The Bible has long been dismissed by some as a book of myths, legends, fairy tales, and propaganda. Yet when we examine the archaeological evidence, its accuracy comes to light, according to Dr. Titus M. Kennedy, a professional field archaeologist and adjunct professor at Biola University. He joined Ian Punnett (Twitter) for the show's latter three hours to discuss evidence for scripture's historical reliability from the dawn of civilization through the early church. In his new book, he includes many of his own photographs of archaeological sites mentioned in the Bible. He looked at specific names of people and locations cited in the scriptures rather than the psalms and parables, which he considers more like poetry and metaphor.
There were a number of alternative narratives to the Noah Flood story, said Kennedy, including the 'Atra Hasis' epic from Mesopotamia, described on ancient tablets (dating back to 1900 BC). The boat detailed in this account was said to be smaller in size than Noah's Ark in the Bible, though animals were brought aboard "two by two," he noted. He also talked about the building of the Tower of Babel from Genesis and how it bears similarity to ancient Mesopotamia's ziggurats.
Kennedy delved into the life of Jesus and what archaeological evidence relates to his existence. The Church of Nativity in Bethlehem is allegedly built over the cave where Jesus was born, some 200-300 years after he lived. There was a community of Christians there almost continuously over that time, so he finds it credible that they would be able to point to some of the most significant locations in Jesus' life. Regarding the account of the three Magi visiting Jesus as a young child, an ancient manuscript uncovered at the Vatican, suggests that it was 12 monk-like mystics, not three and that the "star" they were following was actually a divine light or angel.
'Wow! Signal' Theory
First-hour guest, amateur astronomer, and founder of the Exoplanets YouTube Channel, Alberto Caballero, shared his research into a possible source for the mysterious "Wow! Signal." A radio telescope originally picked up the anomalous signal in 1977 as part of the ongoing search for extraterrestrial intelligence. Caballero said he examined recent data from the region of space where the signal emanated from, specifically looking for stars similar to our sun. He found such a star, "2MASS 19281982-2640123," which may have Earth-like exoplanets capable of sending out a deliberate signal.