Biblical Mysteries

Submitted by Da Verminator: When last we saw the lost Ark of the Covenant in action, it had been dug up by Indiana Jones in Egypt and ark-napped by Nazis, whom the Ark proceeded to incinerate amidst a tempest of terrifying apparitions. But according to Tudor Parfitt, a real life scholar-adventurer, Raiders of the Lost Ark had it wrong, and the Ark is actually nowhere near Egypt. In fact, Parfitt claims he has traced it (or a replacement container for the original Ark), to a dusty bottom shelf in a museum in Harare, Zimbabwe. As Indiana Jones"s creators understood, the Ark is one of the Bible"s holiest objects, and also one of itsmost maddening McGuffins.

A wooden box, roughly 4 ft. x 2 ft. x 2.5 ft., perhaps gold-plated and carried on poles inserted into rings, it appears in the Good Book variously as the container for the Ten Commandments (Exodus 25:16: "and thou shalt put into the ark the testimony which I shall give thee"); the very locus of God"s earthly presence; and as a divine flamethrower that burns obstacles and also crisps some careless Israelites. It is too holy to be placed on the ground or touched by any but the elect. It circles Jericho behind the trumpets to bring the walls tumbling down. The Bible last places the Ark in Solomon"s temple, which Babylonians destroyed in 586 BC. Scholars debate its current locale (if any): under the Sphinx? BeneathJerusalem"s Temple Mount (or, to Muslims, the Noble Sanctuary)? In France? Near London"s Temple tube station? Parfitt, 63, is a professor at the University of London"s prestigious School of Oriental and African Studies. His new book, The Lost Ark of the Covenant: Solving the 2,500 Year Mystery of the Fabled Biblical Ark (HarperOne) along with a History Channel special scheduled for March 2 would appear to risk a fine academic reputation on what might be called a shaggy Ark story.

View: Full Article | Source: Time Magazine

An acclaimed underwater archaeologist has uncovered new evidence to suggest that it did.Robert Ballard and his team have been exploring the depths of the Black Sea off the coast of Turkey in an effort to locate traces of an ancient civilization that has been hidden since the time of Noah. Ballard maintains that the melt water from glaciers around 12,000 years ago would have caused a huge flood in the region, washing away everythingin its path.

It is thought that such an event could have been the inspiration behind the story of Noah in the Bible."Where I live in Connecticut was ice a mile above my house, all the way back to the North Pole, about 15 million kilometers, that"s a big ice cube," said Ballard. "But then it started to melt. The question is, was there a mother of all floods ?" The story of Noah"s Ark and the Great Flood is one of the most famous from the Bible, and now an acclaimed underwaterarchaeologist thinks he has found proof that the biblical flood was actually based on real events.  

View: Full article |  Source: ABC News  

The recently revealed papyrus fragment referencing the wife of Jesus is said to be a "clumsy forgery".The 4th century parchment has been the topic of heated debate amongst religious scholars and historians since it was unveiled last month. The ancient writing appears to make clear references to Jesus having a wife and that she would be one of his disciples. "Substantial reasons would lead one to conclude that the papyrus is indeed a clumsy forgery," saidVatican newspaper editor Gian Maria Vian.

"In any case, it"s a fake."The Vatican wasn"t the only source of doubt over the discovery either, academics and historians have also expressed reservations over the parchment"s authenticity. "It"s really pretty unlikely that it"s authentic," said Professor Francis Watson of the University of Durham. "There is a market for fake antiquities throughout the Middle East ... I would guess that in this case the motivation might have been a financial one." An ancientpapyrus fragment which a Harvard scholar says contains the first recorded mention that Jesus may have had a wife is a fake, the Vatican said on Friday.  

View: Full article |  Source: Reuters  

A carpenter has spent three years and over one million pounds building a full size replica of Noah"s Ark.Johan Huibers undertook the mammoth project based on a dream he had 20 years ago in which he witnessed the Netherlands being flooded like in the Book of Genesis. In 2004 he built a much smaller version of the ark and sailed it along canals, this time however he"s gone the whole hog and constructed a full-size ark based on measurements from theBible.Nicknamed "Johan"s Ark", the 450ft long wooden boat weighs 3,000 tons and can carry 1,500 people.

Huibers is hoping to sail his ark up the Thames as part of the celebrations surrounding the London Olympic Games. According to MSNBC, the carpenter had been obsessed with bringing the story of the ark to life ever since, and in 2004 had built a half-scale version and floated it along the country"s canals. Tourists had flocked to see the smaller prototype when he had opened it to the public, but theproceeds from admissions had went straight back into funding his ambition to build a full-size ship.  

View: Full article |  Source: News Track India