Oldest Church Unearthed in Jordan

Archaeologists have recently unearthed what may be the world's oldest known church in Rihab, Jordan.  It is located in a cave underneath an already ancient building and its occupation is tentatively dated to a period from 33-70 AD.  The archaeologists who are excavating the site suspect it was home to Christians fleeing jewish persecution in Jerusalem. 

 

If this site provides hard evidence for such an early date, it may potentially have drastic effects for the field of biblical studies.  The current theory among many Bible scholars is that Jesus never taught that he was divine-that later disciples added myths and legends to a man that early disciples only respected as a moral teacher.  The idea of worshipping Jesus as God did not arise until after Paul's writings.  Even then it took several more years until Jesus was fully identified with God.  Evidence for a community of people worshipping Jesus so early after his death would give extreme historical credibility to the accounts in the Book of Acts and the rest of the New Testament.  This will be interesting to keep an eye on. 

 

If you are interested in other stories that explore archaeology related to the Bible you will probably love exploring this site .

 

Josh R