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I was arguing with a friend on religion and they mentioned that other religions' have more historical validity than bible. An example he cited for Islam was the instance of Mecca which is a physical building supposedly made for prophet Mohammed (google search says the history is ambiguous but leaves that for now).

I thought there must certainly be some historical accounts of events described by bible within texts outside the bible/ physical locations of such. Can examples be provided? Would be interested in mainly places relating to Jesus's ministry.

PS: I have not completed reading the bible nor am I very strong believer in religion, but still, I ask this question so I know the correct facts when I speak about it.

KorvinStarmast
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    This is a huge subject. There is vast evidence. I think the question needs to focus on some manageable example. – Nigel J Aug 17 '21 at 14:22
  • I was looking something of sort of a 'big list' similar to something one might find here:https://mathoverflow.net/questions/23478/examples-of-common-false-beliefs-in-mathematics –  Aug 17 '21 at 14:25
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    There are lots of examples. As Nigel says, narrowing this question to particular places/events/people would help improve the question. It might aid you in your discussion to have knowledge of certain archaeological discoveries in recent years. For instance, Sodom and Gomorrah are thought to have been discovered, and evidence suggests they were indeed smote by fire from "heaven" (a meteor). – jaredad7 Aug 17 '21 at 14:29
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    Wikipedia would be a good place to start your research ------> Historicity of the Bible. – Nigel J Aug 17 '21 at 14:29
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    There are dozens of churches or historical markers built to commemorate the physical locations of where Jesus and the Apostles would have stood / suffered / martyred. Travel literature to the Holy Land should provide a clue. Two examples: Herod's Temple (one of the places where Jesus ministered), Church of the Holy Sepulchre (housing the crucifixion site, Jesus's tomb, etc) – GratefulDisciple Aug 17 '21 at 15:53
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    Another example: Via dolorosa: 14 stations (locations) where Jesus would have walked to his crucifixion and burial, where several churches have been built over them. Example for OT sites: history.com 10 Biblical Sites. But since you're prioritizing empirical places mentioned in the Bible, I recommend focusing on places connected to Jesus's ministry to maximize empirical verifiability. – GratefulDisciple Aug 17 '21 at 16:08
  • Why do you say to focus on specifically places connected to Jesus? @GratefulDisciple –  Aug 18 '21 at 03:03
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    Q: Why do you say to focus on specifically places connected to Jesus? The Kaaba has good archaeological evidence backing historical concreteness. We have a handicap that unlike in Islam, the teachings of Christianity don't depend on any physical structures constructed by Jesus & the Apostles. The next best I think are historical markers of places where Jesus & the apostles (and their relics) have been. Since they were only 600 years earlier than the Kaaba, they have better chance to yield archaeological validations. – GratefulDisciple Aug 18 '21 at 03:31
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    One reason it is easy to point to existing physical cities and buildings associated with Islam is that Islam is a much younger religion than either Christianity or Judaism. Archeologists working in the Holy Land, however, have uncovered much evidence regarding people, places, and events mentioned in the Bible, as outlined in the answers to this question. One obvious example is the Western Wall in Jerusalem, which was part of the Temple complex rebuilt for the Jews by Herod before and during Jesus' day. – RobJarvis Aug 18 '21 at 15:00

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There is more support for biblical history than for most non-religious history. Archaeological finds are still continually confirming the record, and many are refuting instances of what were previously used as evidence against the Bible.

One other factor in its favour is that unlike the histories of most other nations, the Bible records Israelite history with all the warts. Other nations tended to erase the record and destroy evidence of any bad times.

You might read The Bible and Archaeology: How Archaeology Confirms the Biblical Record as an introduction to the topic.

In particular, this example appears near the end of the article:

… William M. Ramsay (1851-1939). Born in the lap of luxury, Ramsay was dutifully raised as a nonbeliever by his atheist parents. He graduated from Oxford University with a doctorate in philosophy and became a professor at the University of Aberdeen.

Determined to undermine the historical accuracy of the Bible, he studied archaeology with the aim of disproving the biblical account. Once ready with the necessary scientific tools and learning, he traveled to Palestine and focused on the book of Acts, which he fully expected to refute as nothing more than myth.

After a quarter-century of work, Ramsay was awestruck by the accuracy of the book of Acts. In his quest to refute the Bible, Ramsay discovered many facts which confirmed its accuracy.

He had to concede that Luke's account of the events and setting recorded in the narrative were exact even in the smallest detail. Far from attacking the biblical account, Ramsay produced a book, St. Paul, the Traveller and Roman Citizen, which supported it.

Eventually, William Ramsay shook the intellectual world by writing that he had converted to Christianity. Ironically, this man who set out to refute the Bible, found himself accepting the Bible as God's Word because of his explorations and discoveries.

And see The Bible and Archaeology: Archaeology and the Epistles.

There is a magazine dedicated to Jerusalem's biblical history. Watch Jerusalem - Archaeology contains a list of dozens of articles specifically about artefacts that confirm the biblical record.

Ray Butterworth
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  1. 53 Kings and other figures mentioned in the Bible have been verified as being real people, via archeology.

https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/people-cultures-in-the-bible/people-in-the-bible/50-people-in-the-bible-confirmed-archaeologically/

  1. Cities mentioned in the Bible whose existence has been demonstrated via archaeology

https://carm.org/evidence-and-answers/archaeological-evidence-verifying-biblical-cities/

  1. Additional archaeological finds specific to the New Testament

https://www.premierchristianity.com/home/9-archaeology-finds-that-confirm-the-new-testament/2366.article

Paul Chernoch
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