A wildfire on the north shores of the Sea of Galilee in Israel uncovered some mounds archeologists says may be the remains of the town of Bethsaida. The fire, which took 17 hours to extinguish, burned the surrounding vegetation and allowed an excavation team to survey the cleared area.
Its reported that fragments of pottery and walls dating back to the Roman era, when Christ lived, have also been found.
According to John 1:44, Peter, Andrew, and Philip lived and fished in Bethsaida. Several miracles of Jesus were also witnessed there, like the healing of the blindman in Mark 8 and the feeding of the 5,000 in Luke 9.
Biblical apologist Alex McFarland says he's seen it over and over again. He refers to the words of Nelson Glueck, an ordained rabbi, field archaeologist, and founder of what is now known as the Nelson Glueck School of Biblical Archaeology.
“It may be categorically stated that no archaeological discovery has ever controverted a biblical reference,” McFarland quoted.
He says some Christians downplay all the archeological finds as well as scientific discoveries that confirm or explain the hand of God in our world. They say all they need is a childlike faith.
“For a skeptical world, I don't think it's wrong at all to cite these evidences, which are just voluminous in number that validate the Bible,” says McFarland.
McFarland says that Jesus himself pointed to physical proof of biblical truths.
“Christ physically rose, and he pointed to the tangible nature of his resurrected body as proof that he had risen,” McFarland defends.
He says ours is not a blind faith, but a faith validated by the evidence time, time, and time again.
“In fact, what's not valid is obstinate unbelief in the face of all this compelling data,” McFarland concludes.
