Has the Bible changed over the centuries? Did Constantine and the Council of Nicaea invent the idea that Jesus is God? Two discoveries give Christians something concrete to examine: scrolls from the caves near the Dead Sea, and a church floor from around 230 A.D. that honors "the God Jesus Christ."

Host Brittney Brown sits down with Dr. Bobby Duke, Chief Curatorial Officer and Director of the Scholars Initiative at Museum of the Bible in Washington, DC, and former dean of the School of Theology at Azusa Pacific University.

Together they ask what archaeology can confirm about Christianity, and what it can't.

They also discuss:

• What can archaeology actually tell us about the Bible, and where are its limits?

• How were the Dead Sea Scrolls found, and why do they matter for the Old Testament you read?

• Do manuscript variants undermine the Bible's reliability?

• Did the early church invent Jesus' divinity, or did Nicaea inherit it?

• What does a 1,800-year-old church floor tell us about ordinary early Christians?

• How does a 2,700-year-old command in Isaiah still shape how Christians live today?

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LEARN MORE ABOUT DR. BOBBY DUKE

Dr. Bobby Duke is Chief Curatorial Officer and Director of the Scholars Initiative at Museum of the Bible. He previously taught in the Honors College and served as dean of the School of Theology at Azusa Pacific University. He holds a PhD and MA in Near Eastern Languages and Cultures from UCLA, an MA in Hebrew Bible from Jerusalem University College, and a theology degree from Multnomah University.

READ DR. DUKE'S BOOKS

The Social Location of the Visions of Amram (4Q543–547): amazon.com/dp/1433107899

Biblical Hebrew and Aramaic Dictionary (Zondervan): amazon.com/dp/0310119510

EXPLORE THE TOPIC

Museum of the Bible: museumofthebible.org

See the Dead Sea Scrolls in Texas: Dead Sea Scrolls: The Exhibition at the Houston Museum of Natural Science: hmns.org/exhibits/dead-se...

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TIMESTAMPS:

00:00 Intro

01:20 Meet Dr. Bobby Duke

04:38 What Archaeology Can (and Can't) Do for Your Faith

06:58 The Greatest Archaeological Discovery Ever?

10:29 The 1,000-Year Gap the Dead Seas Scrolls Closed

14:58 A Sabbath Debate Jesus Joined

16:38 Which Old Testament Books Were Found, and the Messianic Pattern Behind Them

19:08 Why Isn't Esther in the Dead Sea Scrolls?

21:52 Do Manuscript Variants Undermine the Bible?

25:43 Plato, Homer and the Bible: What to Tell a Skeptic

28:54 The Earliest Church Ever Found

34:46 Jesus Worshiped as God 100 Years Before Nicaea

37:22 What Ordinary Early Christians Believed, and a Word Still Used Today

38:45 How to Talk About This Evidence at the Dinner Table

40:40 Did the Church Invent Jesus' Divinity or Change Its Message?

43:09 Hezekiah's Tunnel and a Faith You Can Walk

46:16 Isaiah 1:17 and the Gospel in Action: What Moves a Scholar to Awe

50:39 Preparing Kids for College Starts at Age Four

52:32 Why Dr. Duke Is Still Convinced Christianity Is True

53:46 Conclusion

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