Bob, somewhat like you I believe in God, and I consider myself a Christian, but I think one major difference is that I believe that God does not play tricks on man. I believe God created an evolving universe. I don't know what you are reading, but the archeological record exists, is extensive, and there is no way that mankind was created 6,000 years ago, or that the entire world was covered by a flood in the last few thousand years, although there have been major floods.
The paleological record also exists, and it is completely consistent with the theory of evolution. At the bottom-most levels, billions of years old, one celled creatures are found. As we travel higher, and closer to the surface, more and more complex creatures are found.
I studied creationism, out of curiousity, and bought a few "Creation Science" texts, and was surprised to find that they suggest that the Devil put all these fossils into the earth to trick man. I don't believe God would allow that.
Furthermore, some humans live in caves even today, from time to time and from place to place, so to say that man does not live in caves is simply silly. If a cave is excavated, and inside it are found traces of old fires, broken pots, and the bones of animals used for meals, what can we conclude?
I have done a little work for you, hope you appreciate it.
personal.psu.edu
"An Acheulean hut found in the Grotte du Lazaret near Nice, in France. This tent-like structure was built inside a cave and was made of animal hides draped over a wooden framework and held down by stones. It dates to perhaps 500,000 to 400,000 BCE. The interior measures 11 meters by 3.5 meters, and it was subdivided into two rooms, the larger of which had a fireplace. Animal furs, grasses, and seaweed were used as carpeting and bedding. The inhabitants, apparently Neanderthals, selectively used pine for heating in preference to more available types of wood."
amnh.org
"In the ancient past, people settled in the barren country of the Judean Desert, west of the Dead Sea. The numerous caves in the cliffs there provided refuge for settlers in times of crisis, storehouses for their valued possessions, and burial places for their dead.
The dry climate of the desert preserved even organic materials, making the area a trove of hidden treasures. Many of these have been recovered, and they supply important clues to the region's history. The famous Dead Sea Scrolls, for example, stored in caves at Qumran, throw light on a religious sect living nearby some 2000 years ago. The hundreds of magnificent objects found in the so-called Cave of the Treasure reveal the artistry and technological mastery achieved much earlier, in the fourth millennium BCE (Before Common Era) Ð about 6000 years ago.
This exhibition features yet another rare find from the fourth millennium BCE. Discovered in 1993, the Cave of the Warrior, in Wadi el-Makkukh, near Jericho, held a unique burial assemblage that included unusual textiles, sandals, and the oldest bow known to be preserved in the Near East. The exhibition also presents objects found in other regional burial sites of the time."
saske.sk
"In the prehistoric times the Silicka ladnica Ice Cave looked like colossal tunnel what led into ground by portal with the width of 40 m and the height more 60 m. An easy access into the cave with an underground brook made the cave attractive for prehistoric man. More part of the settled area was buried under a massive debris cone from the gigantic roof fall about two thousand years ago.
In the Archaeological Dome with dimensions 60 x 35 x 10 m was found a great quantity of the clay potsherds in the course of the archaeological investigation of the cave in the 1931 and the following years. There were determined two main types of the settlement pottery. Pottery from the settlement layer, what is timely older, is counted to the Bukk Culture from the Late Stone Age (Neolithic). The second wealthier settlement came from the Hallstatt Period (2nd millenium B.C.). Youngest settlement layer has an origin in the begin of our chronology and the finds represent the La Tene Culture (the Late Iron Age). The interrupt of the cave settlement helps to determine a time of the entrance fall into this culture epoch. There the human skull and the animal bones were found in the cave." |
