Ruth Institute Blog

Jonah Goldberg, in his book “Liberal Fascism” discusses the bind in which conservatives find themselves.  “Liberals,” he says, “dismiss abstract arguments involving universal moral principles almost cavalierly as hippies did in the 1960s.”  As a result, we cannot argue that abortion, or other values issues displease G-d or violate some other universally binding principle.  “This poses a dilemma for conservatives.  “For some,” Goldberg continues, “this means only arguing about what the data show.”  In confining ourselves to these arguments, we concede a great deal.

Perhaps we don’t have to.

This article, deals yet another blow to the Biblical Minimalism upon which so much of secularism has depended.

“The city wall that has been uncovered testifies to a ruling presence,” said Eilat Mazar, a researcher at Hebrew University of Jerusalem. “Its strength and form of construction indicate a high level of engineering.”

Comparison of the new findings with city walls and gates from the period of King Solomon, such as the First Temple, as well as pottery found at the site, enable the researchers to postulate that the wall was built by Solomon in Jerusalem in the latter part of the tenth century B.C.E., Mazar said.

“This is the first time that a structure from that time has been found that may correlate with written descriptions of Solomon’s building in Jerusalem,” she said. “The Bible tells us that Solomon built, with the assistance of the Phoenicians, who were outstanding builders, the [First] Temple and his new palace and surrounded them with a city, most probably connected to the more ancient wall of the City of David.”

Then again, for those of us who have read Kenneth Kitchen’s massive “On The Reliability of the Old Testament” none of this comes as a surprise.