Something interesting, concerning what are called the "Cities of the Plain", Sodom and Gomorrah. What I have found is from a Master Study Bible Encyclopedia, copyright 1983 by Holman Bible Publishers. The introduction says "The general entries were prepared by scholars who had access to source material relating to every area of truth that sheds light on the text and teaching of the Scriptures."
First though, I would like to add something else to give the utmost credence and credentials to the idea of biblical scholars: Early Christians in America were very much aware of the ways in which the established churches could become corrupted.
* "It had been the illiteracy of the people--and thus their inability to judge the practices of the civil government against the teachings of the Bible--which permitted so many civil abuses to occur under the banner of "Christianity." Those civil atrocities were not ancient history to the settlers in America; they were still fresh in their minds. The settlers wanted to preclude the possibility of any such repetition in America.
Therefore:
One of the first laws providing public education for children of colonists was enacted in 1642 first in Massachusets, then in 1647 in both Massachusets and Connecticut.
America's first college was Harvard College in Massachusetts, established by the Puritans less than a decade after their arrival in America.
In 1692, the College of William and Mary was founded in Williamsburg, Virginia, through the efforts of the Rev. James Blair.
In 1701, Yale was founded in Connecticut by ten Congregational ministers. Until 1898, every president of Yale was a minister.
In 1746, Princeton was founded by Presbyterians. The Rev. Jonathan Dickinson became its first president. Until 1902, every president after him was a minister.
In 1766, through the efforts of Rev. Theodore Frelinghuysen, Rutgers University was founded.
One hundred and six of the first one hundred and eight colleges in America were founded on the Christian faith. By the time of the Civil War, non-religious universities could be counted on one hand.
Christian education trained our statesmen and patriots; to it we owe the form of government that established this nation as a world leader."
* "The Myth of Separation", by David Barton, Copyright 1992
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Okay, I think that establishes the credentials of biblical scholars quite well. So, on to the article which I've typed from the Bible Encyclopedia referenced in the beginning of this post.
"CITIES OF THE PLAIN, Sodom and Gomorrah
With the rise of the science of determining the age of ancient pottery in modern Israel and elsewhere within the past half century, it has been possible to determine more exactly the age of a particular civilization. There are now clearly established the Early Bronze Age, 2500 to 1800 B.C., covering the age of Abraham and Lot and the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah; the Middle Bronze Age, 1800 to 1600 B.C.; and the Late Bronze Age, from 1600 B.C. to an indefinite later date, covering the time of Moses. With this scientific information available, it is now possible to determine the age of the various civilizations found on the plain. Research conducted in 1924 determined very exactly the following:
1. That the civilization which biblical narrative represents to have been upon the plain in the days of Abraham and of Lot and the Cities of the Plain was actually there. This is conclusively show by pottery from graves opened by the Arabs searching for treasures. The pottery was unmistakably of the Early Bronze Age; thus the Canaanite civilization of that age was actually on the plain at that time. Moreover, a long, careful search from one end of the plain to the other failed to reveal a trace of civilization of any other kind on the plain from that time onward until Byzantine times, 600 years after Christ. This is in exact accord with the silence of Scripture concerning any history of the plain from the destruction of the cities to the end of biblical history. The region was so destroyed that it took 2500 years of climatic influences to bring it again to a condition fit for habitation.
2. The only correct description of the natural conditions of life on the plain ever given is that found in Genesis, "as the garden of the Lord" "before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah" (Gen. 13:10). The climate is an ideal winter climate. With proper irrigation ten thousand acres could be turned into a tropical garden in which five crops a year could be raised, and this region would then be again a veritable "garden of the Lord".
3. It is now fully established also that the catastrophe did take place exactly as recorded in Genesis. This was determined by the geologists in the past half century, and is confirmed by observation of an expedition in 1924. The biblical account gives the miraculous events connected with the catastrophe; it does not tell us where the material used in the destruction came from. The geologists know only what was actually done in the region and the remains of the catastrophe now to be seen. This is a burned out region of oil and asphalt. There is also a great stratum of rock salt underneath the W. shore of the sea. It is 150 ft. thick and exposed for 6 mi.; how much may be under the ground no one knows. This stratum of salt is overlaid with a stratum of marl through which is mingled free sulphur in a very pure state.
At some time, the geologists say, something kindled the gases which accumulate with oil and asphalt and there was an explosion; the salt and sulphur were carried up into the heavens red-hot, from where it literally rained fire and brimstone, and utterly destroyed the cities and the whole plain and everything that grew out of the ground. The incrustation of Lot's wife with salt, when she turned back and was caught in the deluge, shows that there was salt also mingled with the fire and brimstone. The great smoke, like the smoke of a furnace, which Abraham saw from far-off Hebron, is explained when we remember the asphalt that is found in this region. What makes a greater smoke than boiling asphalt? Thus the remains in this region show that the catastrophe did take place exactly as narrated in Genesis.
4. The location of the cities, which are not now visible, is determined by several considerations,
(a) The catastrophe took place where the ruins of the catastrophe are now; ruins do not move around. The ruins of the tragedy are around the W. shore of the sea.
(b) When Lot became afraid to remain in Zoar after the destruction of Sodom, he went up into the mountain; it was the mountain of Moab on the E. side of the plain.. Sodom and Gomorrah, from which he fled, must then have been on the W. side of this narrow valley.
(c) The rivers also converge on a point immediately in front of this mountain. The confluence of rivers is the natural location of the metropolis; just here then we would expect to find the cities located.
(d) The water of this part of the sea is very shallow, from a few inches to 35 ft, while the main body of the sea is 1200 ft. deep. There are submerged forests also on the E. side and the W. side of this shallow part of the sea, showing that the sea has risen much here within the last 150 years. Many similar evidences all around the Dead Sea show that the waters have been rising. This rising of the sea causes it to overflow at the S. end and flood the plain and cover the ruins of the lost cities. There they lie in the mud at the bottom of the sea."
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