Light from the Ancient Past: The Archeological Background of the Hebrew-Christian Religion, Vol. 2 (Princeton Legacy Library)

Archaeological excavations in the Near East have revolutionized our entire conception of ancient history and of the milieu out of which Israel and the Bible issued. For Jews, this new knowledge is of more than academic interest, for it provides a criterion—albeit as yet imperfect—whereby their true, or probable, early history may be distinguished from that fanciful embellishment of it which, in the manner of all folk traditions, forms the basis of their religious beliefs. Religion, to be sure, is in no way affected by a demonstration of the obvious truth that it is based more on subjective constructions of facts than upon the facts themselves. History, however, and historical perspective, can only stand to gain by a distinction between assured data and imaginative fancy. The object of the volume here under review is to present a synthesis of the new knowledge. This volume (Volume II) discusses the new light upon Christian origins, with especial emphasis on the discovery of ancient Biblical papyri and of early catacombs and churches. The work is illustrated by over two hundred excellent photographs and by a series of exceptionally clear maps. It is also fully indexed. Its good points are its happy summarizations of archaeological results in the field, where complicated questions of stratification, topography, ceramic styles, and datings and the like are presented in lucid, non-technical language such as a layman can readily understand. Commendable, too, is the author’s habit of quoting frequently from ancient documents, and always in the best available translations, while the meticulous care with which he invariably cites sources and recent literature may well serve as a model to other writers.