Ancient Church Found in Israeli Prison

Prisoners digging in part of their prison compound have uncovered what could be the oldest existing Christian church.

The find is quite incredible, as indicated by pictures taken at the site.

The picture at left (from Reuters) clearly shows the ancient Christian use of the fish as a symbol, as well as Greek script at right. I wish I could read it - the time will come, God willing...

At right (AP photo) here is another mosaic found at the site. Again, I really can't read Greek, but the last four letters of the third line read theos - God in English.

Archaeologists believe the church, found near the town of Megiddo (Armageddon) dates from the third century AD. This estimate is based on pottery fragments found at the site, as well as the style of Greek used in the mosaics. Furthermore, the use of the fish as a symbol as opposed to a cross indicates an earlier date.

The full story may be found here.

Why is this important? Well, Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code has been the hottest bestseller of the last couple of years, and will be released as a major movie next spring. Central to the storyline is the idea that Christ was not actually divine; rather, He was a mere mortal, Brown claims, marrying Mary Magdalene and fathering a child before He died.

Brown introduces his book with an assertion to the effect that although the story itself is fiction, it is based on historical fact. Obviously, a denial of Christ's divinity is serious, and Brown makes the astounding claim in the novel that Christians prior to the fourth century did not worship Christ as God. He states that the Church only began teaching that Christ is divine at the Council of Nicaea, and that the Emperor Constantine pushed this idea onto the Church. In short, according to Dan Brown, the reason we worship Christ as God today is because Constantine won out at Nicaea.

How does this find fit in? One of the mosaics clearly refers to Jesus as God - and the church dates from before both Nicaea and the reign of Constantine!

So, as James White pointed out at his blog today, the dating of this site is yet more blatant proof that Brown has no historical credibility whatever. If you want a closer look at the issue, I recommend Dr. White's running series on the Da Vinci Code (start here, and then read Parts I, II, III, IV, and V).

And yes, I am happy I finally figured out the pictures function!