralized. The research is still continuing to produce interesting results that challenge the evolutionary paradigm that says that dinosaurs lived and died millions of years ago. Dinosaur Soft Tissue - Is Genesis History clip iDINO Project Tribute to Dr. Kevin Anderson Mary Schweitzer on 60 Minutes - full segment

In late 2023, three peer-reviewed academic articles were published in the Israel Exploration Journal that attempt to cast doubt on the authenticity of the Mt. Ebal curse tablet discovered in 2019. The lead archaeologist of the project that discovered this defixio, Scott Stripling, joins Henry to respond to these criticisms and thories, including the proposition that the lead curse tablet is actually a lead fishing weight.   Round Table discussion on Mt Ebal discovery - Digging for Truth The Times of Israel - article about IEJ articles The Mt. Ebal Curse Tabled Defeated? - video podcast with Sean McDowell You are Cursed by the God YHW - Original Heritage Science Journal article

Brian Windle joins Henry to talk about a number of places and archaeology related to the birth of Christ.  The Archaeology of Christmas - BibleArchaeologyReport.com

Does the conquest of Canaan by the Israelites amount to genocide? Henry discusses this question in the greater historical context with Dr. Jordan Ballard who has studied this topic in depth. 

Bryan Windle and Henry Smith discuss places and discoveries related to the life of Abraham from the book of Genesis. And Bryan discovers something that he should probably add to his list.    Top 10 Discoveries Related to Abraham - BibleArchaeologyReport.com Where God Came Down with Joel Kramer - Digging for Truth TV

The lifesize replica of Noah's Ark built by Answers in Genesis has given people an opportunity to view how the animals could have all fit in one space, with food, water and how waste management could have worked. Tim Chaffey joins Henry to talk about it, and also some of the various aspects of the Biblical account of the flood. arkencounter.com Grand Opening Ark Encounter - WKYT News  

The are lots of frequently asked questions about places and events in the Bible, so we thought we'd start to talk about some of them, starting off with Who were the Nephilim? Where is the Garden of Eden? Is there archaelogical evidence for the Tower of Babel? Where are Sodom and Gomorrah?

Dr. Kennedy joins Henry to talk about the evidence related to Jesus' birth, life, death and resurrection, and about his book: Excavating the Evidence for Jesus: The Archaeology and History of Christ and the Gospels.   Quirinius and the Birth of Christ - Digging for Truth TV Jesus and the Mythicists - Digging for Truth TV

Nate Loper joins Henry Smith to discuss the long historical timeline of the relationship between Egypt and Israel, starting with Abraham and going all the way into the early church period.    Egyptology articles - BibleArchaeology.org

Bryan Windle from the Bible Archaeology Report joins Henry to discuss his top ten list of discoveries that are related to Moses and the Exodus. Top 10 Discoveries Related to Moses and the Exodus - Bible Archaeology Report

The resurrection is the defining historical event related to Christianity, so how can you have a discussion with someone about that? Ted Wright from Epic Archaeology joins Henry in a discussion about apologetics, and tools to help give a reason for the faith in Jesus. Ted lays out four questions to help when discussing: Does truth exist? Does God exist? Are miracles possible? and is the New Testament reliable? If the answer is yea to all four, then that is pretty solid logic to be standing on during a discussion about faith.   

Controversial topic alert! Henry Smith has been working on ABR's Genesis 5 & 11 Chronology Project, which has a main goal of determining if Genesis 5 and 11, and other directly relevant biblical texts, can result in a calculable chronology of human history from Adam to Abraham. But in studying the source material in different Biblical manuscripts, these numbers in the Genesis 5 & 11 genealogies don't match between the Masoretic Text, the Septuagint and the Samaritan Pentateuch. So then the question becomes, who changed these texts? and why? Which then leads to controversial theories like the ones Henry Smith discusses on this episode.    Genesis 5 & 11 Project articles MT, SP, or LXX? Deciphering a Textual and Chronological Conundrum in Genesis 5

