If we can't reliably date fossils and other artifacts, then how do we know how old the Dead Sea scrolls are?

Question

Could Satan have also planted them?

Answer 1

Om the contrary. Carbon 14 dating may not be perfect, but it is an extremely good method for a great deal of artifacts that need to be dated, and there are numerous methods of dating any given artifact, other artifacts (coins of an era being in a tomb etc) obsidian hydration, Archaeomagnetic Dating, Cal-Pal, AMS, Chronological Analysis, the list is very long....

Answer 2

This might provide additional background; it's pretty interesting:


Who Wrote the Dead Sea Scrolls?

http://byub.org/deadsea/who.asp

Scholars are still at odds over the answer to this question, although there is a general consensus that they were written by a group of Jews known as the Essenes. This group flourished during the Second Temple Period (150 BC-70 AD) in Judea. Scholars have identified similarities between the scrolls, the archaeology of the site at Qumran and the writings of ancient historians to identify the group as the Essenes. Early scholars Eleazar Sukenik of the Hebrew University and Frank Moore Cross of Harvard have led this identification effort.

BYU scholar Andrew Skinner explains more in his article, "The Ancient People of Qumran: An Introduction to the
Dead Sea Scrolls"

http://byub.org/deadsea/book/chapter1/intro.html



How is BYU involved with the Scrolls?

http://byub.org/deadsea/byu.asp

Answer 3

they accurately reflect a specific period of history in their writings. There were more than just the Bible in those scrolls.

Plus, it's very easy to do so from the types of paper and jars used. The aging of the paper, all the little bacterium and what not also help.

I don't believe they did a lot of carbon dating on the scrolls.

carbon dating assumes a uniformity of events over time, but many things can skew the carbon readings, such as solar flares and volcanic events.

since there is evidence that the fossils are layed down in a massive vocanic event - which we believe is that happened during the flood, that would skew the data.

Answer 4

Why would Satan have planted them? Especially since they only seem to confirm other texts that have been found?

The significance of the dead sea scrolls is that they predate all other records found, and add more authenticity to the claims of the Bible.

Answer 5

The Dead Sea Scrolls identify their author. And are 'only' two thousand years old.
Fossils are millions of years old. leftover remains of plants and animals. They really cannot be compared when it comes to carbon dating.
The earth and even animals are far older [ existing on the earth] than man himself.
Man was the VERY LAST of God's creation.
Jesus, as God's son, was the VERY FIRST.
Before even the universe.
He assisted his Father, Jehovah God, in the creation.

(John 1:10) He was in the world, and the world came into existence through him, but the world did not know him.

(John 1:3) All things came into existence through him, and apart from him not even one thing came into existence. What has come into existence

NOT " by " him, but "through" him.

(Proverbs 8:22-31) “Jehovah himself produced me as the beginning of his way, the earliest of his achievements of long ago. 23 From time indefinite I was installed, from the start, from times earlier than the earth. 24 When there were no watery deeps I was brought forth as with labor pains, when there were no springs heavily charged with water. 25 Before the mountains themselves had been settled down, ahead of the hills, I was brought forth as with labor pains, 26 when as yet he had not made the earth and the open spaces and the first part of the dust masses of the productive land. 27 When he prepared the heavens I was there; when he decreed a circle upon the face of the watery deep, 28 when he made firm the cloud masses above, when he caused the fountains of the watery deep to be strong, 29 when he set for the sea his decree that the waters themselves should not pass beyond his order, when he decreed the foundations of the earth, 30 then I came to be beside him as a master worker, and I came to be the one he was specially fond of day by day, I being glad before him all the time, 31 being glad at the productive land of his earth, and the things I was fond of were with the sons of men.

(Colossians 1:15) He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation;

Jesus was FIRSTBORN...His Father was NOT> His father has ALWAYS been in existence.
This belies the claim that Jesus is God himself.

Answer 6

I do not know much about the dating methods, however, I do know that C-14 dating is used on once living things. So I believe that things such as documents use another dating method. In other words the same dating method used on fossils is not used on things such as artifacts and documents. Wish I could tell you more. God bless.

Answer 7

Obviously the margin of error would increase the further back in time the object to be dated was...

"Because the half-life of carbon-14 is short, the older a specimen is, the greater the margin of error becomes. About 40,000 years ago is the oldest the technique is reliable."
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Absolute_dating#Disadvantages

Answer 8

Papyrii can be dated using techniques other than chemical dating. For example, by comparing the typeface of the writing on the papyrii to the typeface of that era, one can date the papyrii to the same.

Answer 9

Most Christians don't know the difference between radiometric dating and C-14 dating.

Answer 10

Wow! Meerkats are SMART!

Um...no one seems to thus far have gotten the razor sharp cleverness of this question.