israel finkelstein is next up as he also is painted in a light that makes him larger than life while righting the wrongs of the archaeological field. in fact minimalist quotes from his book to start the current biblical archaeology thread yet we never get to see the weakness of his thinking.
but we are about too, this time i have a link and do not have to post so many parts which illustrates the other side of his thinking. I call it------ Finkelstein gets schooled:
http://www.denverseminary.edu/dj/articles2001/0100/0104
**bold printing mine, both times**This book is written by a member of the "new generation" of Israeli archaeologists who holds a professorship at the University of Tel Aviv, and by a journalist who has published critical analyses of the history of archaeology of the Holy Land. Together, their stated purpose is to present how the new discoveries of the discipline of archaeology have overturned long held assumptions about the essential reliability of the Old Testament as a historical record. The book is arranged so as to move chronologically from what is traditionally regarded as earliest (the patriarchs) to what is the latest testimony of the biblical historical record (the post-exilic period).
For each chapter, the authors present a summary of the biblical account and then discuss the ways in which archaeology has controverted this traditional understanding. The authors always present their interpretation of the archaeological data but do not mention or interact with contemporary alternative approaches. Thus the book is ideologically driven and controlled
No one has ever proven the renowned Egyptologist Kenneth Kitchen wrong when he affirmed that the sale price for a slave such as Joseph was twenty shekels of silver according to Gen. 37:28. This amount for a slave was customary in the first half of the second millennium B.C. but unknown at later periods, including the era of the seventh century
oh and minimalist is invited to highlight any archaeologist he wants, this isn't just a trashing of his favorites, they were just a starting point.