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Millennia Fever "What Shall be the Sign of Thy Coming? And of the end of the world?" (Matthew 24:3) |
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The Remarkable Testimony of Sir William M. Ramsay (1851-1939) Sir William Ramsay (1851-1939) was a classical scholar and archaeologist, "the foremost authority of his day on the topography, antiquities, and history of Asia Minor in ancient times." He was also one of the foremost authorities in the study of the New Testament, especially the Book of Acts and the letters of Paul. Two of his books are still in print, St. Paul, The Traveler & Roman Citizen, and The Seven Letters to the Seven Churches. Numerous other books and articles are to his credit, many of which are unsigned. Ramsay wrote for the Encyclopedia Britanica, Hasting's Dictionary of the Bible, and The Journal of Hellenic Studies. Most notable and characteristic of his work is his monumental book entitled, The Historical Geography of Asia Minor. Perhaps the most interesting thing about Ramsay is his personal testimony of his conversion to Christ. Ramsay was a scholar of the first order. His love of learning and his straight A's earned him recognition from his professors. He became increasingly interested in Hellenism. When the opportunity arrived to travel to Greece and Turkey, he jumped at the chance. However, having been schooled in the 'German' method of modern 'Higher Criticism', Ramsay believed he could discover and unearth evidence to disprove the historicity of the Biblical account. After many years of digging and writing and research he concluded that indeed the Bible was accurate. He focused his attentions in Greece and Turkey and established that Luke's Gospel and the Book of Acts (both written by Luke) are historically accurate. Author D.J. Kennedy summarizes the situation thus; "Many archaeologists have been convinced by their own findings that the Bible is an astonishing book... some even to the point of becoming Christians. Sir William Ramsey, for example, was a wealthy atheistic English archaeologist who was determined to disprove the Bible. He spent many decades over his diggings and published book after book, first confirming the Word of God, and finally declaring that he had become a Christian as a result of his findings! Of course, the unbelieving world was aghast... Like our media today, which chooses to splash any apparent findings that contradict the Bible across every magazine cover and newspaper, but ignore the numerous findings that support it, the Jesus Seminar and other institutions of "Higher Criticism" continue to battle the mounting evidence that the Bible is,Ê indeed, the very Word of God." Some of the accusations the higher critics were leveled against the New Testament. These accusations centered on the historical accuracy of public figures mentioned in the Gospel account. The higher critics were fond of saying that there was no evidence of Herod or Herodias. What Ramsay found was that indeed just below the surface, archeological digs would show that time and again, the Gospel accounts could be verified. Archeological digs have found inscriptions on stones and coins mentioning both Herod and Herodias, and titles such as proconsul, used in Acts 18:12, (once thought to be made up by the author of the Book of Acts, but now known to have been used in those times and places.)  Sir William Ramsay was one of the first in the modern era to undertake a careful and scientific archeological expedition, but he has been followed by many. Today, archaeological digs are verifying even more of the Biblical account. To date, not one stone has turned up anything that flatly contradicts the Biblical account.To trace the life of Ramsay is to see a pattern that has been played out by many. He was educated at the best schools, the universities of Aberdeen, Oxford and Gottingen, Exeter College, Oxford, and Lincoln College. In 1885 he was elected professor of classical art at Oxford, and in the next year professor of humanity at Aberdeen. Yet despite his vast knowledge and education, his thinking had been molded by the biases of his teachers. Only a dogged determination for truth would free Ramsay from the bonds of his teachers' prejudices against the God's Word, the Holy Bible. Eventually Ramsay changed his mind, and had a change of heart. He came to believe that the Gospel of Luke was actually written by Luke, and that the account there in was historically accurate. Having come to this conclusion, Ramsay's only rational alternative was to surrender his life to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. When Ramsey returned to England from Greece, Turkey, and the Holy Land, he was a changed person. Before leaving on his archeological expedition he was a mocker of the Gospel and a persecutor of believers. When he returned he was an informed and outspoken advocate of Gospel truth! Since Ramsay's time many discoveries have been made that bolster the case for Biblical Historicity. Recent archaeological discoveries include both the Pool of Bethesda and "The Pavement " of John 19:13. The existence of them was doubted just a few decades ago. The accuracy of the setting of Jacob's well has also been verified. The recent recovery of a Roman census similar to the one in Luke 2, re-enforces the idea the Luke took great care in writing his Gospel. Some additional extra-Biblical sources from the first centuries that mention Jesus can also be noted. Writers such as Tacitus, Seutonius, Thallus, Pliny, Josephus and the Talmud all have some mention of Jesus and the phenomenal movement that began because of him. Scholars have cited a total of 39 ancient extra-Biblical sources, including 17 non-Christian, that bare witness to the New Testament in over 100 details of Jesus' life, death, and resurrection. It is a curious Phenomenon when the 'Higher Critics' accept that Plato was written by Plato, when in fact we only have 7 ancient copies of Plato, and the gap between the date Plato wrote, and the earliest copy of Plato we have, is 1400 years! On the other hand we have over 5000 ancient copies of the New Testament. The Gap between the original writing and the earliest copies we have is a mere 60 years, and the agreement between the various manuscripts is an astonishing 99%
Sir William Ramsay was not the first, nor will he be the last skeptic who seeks truth and finds it. In our day we have Lee Strobel who used his skills as a trained lawyer and journalist to uncover the truth in his book, The Case For Christ. When Strobel began his investigation he, like Ramsay, was a skeptic, but now he believes and is an outspoken witness to the truth of the Bible. |