Mark Dawes, Staff Reporter

Dr. Ron and Paula Charles. - Contributed

Dr. Charles, 57, said the biggest obstacles facing him as a Christian archaeologist was securing permission to do archaeological digs in certain Middle Eastern nation. To do so, he said he has had to apply for permission, emphasising that he seeks to work not as a Christian but as an educator and archaeologist.

The best way to communicate the Christian Gospel to Muslims is not by the traditional means of evangelism often used in the West. Instead, by being friendly and faithfully living a holy life will cause Muslims to inquire of the Christian faith.

That's the view of Dr. Ron Charles, a visiting archaeologist and biblical scholar. Dr. Charles and his wife Paula lived in the Middle East for 25 years. Among the places he has lived is Egypt. While there, he served for 15 years before he witnessed a Muslim becoming a born-again Christian.

Dr. Charles is in Jamaica to address the conference entitled 'Search for Christ', which will be held September 25-27, at Love & Faith World Outreach Ministries, 33 Balmoral Avenue, Kingston 10. Love & Faith World Outreach Ministries is a church pastored by Rev. Neville Owens.

Common mistake

Dr. Charles said that a common mistake of Americans seeking to evangelise Muslims is to begin by belittling the Prophet Mohammad and the Koran, the sacred book of followers of the Islamic religion. He said, "Don't criticise the Muslims for what they believe. But never be ashamed to say that you are a Christian. Don't force your Christianity on them. Wait until they are ready to inquire of the Christian faith."

Unfortunately a handful of terrorists, Dr. Charles said, is dictating the response of the Islamic community to contemporary issues. Many in the Muslim community, he said, are not doing enough to control terror-related activities.

Dr. Charles has eight degrees - three bachelor's covering the disciplines of: civil engineering, history, theology; two master's for ancient history, historical theology; and three doctorates for the fields of theology, ancient history, and international relations.

Career milestone

He reached a milestone in his career in 1991 when as part of a team comprised of a joint venture between the governments of Turkey, the then Soviet Union and the United States, the location of Noah's Ark was discovered. The ark was located 15,500 feet on Mt. Ararat. The team included persons from National Geographic magazine, the Discovery Channel, and the BBC. Dr. Charles was the sole archaeologist on the trip. He reported that the ark was found in thick ice that is not easy to move. It was broken in three pieces, he said, and it matched the dimensions mentioned in the book of Genesis. Mt. Ararat, he explained, is a volcanic mountain and there is no lumber anywhere near that section of Turkey.

Asked about an ark of another kind - the Ark of the Covenant, which has been missing for centuries - Dr. Charles jokingly said he has seen it six times in different locations - once in Egypt, once in Ethiopia, once in Turkey, and twice in Israel. "It all depends on how much you are willing to pay the tour guide." On a more sombre note, he expressed the view that it will never be found because God in His wisdom took it for Himself. Furthermore, the Ark of the Covenant, he said, no longer has relevance with regards to the forgiveness of sins because of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Biggest obstacles

Dr. Charles, 57, said the biggest obstacles facing him as a Christian archaeologist was securing permission to do archaeological digs in certain Middle Eastern nation. To do so, he said, he has had to apply for permission, emphasising that he seeks to work not as a Christian but as an educator and archaeologist.

The Ark of Covenant, nevertheless, continues to be an area of interest for many, and documentaries on its whereabouts are often featured in cable programmes. The movie, Raiders of the Lost Ark, starring Harrison Ford, was also based on the quest to secure this ancient piece of furniture which was situated in both the Tabernacle and Solomon's Temple.

Dr. Charles has served as a senior pastor in churches in Ohio and Georgia. He has also been a board member of numerous colleges and foundations. An author of six books, Dr. Charles is an authority on the historicity of Jesus' life on earth. He, in 2003, published The Search: A Historian's Search for the Historical Jesus. For this volume, Dr. Charles used about 160 sources. It is the fruit of more than 33 years of research he said. "Out of the 129 events recorded in the Bible concerning the life of Jesus, 111 can be corroborated by Greek and Roman sources." He said, too, that many of these sources were written by contemporaries of Jesus. His book, he said, shows that Jesus was both a loyal Roman subject and Jewish man.

Though there is a lot that has already been written on the historicity of Jesus, Dr. Charles said there continues to be the need for volumes such as his because there is a movement which seeks to discredit the biblical account of Jesus. This movement finds expression, he said, in such works as The Da Vinci Code, written by Dan Brown, and Holy Blood, Holy Grail Illustrated Edition: The Secret History of Jesus, the Shocking Legacy of the Grail by Michael Baigent, Richard Leigh, and Henry Lincoln.

EDITOR's NOTE: Dr. Ron Charles may be reached atrpalban@bellsouth.net. His website is www.roncharles.com.

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