Alan asks about Bryant Wood. Here is what I know. He appears to have a valid
archaeology degree from U of Toronto. This is from a bio
"Creationist Archaeologist (and engineer)
Dr Bryant G. Wood, B.S., M.S., M.A., Ph.D.
Bryant Wood attended Syracuse University, graduating with a B.S. in
mechanical engineering, later earning a M.S. in mechanical engineering from
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy NY. In 1973 he left General
Electric to pursue Biblical and archaeological studies resulting in an M.A.
in Biblical History from the University of Michigan in 1974 and a Ph.D. in
Syro-Palestinian archaeology from the University of Toronto in 1985. He is
currently Director of the Associates for Biblical Research, Ephrata PA, and
editor of their quarterly publication Bible and Spade. Dr. Wood is a
specialist in Canaanite pottery of the Late Bronze Age. He is author of The
Sociology of Pottery in Ancient Palestine: The Ceramic Industry and the
Diffusion of Ceramic Style in the Bronze and Iron Ages (1990), as well as
numerous articles on archaeological subjects. Dr. Wood received
international media attention for his research on ancient Jericho, which
demonstrated the historicity of the Biblical account of the capture of the
city by the Israelites. Bryant and Faith Wood reside in Harrisburg,
Pennsylvania. They have four married children and nine grandchildren."
http://www.answersingenesis.org/docs/557.asp
He got some press in an attempt to redate Jericho city IV. For a contrary
view (also a YEC source,Gerald Aardsma) to his proposal see
http://www.biblicalchronologist.org/qa/adb/bryantwood.htm. They note that
Wood's attempted redating of Jericho IV contradicts modern radiocarbon dates
of that city. And yet Wood seems to stick with his beliefs--not a good
scientific procedure.
Another site which disagrees with Wood, indeed says that if Wood is correct
then every single archaeological site in the Middle East must be
re-evaluated can be found at
http://www.biblemysteries.com/lectures/jericho6/ (don't know much about
Michael Sanders who wrote this but he appears conservative).
A really harsh criticism of Woods position can be found at:
http://www.askwhy.co.uk/awstruth/BiblicalArchaeology1.html They charge Wood
with lying, but they do appear to be an anti-christian site.
As was noted, Wood is the director of the ABR and as such, he should be
responsible or largely in agreement with what is on his organization's web
site and where his work is published.
Dr. Wood has an article on the Answers in Genesis web site.
http://www.answersingenesis.org/home/area/magazines/docs/v21n2_jericho.asp
This, along with his association with Baugh and Clifford Wilson makes it
clear that he is of the YEC persuasion. Baugh is a real weirdo who wrote in
one book that a pterodactyl was excavated alive from solid rock in a French
site! Baugh has some of my favorite quotations of any YEC. Baugh writes:
"On day number four, when the sun was created, the energy of the sun upon
this hydrogen would have caused a gentle pink glow. . . .
"The statement is made that this light 'ruled the day.' Scientists and
researchers are finding that the most important color in the entire spectrum
is pink. This is the color that is produced by energized hydrogen. They
find that plants grow better under pink light and that individuals respond
in mood to pink light. Researchers have found that when a person is
affected by the right spectrum of pink light, the brain secrets
norepinephren. Norepinephren is a natural tranquilizer and
neurotransmitter. Before the flood, man was dominated by various spectra of
pink light. The tranquility of his environment offered him the ability to
have his brain work at maximum effieciency." ~ Carl Baugh, Panorama of
Creation, (Oklahoma City: Southwest Radio Church, 1989), p. 50-51
And :
"NASA has found that when a red filter is used in space, the stars appear in
beautiful color. [duh!--grm] This is exciting because God put the stellar
bodies in space for signs, for days, for months and for years. We
understand that by observing the rotation of the earth in relation to the
movement of the sun and the moon, and other heavenly bodies, we can tell
times. But now we can percieve that with the enhancement of the light,
those before the flood could by the configuration of the stars, tell time at
any moment. They would not need a Rolex watch; they would have something
far better." ~ Carl Baugh, Panorama of Creation, (Oklahoma City: Southwest
Radio Church, 1989), p. 61-62
And my favorite(apart from the living pterodactyl out of a rock):
"NASA discovered to their amazement that not only are these stars emitting
radio wave energy, but that there is music on those radio waves of energy.
NASA also discovered that not only is music emitted, but the music being
emitted is in a major key. The music being emitted from these stars is
harmonious. NASA compared the music being emitted from these star sources
to the instruments of an orchestra that are all in tune with each other." p.
