Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Sodom and Gomorra...

I'm watching a fascinating documentary about the possible historical accuracy of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorra. It aired a couple of nights ago on the Discovery Channel.

Boiled down, it essentially traces a meteor strike that took place around 3100 BCE. The fallout from the strike, in which the meteor shattered as it descended toward the Alps in Europe, struck what is now Southern Israel and the Dead Sea, essentially incinerating Sodom and Gomorra.

The theory of the meteor strike is based on a Sumerian clay tablet found in southern Iraq. It describes a light falling from the sky and describes trajectory using known constellations. Using computers and modern science, scientists today were able to trace what they believe is an exact date for the strike: June 29, 3123 BCE.

The reason I thought this was cool is because it fits in beautifully with the idea that God uses nature to perform his tasks. I discussed this concept nearly two years ago here. God didn't need to create sulfur and brimstone and "rain" it down from the sky. He put a meteor in motion and had it strike when it needed to strike.

This then begs the question: Pre-Destiny or Free Choice? Well, both, really. God, obviously, knew what was going to happen based on the free choice of the citizen of Sodom and Gomorra. They CHOSE to be evil, so God, at whatever point in history, put the meteor in play.

The real miracle that would have happened would have been if the people of Sodom and Gomorra HAD repented and become good people. Then, God would have deflected that meteor and the destruction never would have happened! Quite likely, that is what happened (or something similar) with the city of Nineveh in the story of Jonah. They DID repent, and the destruction never happened...

So, is science the bad guy always trying to disprove God's existence? Or is it the good guy demonstrating events in the Old Testament could very well HAVE happened? Well, probably a bit of both, depending on whom we're discussing...

1 comment:

Unknown said...

I believe that some parts of the bible are based on real events. Most scientists do, as well.

But by proving that (what we THINK is) Sodom & Gomorra acctually excisted doesn't prove that there is a God at all.

Remember that in the year 3123BC people didn't know what a meteor was. Of course they believed that there was a God who made the event happen. That were their only explanation. What's strange to me is that with all the knowlage we have to day, people still thinks that there is a God creating these events.

Oh, I almost forgot. If it were a meteor (witch seems to be a credible answer) and God made that event happen, Abraham would be disintegrated as well since he stood veeeery near by.

Science is neither the "good" nor the "bad" guy. Science are not on "any side". It's simply observation, testing and making conclusions out of the real evidence.

They have accually found more than two places in the same neighbourhood as, what they believe to be, ruins of Sodom & Gomorra. What did they do wrong, according to your "God"? Or were they simply collateral damage? That's a nice God for ya!