Bob Cornuke
Encyclopedia
Bob Cornuke is an American writer and amateur archaeologist. Cornuke is president of the Bible Archaeology Search and Exploration Institute (BASE), which is operated from his home in Colorado Springs, Colorado
. He describes himself as a Biblical archaeologist
, but has no degree or training in archaeology.
Louisiana Baptist University
. He has been a police
officer in Costa Mesa, California
. He is the author of six books about his explorations over the last 20 years. Archaeologists and other critics characterize his approach of using of the Bible as a literal guide
for his explorations as pseudoarchaeology.
Cornuke is travel guide/business partners with Chuck Missler
.http://www.travelmgmt.com/ark/default.htm Cornuke received credits at Missler's unaccredited Koinonia Institute, which were transferable to the unaccredited Louisiana Baptist University
. Missler holds a Master of Science in Engineering from UCLA and is a 1999 graduate of Louisiana Baptist University, and currently Cornuke in Colorado, a 2005 graduate, and Missler in Idaho are professors at the school.
Cornuke also makes a claim of discovering the anchors from the Apostle Paul’s ship wreck, as described in the Bible's Book of Acts, chapter 27 — by searching the sea floor off the coast of Malta
.
His most recent expeditions were to Takht-i-Suleiman
in Iran
in July 2005 and June 2006, where he discovered a rock formation approximately 400 ft long at 13120 ft (3,999 m) elevation. Cornuke's search appeared on Fox News, CNN
, and Good Morning America
as well as others.
to Jabal al-Lawz
in Saudi Arabia
. Earlier, however, in 1984, Ron Wyatt
had already claimed to be the discoverer of the Biblical Mount Sinai at Jabal al-Lawz
.
Author Gordon Franz claimed that Cornuke, "had forged a letter from the King of Saudi Arabia
in order to obtain a visa into the Kingdom," and wanted to debunk Wyatt's, Cornuke's and Williams' claim that the Biblical Mt. Sinai was in Saudi Arabia. Franz argued that the "biggest problem with the identification of Mt. Sinai at Jebel Al-Lawz is that it does not meet the Biblical criteria for the site. These claims are based on three challenged assumptions and a supposed misunderstanding of the archaeological remains that they observed." The three assumptions were: 1) the Sinai Peninsula was within the territorial borders of the Land of Egypt, 2) "that Mt. Sinai is located in the Land of Midian, which is identified as part of the Saudi Arabian peninsula," and 3) "Apostle Paul says in Gal. 4:25 that Mt. Sinai was in Saudi Arabia."
Cornuke responded to Franz's accusations by calling him to "honestly examine and evaluate the [credible] historical, geographical, archeological and Biblical evidence that Jabal al-Lawz might be the real Mount Sinai". Allen Kerkselager, associate professor of Theology at St. Joseph's University stated "Jabal al Lawz may also be the most convincing option for identifying the Mt. Sinai of biblical tradition" and should be researched. Roy Knuteson former Professor of New Testament and Greek and Bible Archaeology at Northwestern College, Minneapolis, has argued that "None of the suggested sites in the Sinai Peninsula fit the biblical requirements.
According to Cornuke, the scholar Frank Moore Cross
of Harvard Divinity School
http://www.baseinstitute.org/franz.pdf supports his Mt. Sinai claims, but according to Franz, "Frank Moore Cross, retired professor of Hebrew at Harvard University opines that the mountain of God was located in the Land of Midian. When asked if he had a guess what mountain might be Mt. Sinai, he responded, 'I really don't'" and Moore "later put the "Midian Hypothesis" in print, but did not endorse any mountains for the location of Mt. Sinai (Cross 1998: 60-68)." Another critic noted the "BASE institute site had some quotes from respected archaeologists which seemed to support the idea that Jebel al-Lawz was a good candidate for Mount Sinai," but, "when I contacted some of these individuals, they assured me they never made such statements, neither did they feel Jebel al-Lawz was the real Mount Sinai." Thus, "it became quickly obvious that some of the information on the BASE Institute site was not legitimate."
