August 7, 2017
“New
archaeological discovery contradicts the Bible.” I’ll tell you why headlines
like this are worth double-checking, next on BreakPoint.
We’ve heard a lot about “fake news” this year, and last
week we were treated to a flurry of fake news aimed at the reliability of the
Bible. A
study published in the American Journal of Human Genetics
reported that DNA from 3,700-year-old Canaanite remains closely matches that of
the modern Lebanese. In other words, a major biblical people are alive and well,
still living in the region!
It
was an exciting confirmation of the Bible’s history. But for a dozen or so major
media outlets, it was precisely the opposite.
“Study
disproves the Bible’s suggestion that the ancient Canaanites were wiped out,”
trumpeted the UK Telegraph.
The
Independent declared, “The Bible says Canaanites were wiped out by Israelites
but scientists just found their descendants living in Lebanon.”
And
ABC Online reported: “Canaanites survived Biblical ‘slaughter,’ ancient DNA
shows.”
Even
the journal, Science, joined the debacle with the headline, “Ancient DNA
counters biblical account of the mysterious Canaanites.” Science soon issued a
casual correction, saying, “The story and its headline have been updated to
reflect that in the Bible, God ordered the destruction of the Canaanites, but
that some cities and people may have survived.”
“May
have?” Uh, these reporters might want to re-read their Bibles. Or maybe read
them for the first time. Because far from claiming the Canaanites were wiped
out, Scripture records in numerous places that large Canaanite populations
survived and thrived in the region.
As
David Klinghoffer at Evolution News points out, “The first chapter in Judges
lists all the places in Israel where the Canaanites persisted…‘for they [the
Israelites] did not drive them out.’”
And
in the next chapter, God rebukes Israel for not driving the Canaanites out,
saying “They shall become thorns in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare
to you.” Much of the remainder of the Old Testament is the sad fulfillment of
this prophecy.
Some
Canaanites, like Rahab, who hid the spies at Jericho, converted to the Hebrew
religion and were incorporated into Israel. And in Joshua 9, we learn that the
entire Canaanite city of Gibeon tricked Israel into a peace treaty, and its
people were allowed to stay.
Even
in the New Testament, in Matthew 15, we read of a Canaanite woman who begged
Jesus to heal her demon-possessed daughter. He famously rebuffs her twice before
seeing her “great faith” and granting the request.
And
according to the genealogies of Matthew and Luke, Jesus Himself had Canaanite DNA, as
he was descended from David through Jesse, Obed, and Boaz whose mother
was…Rahab.
All
of this goes to show how biased much of the news media are against
Judeo-Christianity. But it also shows that we’re living in a time of startling
biblical illiteracy.
The
fate of the Canaanites sets the stage for much of the biblical drama. In other
words, knowing it isn’t a matter of being religious, but of having a basic
acquaintance with the most influential book in Western civilization.
So
there are two takeaways here. First, archaeology continues to reinforce key
elements of biblical history. I say this having just read another
report on ancient jug handles in Jerusalem that confirm the
Babylonian destruction and exile. Our faith is based on a real God Who worked
through real events in history, not some dreamtime legend. The Canaanites were
as real as their descendants are today.
Second,
you can’t always believe what you read in the press, particularly when it comes
to the Bible. Open it up, and do your own fact-check. Reporters miss things, but
the story of our faith was authored by a perfect God Who, unsurprisingly, never
has to retract a word.
Missing the Canaanites in Plain Sight: The Media Need
to Read Their Bibles!
Eric
highlights that it’s usually best to double-check the media’s “facts,”
especially when biblical history is involved. Encourage journalists and budding
journalists you know to do their research thoroughly and diligently.
Breakpoint.
