Study Guide Module 5

Name: Date:

  1. Define the following terms:
  1. Life science
  1. Archaeology
  1. Artifact
  1. Geology
  1. Paleontology
  1. Aristotle’s dictum
  1. Known age
  1. Dendrochronology
  1. Radiometric dating
  1. Absolute age
  1. The Principle of Superposition
  1. If you wanted to learn about the history of life other than human life, would you use archaeology or paleontology?
  1. Name the three tests used to evaluate documents that claim to be historical.
  1. Give a brief description of each of the tests listed in #3.
  1. In what test is Aristotle’s dictum used? Why must we use it?
  1. There are two reasons to believe that the copy of an ancient document might not be the same as the original. One is the person making the copy might have made some unintentional mistakes. What is the other reason?
  1. What two things help a document pass the bibliographic test?
  1. Does the Bible contain any contradictions that make it fail the internal test?
  1. Does the Bible have any difficult passages that might seem like contradictions?
  1. Why are the two accounts given in Acts 9:7 and Acts 22:9 not contradictory? Feel free to use your Bible to look up those verses.
  1. Why are the two genealogies of Christ given in Luke 3 and Matthew 1 not contradictory? Once again, you can use your Bible.
  1. Why can we say that the Bible passes the external test better than any other document of its time?
  1. Suppose a document passes the internal and bibliographic tests but some of the conclusions of archaeologists go against what the document says. If the document has some other external support (other historical documents or some archaeological evidence), why should you not automatically say that it fails the external test?
  1. Why can we say that the New Testament passes the bibliographic test better than any other document of its time?
  1. Does the Old Testament pass the bibliographic test?
  1. The age of an ancient settlement is determined by using dendrochronology on some firewood that had been chopped down but never used by the inhabitants. Does the settlement have a known age or an absolute age?
  1. A coffin of a great king is discovered. The date of the King’s death is recorded in a document of history. Does the coffin have a known age or an absolute age?
  1. If an archaeologist gives an absolute age for an artifact, does that mean we know for certain how old the artifact is?
  1. Why does an archaeologist use master tree ring patterns?
  1. What is the underlying assumption of the Principle of Superposition?
  1. Suppose an archaeologist uses dendrochronology to determine that a city was built in 2500 B.C. Several years later, another archaeologist is digging deeper under the site of the city and, in a lower layer of soil, he finds the remains of another city. Unfortunately, there is nothing he can use for any dating technique. He can still conclude something about the age of the city. Assuming the Principle of Superposition is true in this situation, what can he conclude?
  1. Besides being discussed in the most accurate historical document of its time, what other historical evidence exists to indicate that a worldwide flood actually did occur?

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