Changes

==Atheism and conversion==

==Atheism and conversion==

Mitchell was raised as an [[atheist]] and as an archaeologist was convinced that the [[Bible]] was fraudulent. "He had spent years deliberately preparing himself for the announced task of heading an exploration expedition into [[Asia Minor]] and [[Palestine]] where he would [find] the evidence that the book was the product of ambitious monks, and not the book from heaven it claimed to be. He regarded the weakest spot in the whole New Testament to be the story of [[Paul|Paul's]] travels. These had never been thoroughly investigated by one on the spot. Equipped as no other man had been, he went to the home of the Bible. Here he spent fifteen years digging. Then in 1896 he published a large volume, ''Saint Paul, the Traveler and the Roman Citizen''."<ref>McDowell, Josh ''Evidence That Demands a Verdict, Volume 1: Historical Evidences for the Christian Faith'' (Thomas Nelson; Rev. ed. 1992) ISBN 0-8407-4378-5 </ref>  

Mitchell was raised as an [[atheist]] and as an archaeologist was convinced that the [[Bible]] was fraudulent. "He had spent years deliberately preparing himself for the announced task of heading an exploration expedition into [[Asia Minor]] and [[Palestine]] where he would [find] the evidence that the book was the product of ambitious monks, and not the book from heaven it claimed to be. He regarded the weakest spot in the whole New Testament to be the story of [[Paul|Paul's]] travels. These had never been thoroughly investigated by one on the spot. Equipped as no other man had been, he went to the home of the Bible. Here he spent fifteen years digging. Then in 1896 he published a large volume, ''Saint Paul, the Traveler and the Roman Citizen''."<ref>McDowell, Josh ''Evidence That Demands a Verdict, Volume 1: Historical Evidences for the Christian Faith'' (Thomas Nelson; Rev. ed. 1992) ISBN 0-8407-4378-5</ref>  

Ramsay was struck by the accuracy of the book of [[Acts (of the Apostles)|Acts]]. In his quest to refute the Bible, he discovered many facts which confirmed its accuracy. He concluded that [[Luke|Luke’s]] account of the events and setting recorded in the narrative were exact even in the smallest detail.<ref>''The Bible and Archaeology'' "The Good News" November/December 1998 ISSN 1086-9514</ref> Of Luke, he wrote: ''Luke is a historian of the first rank; not merely are his statements of fact trustworthy...this author should be placed along with the very greatest historians.''<ref>Ramsay, William M. "The Bearing of Recent Discovery on the Trustworthiness of the New Testament" (1915) ISBN 0-8010-7677-3</ref>

Ramsay was struck by the accuracy of the book of [[Acts (of the Apostles)|Acts]]. In his quest to refute the Bible, he discovered many facts which confirmed its accuracy. He concluded that [[Luke|Luke’s]] account of the events and setting recorded in the narrative were exact even in the smallest detail.<ref>''The Bible and Archaeology'' "The Good News" November/December 1998 ISSN 1086-9514</ref> Of Luke, he wrote: ''Luke is a historian of the first rank; not merely are his statements of fact trustworthy...this author should be placed along with the very greatest historians.''<ref>Ramsay, William M. "The Bearing of Recent Discovery on the Trustworthiness of the New Testament" (1915) ISBN 0-8010-7677-3</ref>