This is a bummer, and these are supposed to be Christians. I am confused though, it seems the group may not be the hoaxsters but some Turks who have a cottage industry around Ark expeditions.
Tim, wouldn't freezing temps preserve wood as it does other things? Just wondering. The thing I read said they found some 4800yr old wood by the Black Sea. So is the wood really that old or not? Actually, I don't care anyway. You just can't trust anyone on anything.
It's not a bummer. Even if the real Ark was found, it would not convert the World, and we should not use it to strengthen our faith, but we should use God's Word. It could be declared to be not Noah's Ark after all.
By all means take an interest in biblical archaeology. It's no doubt fascinating. But try to remember that these are the opinions of mere men, and our confidence is in God's Word not fallible archaeology, however compelling. The Spirit of God uses the Word of God to strengthen faith.
The better biblical archaeology books have an introduction about the relation between the "evidence" of archaeology and faith.
I think we should be very dubious about putting too much faith in archaeology - even the most incotrpvertible - as against God's Word.
Even the best archaeology is fallible, unlike God's word
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..........All biblical archaeology does is give general support to the claim that God's Word already infallibly makes that it is a historical book, from and rooted in the culture and history it claims to come from, and that it is generally reliable and trustworthy.
There are already hundreds of accounts from around the world that generally back up the story of Noah and the Flood, but that doesn't mean you have to believe the biblical account. Ultimately only the Spirit of God rather than archaeology can take away sinful prejudice against God's Word.
What about all those Christians who lived before biblical archaeology got going? What did they prop their faith up with but God's Word which is far more sure than finite, fallible and fallen interpretations of bits of wood or a whole boat.
"Blessed are those that have not seen and yet believe" said Jesus to thomas.