Journal: Conservative Theological Journal
Volume: CTJ 02:4 (Mar 1998)
Article: Article & Book Reviews
Author: Anonymous

CTJ 2:4 (March 1998) p. 91

Article & Book Reviews

By the faculty of Tyndale Biblical Institute & Theological Seminary and others
Mal Couch, Editor

The Stones Cry Out by Randall Price, Eugene, OR: Harvest House Publishers, 1997, 437 pp., paperback, $10.99

It is very possible that this 437 page paperback book may someday be a classic in biblical apologetics. Price has done an outstanding job in relating archaeology to biblical history. In the first few chapters Price describes the science of archaeology and how it continually confirms the Scriptures. “Archaeology has … given us a new assurance of the validity of trustworthiness of the biblical account not only in matters of history, but tangently, in its uniqueness when compared with other ancient Near Eastern documents” (. 39).

In most cases, Price points out, ancient inscription discoveries have affirmed the integrity of the received (authoritative) texts. And, they have given confirmation of biblical revelation “by discrediting historical skepticism and, at the same time, demonstrating Scripture’s theological distinctiveness.”

In terms of actual findings, Price begins with the Rosetta Stone and shows how it opened up Egyptian hieroglyphics and then an understanding of so many ancient writings. He explains the Behistun Inscription and Akkadian Cuneiform.

Price raises the question, did the Bible and the accounts in Genesis come from the Gilgamesh Epic and the Mesopotamian Flood story? Or, was the flood an historical event recorded and passed down by many cultures? Thus, the writing of Moses was an inspired and edited account purged of pagan mythology! Price quotes A. R. Millard who notes, “… knowledge of [the flood] must have survived to form the available accounts; while the Babylonians could only conceive of the event in their own polytheistic language, the Hebrews, or their ancestors, understood the action of God in it.”

Price adds, “Therefore, it seems more likely that both the Mesopotamian and Israelite accounts reflect a universally preserved knowledge of events that occurred during earth’s pre-Flood history.”

The book comes down, through the pages of both Old and New Testaments, to the time of Christ and the archaeological proof of the existence of Pontius Pilate.

CTJ 2:4 (March 1998) p. 92

Each chapter keeps the reader in a state of excitement as historical proof mounts as to the truthfulness of the Word of God. The final chapters wrap up the spiritual and faith issues that are important in such an apologetic presentation.

Price concludes “We should…recognize that archaeology is a handmaiden to the B...