Leelee

A few weeks ago, I mentioned to a fundamentalist that Canaan could not have been conquered by Joshua and the other Hebrews because most of the cities were already uninhabited. I mentioned Ai as one example. The fundamentalist said Ai simply means ruins and maybe the Ai that archaelogists have excavated is not the same place that Joshua conquered. He said that the same is true of the other places such as Jericho, Bethel, Heshbon, Gibeon, Gaza, Hazor, Lachish. How confident are archaelogists that they have been digging in the right places? I believe this guy was full of crap but I didn't know enough about Canaanite archaeology to be able to refute what he said.

Doug Shaver

So far as I'm aware places' identities are not disputed. This is the first I've heard that anybody questioned them. All the inerrantists I've encountered until now have claimed that archeologists have misinterpreted the evidence, not that they've been digging in the wrong places.

Neither do I, and I don't know where to point you so you can read the relevant stuff. Somebody else in the forum probably will.

For the time being, if I were confronting an apologist making that argument, I would challenge him to produce whatever evidence he had that the experts were wrong. Properly used, there is nothing wrong with an appeal to authority. Authorities can be wrong, but when someone who is not an authority claims that, on a particular issue within their expertise, they actually are wrong, then it's up to that someone to show the rest of us exactly where their mistake lies and how they came to make it.

Baalazel

As with most questions a good start would be a visit to your local library. You should be able to find most of what you need in a short time and you can read up on the subject as your time allows.

Baal

Toto

There is a recommended reading list here

Start with The Bible Unearthed

Roland

Well, we know that fundamentalists think biologists don't know squat about the history of life or astronomers about the formation of the universe or geologists about the formation and development of the earth, so I guess it shouldn't come as a surprise that they think archaeologists don't know anything about the history of Canaan.

It's astonishing just how many intelligent professionals in all these fields would have to be wrong for the bible and its followers to be right. Maybe someday they will come to the conclusion that, just perhaps, it is THEY who are wrong. One can always hope but I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for that time.

Gamer4Fire

I certainly do hate the fact that I can have a good understanding of how something works and the christian I'm debating can just make particulars up that I can't verify as wrong so he wins by default. I'm smart, not omniscient.

Amaleq13

It is his responsibility to substantiate his assertions, not yours. He is shifting the burden and you are allowing him to do so.