64
.....
"Each morning before the flood the radio wave signals from these stars, or
'music,' could be heard on earth." ~ Carl Baugh, Panorama of Creation,
(Oklahoma City: Southwest Radio Church, 1989), p. 65.
Association with the likes of Baugh, of course, doesn't mean necessarily
that Wood is bad, but it does call for caution when one wants to trust him
for an unbiased opinion. How on earth a valid scientist could stand to be
associated with the views of Baugh I would never know.
Since Wood is the director, I assume he can exert some editorial control
over his web site. So I cite the web site:
The ABR site has articles by Paul Taylor, a well-known young-earther, who
ignores geological evidence by the bucket load telling the reader that there
was no asteroid that killed off the dinosaurs
(http://www.christiananswers.net/dinosaurs/j-extinct2.html) and another that
says that the dinosaurs were killed off by the global flood
(http://www.christiananswers.net/dinosaurs/j-extinct3.html)The site also
gives a false view of fossilization
(http://www.christiananswers.net/dinosaurs/j-age1.html)
On one of the site's pages a colleagues engages in the 'slur your opponents
motives' technique which has been perfected by the YECs. This colleague
dismisses data which is contradictory to his opinion by sluring the motives
of the researchers. He writes:
** begin quote
"After their excavation, Nigro and Marchetti announced they found no
evidence for a destruction from the time of Joshua. While it is too soon for
the academic community to see details of their discoveries, their
announcement suggests their excavation was conducted to disprove the
Biblical account of Joshua’s capture of the city. Is it further possible
that the Palestinian Authority supported this dig for the express purpose of
denouncing any Jewish connection to the site?
As to their evidence, Dr. Bryant Wood, Director of the Associates for
Biblical Research and one of the leading experts on the archaeology of
Jericho, recently responded. "It matters little what the Italian
archaeologists did not find in their month-long dig. The evidence is already
in. Three major expeditions to the site over the past 90 years uncovered
abundant evidence to support the Biblical account," he said. As Wood went on
to point out, John Garstang (l 930-1936) and Kathleen Kenyon (1952-1958)
both dug at Jericho for six seasons and a German excavation directed by
Ernst Sellin and Carl Watzinger dug for three. All found abundant evidence
of the city’s destruction by fire in a layer related to the Biblical date of
1400 BC. "
http://www.christiananswers.net/abr/scoop.html
**end quote**
Admittedly these are his colleagues but it does seem that he surrounds
himself with people of dubious quality. And the claim that he is one of the
world's authorities on Jericho sounds a bit dubious as the list of
publications seems to only have 2 articles on Jericho--one in BAR and the
other in his own Bible and Spade.
The web page has a creation/evolution part that says:
"CREATION / EVOLUTION ISSUES
The Associates for Biblical Research staff keeps current in the most recent
scientific research and provides up-to-date information for our members
through our publications and radio broadcasts. Topics regularly addressed
include the latest in the creation/evolution debate, dinosaurs, the Flood,
and the origin of the universe, earth and man. "
Some of his articles are:
1990 Did the Israelites Conquer Jericho? A New Look At the Archaeological
Evidence. Biblical Archaeology Review 16.2: 44-56.
1991 The Philistines Enter Canaan - Were They Egyptian Lackeys or
Invading Conquerors? Biblical Archaeology Review 17.6: 44-52, 89-92.
1997 The Role of Shechem in the Conquest Narrative. Pp. 245-256 in To
Understand the Scriptures: Essays in Honor of William H. Shea, ed. David
Merling. Berrien Springs, MI: Institute of Archaeology, Siegfried H. Horn
Archaeological Museum, Andrews University.
1999a Beth Aven: A Scholarly Conundrum. Bible and Spade 12: 101-108.
1999b Kh. el-Maqatir 1999 Dig Report. Bible and Spade 12: 109-14.
1999c The Search for Joshua's Ai: Excavations at Kh. El-Maqatir. Bible
and Spade 12: 21-30.
1999d The Walls of Jericho. Bible and Spade 12: 35-42.
2000a Khirbet el-Maqatir, 1995-1998. Israel Exploration Journal 50:
123-30.
2000b Kh. el-Maqatir 2000 Dig Report. Bible and Spade 13: 66-71.
Forthcoming Khirbet el-Maqatir, 1999. Israel Exploration Journal.
Wood might be a legit archaeologist but he has a decided bias.
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