Why is the Bible composed of the current 66 books instead of others? Why are there so many translations? And what is canon anyway? Henry Smith talks with Dr John Meade about these questions and his book that he co-authored with Dr. Peter Gurry called Scribes & Scripture: The Amazing Story of How We Got the Bible.   Scribes & Scripture - buy link

How does day-to-day archaeology work? Bryan Windle got to dig for the first time at the ancient city of Shiloh in Israel, and talks about his experience, how the archaeological process works, and some of the small discoveries that were made while he was there at the dig site.   DigShiloh.org

How old is the Earth? 4.5 billion years? or more like thousands of years... Geologists Dr. Andrew Snelling discusses how scientists use radiometric dating and carbon-14 dating to determine the ages of things, and the assumptions that are used in those scientific calculations.    Does Radioisotope Dating Prove that the Earth is Old? - Is Genesis History How Can Carbon-14 Be Evidence for a Young Earth? - Is Genesis History  

Bryan Windle joins Henry Smith to discuss his list of the top ten archaeological finds relating to the New Testament.    Top Ten Discoveries Relating to the New Testament - Bible Archaeology Report

Does the Bible condone slavery? Dr. Josh Kline joins to discuss the background and historical nuance in the Bible and other cultures around the world. And spoiler alert, everyone agrees that slavery is wrong. 

Henry Smith, Scott Lanser, and archeologist Dr. Scott Stripling have a round table discussion on ABR's most important artifiact ever found, an ancient curse tablet found on Mt Ebal in an altar that dates back to the time of Joshua. They talk about the Biblical context, wet sifting technology, analysis of the proto-alphabetic writing on the inside of the tablet, and how that writing on the inside is now the oldest Hebrew text ever found in Israel, and its implications.    You are Cursed by the God YHW - Heritage Science Journal article Joshua's Altar on Mt Ebal - DFT TV Scott Stripling on Centerpoint -  Mt Ebal tablet find announcement 

Henry talks with Archaeologist Dr. Titus Kennedy about his book Unearthing the Bible: 101 Archaeological Discoveries That Bring the Bible to Life. Don't worry, we don't talk about all 101 things, but just a few highlights.  Dr. Titus Kennedy Bio Unearthing the Bible - Purchase link

The Old Testament was written thousands of years ago, and then was copied, re-copied, translated and even updated or modernized for the times. How did that all work? Dr Peter Gentry, a fellow wth the Text and Canon Institute discusses a whole bunch of questions related to the history of scriptural preservation.   textandcanon.org  

There are lots of lists out there ranking the top archaeological discoveries. Pastor Bryan Windle brings his list of discoveries directly related to people, places and events in the Old Testament, or relating to the composition of the Old Testament itself.    Top 10 Discoveries Relating to the Old Testament - BibleArchaeologyReport.com

The largest tel (or mound) in Israel is over 200 acres, and is the ruins of an ancient city that probably most people haven't heard of - Hazor. Henry Smith had a chance to be part of the excavation there and talks about his experience, and what makes Hazor an important historical site.  Hazor-Excavations.org  

The story of Queen Esther taks place in Persia and is remembered every year in March during the Jewish holiday called Purim. Dr. Todd Bolen joins to discuss some the archaelogy of the Persian Empire that is related to Esther that he got to witness when he visited Iran.  Hammurabi Stele Xerxes (King Ahasuerus) - DFT TV Cyrus the Great - DFT TV

Does the Bible condone Killing? Critics say that the Jews commited genocide in the Promised Land when the killed all the Canaanites. And what about Christian crusaders? Didn't they kill a lot of people during the Crusades in the name of God? And what about Islam? They have Jihads, holy wars, and kill in the name of Allah. Then Nazis killed millions of Jews in the name of no god, Atheism.  Dr Josh Kline joins Henry to discuss killing in the Bible, and throughout world history, with the apparent contradiction to the commandment: thou shalt not kill.   Genocide in Canaan (Part 1) - DFT TV Genocide in Canaan (Part 2) - DFT TV  

