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Junk-Archaeology

By Daniel Lancaster | Comments (3) | Posted on March 28, 2007

Tourists to Israel are apt to encounter plenty of tour-guide-apocrypha. What is tour-guide- apocrypha? It’s a combination of made up stuff, bad information, sensationalist exaggerations and poor scholarship. Add to that general mix the junk-archaeological claims marketed by religious charlatans and it is nigh impossible for the average tourist to come away from Israel with any good information at all.

Junk-archaeology has been around a long time, but in recent decades, fueled by savvy marketing, we have seen a big increase in the number of wild claims made. If someone tells you that the ark of the covenant, Mount Sinai, Pharaoh’s chariot wheels, Sodom and Gomorrah, the original messianic seal, the family tomb of Yeshua and the real location of Mount Sinai have all been recently found, ask for the name of the academic journal in which those claims are presented and reviewed.

The people making those kind of claims simply are not real archaeologists; they are at best deeply misinformed and at worst intentionally deceitful.

Not surprisingly people believe this stuff. They believe it because they don’t have the education or critical apparatus to evaluate the information. No fault of their own. We don’t expect an auto-mechanic to know how to do brain-surgery, and neither do we expect a brain surgeon to know how to replace a head gasket. In the same way, we don’t expect the average person to be up to speed in biblical archaeology, geography or early Jewish literature.

If you want to learn all sorts of exciting, intriguing balderdash about the land of Israel that has no relationship with reality, don’t come to Israel with FFOZ. You’ll be bored.

If you want to learn real, solid biblical archaeology, history, geography and Jewish roots then come with us this fall. There is still space on the bus.

The 2007 study-tour dates are October 28 through November 12. The total price for the program is $3,097.00. This October your trip leaders will be Steven Lancaster, a professional educator in biblical geography and the Hebrew Scriptures (and a real archaeologist), myself, D. Thomas Lancaster, Educational Director of FFOZ, and Toby Janicki, staff writer and educator with FFOZ.

You can find information about the trip including a downloadable application form in the downloads section of ffoz.org.

Hope to see you on the bus.

This fall in Jerusalem!

About the Author: Daniel Lancaster is FFOZ’s Director of Education and regular contributor to messiah magazine. He is the author of Torah Club Volumes Two, Four and Five, and the FFOZ books Mystery of the Gospel, Restoration and more.

Visitor Comments

Daniel,

My family and I will be going to Israel with you all and we are all looking forward to it. We have our hiking boots and are ready to learn! I know this trip will be "junk free" and only the truth will be spoken!

Posted by: Taylor | March 28, 2007 11:03 PM

Shalom,

I traveled to Israel just after Shavuot a couple of years ago with a Zola Levitt group, may his memory be for a blessing. It was a great trip.

My tour guide, Zvi Revii, was an excellent and reliable resource. He is a believer, well trained and educated with many years of experience both as a guide and as a soldier in the six days war. He really left me with a great reservoir of knowledge. For example, according to Zvi, there is at least some measure of credentialing required in order to become a licensed tour guide in Israel.

Having said that, I have to agree, that I didn't have to look very far (or eavesdrop too hard) to notice that there was also a lot of hocus-pocus going on within and among other groups.

So my point is that how good the guide is or isn't has an enormous and lasting impact on the quality of the experience even after the trip is over. Secondly, despite the credentialing process, there are still plenty of quacks.

Have a great trip!

Shabbat Shalom.

Posted by: webbmd | March 30, 2007 10:40 PM

...and neither do we expect a brain surgeon to know how to replace a head gasket.

Daniel, sometimes you just come up with the funniest stuff!

Posted by: Avner | April 1, 2007 10:01 AM

Three new 5" x 7" pocket guides: Guidelines for keeping Shabbat, Prayers for opening Shabbat and for closing Shabbat at havdalah.

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