Did Jesus exist? Setting aside whether Jesus is the son of God and savior of the world for a moment, is there real evidence that he existed as a human in history? The short answer is yes, say historians, but there is a small movement out there that claims Jesus was a myth. Dr. Craig Evans refers to these people as mythicists, and talks with Henry Smith about what they claim, and the evidence against it.    CraigAEvans.com Earliest reference describes Christ as 'magician' - Magic Cup Fabricating Jesus: How Modern Scholars Distort the Gospels Jesus and the Remains of His Day

Morality… where does it come from? Where do good and evil come from? Do they come from God? Does God exist? Deep questions that shape our worldview, and the worldview of Western Civilization borrows heavily from the Judeo-Christian worldview. Henry Smith and Dr. Josh Kline discuss these and other questions related to morality. Dr. Kline is an educator, teacher of world history and western Civ, and is an elder at Grace Gospel Church in Allentown, PA.   Biblical Worldview: Meaning and morality presentation Worldview Foundation & Formation - DFT TV

In the 1880s an archive of clay tablets was discovered in Amarna Egypt. These tablets contain interesting correspondence from the kings of Canaan that were paying tribute to the pharoah in Egypt, and they take place during the early time of when the Israelites were conquering the promised land. Henry Smith discusses the contents of these letters with Dr Scott Stripling, archaeoligist and director of excavations at the dig at Shiloh, Israel. And spoiler alert, Dr. Stripling has a new theory about a connection to Shiloh that might be mentioned in the Amarna Letters.    Genocide in Canaan (part 1) - DFT TV Genocide in Canaan (part 2) - DFT TV Tyre and the Tel El-Amarna Tablets Articles on the Conquest of Canaan

Noah's Ark, the Ark of the Covenant, Mt. Sinai... Many have claimed to have found these things, but how can you know if they are right? Espcially if there are more than one location that has been found? And what about relics that have been found and are put on display in churches? Like pieces of the cross from Jesus' crusifixion, or the crown of thorns - You can see them, but are they the real thing? We discuss some of these claims and suggest caution when someone makes a claim that they have found something significant.    Fake News in Biblical Archaeology - Bible Archeaology Report Shroud of Turin - DFT TV Noah's Ark in the News 2010 Noah's Ark in Iran?  

Pastor Bryan Windle joins Henry Smith to talk about some of the archaeology of the Christmas story, related to King Herod and the town of Bethlehem.   Unearthing the Prophecy of Jesus' Birthplace - Joel Kramer The Christmas Story: How Well Do You Know It? - DFT TV The Archaeology of Christmas - Bible Archaeology Report For those interested in the Shiloh Excavation - DigShiloh.org

Why are genealogies in the Bible? And why are the genealogies in Genesis so weird? People don't live that long, so they couldn't possibly be literal numbers, right? Henry Smith discusses a bunch of these questions from his many years of study of Biblical genealogy.    Genesis 5 & 11 Project Proposed Timeline of Earth's History according to Genesis (with Septuagint numbers) Primeval Chronology Restored

The Grand Canyon in Arizona is a prime spot for geologists to research the layers of Earth's history. But if you're a Creationist, you might have a harder time getting permission to research there because your theroies don't conform to the mainstream thinking about how the world was formed, including ideas about a historical worldwide flood from the story of Noah's Ark.   Henry Smith chats with geologist Dr. Andrew Snelling from Answers in Genesis about his research in the Grand Canyon, and also his experience of worldview descrimination while attempting to gain permission to retrieve rock samples for geological study.    The Fight for 53 Rocks News about upcoming documentary - The Mountains After the Flood   Music in this episode is from The Grand Canyon Suite, composed by Ferde Grofé