Gordon Franz noted Charles Grech (a retired restaurant owner) found a third anchor in front of the same underwater cave that might have been found off the Munxar Reef, but this was not certain. Only one anchor was examined by Anthony Bonanno and it was only examined in Mr. Grech's home. Bonanno believes that anchor appears to be "consistent" with the "era of the shipwreck of St. Paul, in 60 A.D." and "a Roman/Alexandrian grain freighter," but he did not directly link the anchors with St. Paul.
Franz unilaterally dismisses every Maltese claim Cornuke has made. Franz has noted "had no tangible proof of the anchor stocks to show the world. The first of the anchor stocks was melted down; the second, third and fourth were in private collections; and the fifth and six had been sold." So Cornuke, with "the aid of the US ambassador to Malta, Kathy Proffitt, was enlisted to convince the President and Prime Minister of Malta to offer an amnesty to anyone who would turn over antiquities found off the Munxar Reef" and the pardons were issued on September 23, 2002." As a result, "two anchor stocks" were "turned over to the authorities."
Franz questions Cornuke's research in that "Mr. Cornuke does not interact with, or mention, some very important works on the subject of Paul's shipwreck; nor are they listed in his bibliography.". All these scholars have claimed different sites where St. Paul may have been shipwrecked. Gordon also has criticized Cornuke's understanding of the biblical story and description. On August 15, 2005, James Mulholland, a life-long member of the Maltese community and a member of the Pauline Association in Malta, stated that Franz made four errors in his refutation of Cornuke and that Cornuke's evidence was not compelling. Mulholland pointed out three problems with Franz's arguments: 1) That Marsaxlokk bay was visible from Munxar Reef, 2) That Franz misidentified the Munxar reef referred to by Cornuke, 3) That Franz only dismisses, but does not refute Cornuke's identification of the real Munxar Reef as the location, and 4) while "Mr. Franz makes a compelling argument," but "these ancient sites would have been well-known by experienced sailors." Mullholland concluded, "we could pick each element of Mr. Cornuke's overall theory and propose other locations that could possibly match that single element. However, that's not the appropriate exercise here. The compelling nature of Mr. Cornuke's theory rests in the fact that ALL of the elements come together in one location. I could show you a place on the western side of the island where they possibly meet."
In 2003 Christianity Today
reported that the then U.S. ambassador Kathryn Proffitt sued Cornuke to stop the sale of his book after she arranged for the "Maltese
government to pardon the fisherman." (Cornuke would claim these "were from the apostle's ship.") Proffitt contended that as part of the pardon arrangement and several other issues, Cornuke agreed to remain silent about the pardon and "to allow Proffitt and the Maltese government to edit the book. He would also be required to encourage tourists to visit ancient temples." According to some he did not keep his part of the agreement.
A federal judge denied the request to hold up publication of the book since it was already released at the time. Even still, "what the Maltese government is apparently upset about, however, isn't that Cornuke's book was published without its permission, but that it claims that the shipwreck never happened in the traditional site on the northeastern tip of the island, now known as St. Paul's Bay
."
illegally. Later on Cornuke falsely told "guards" they were medical doctors after being captured so the Saudi Arabian guards did not consider them Jewish spies. However, "Cornuke found himself in a sticky situation when one by one each guard came to him complaining of various ailments."
The research team included Arch Bonnema, film producer of The Genius Club
and other well-known Christian businessmen.
The oldest creationist organization does not believe the rocks viewed by Cornuke are petrified or Noah's Ark.
Even Cornuke himself isn't completely convinced that what he observed was Noah's Ark or even if it was petrified wood. Associates for Biblical Research also produced a 7,800-word paper about problems with the Cornuke site.
National Geographic critiqued the rocks at the site.
Colorado Springs, Colorado
Colorado Springs is a Home Rule Municipality that is the county seat and most populous city of El Paso County, Colorado, United States. Colorado Springs is located in South-Central Colorado, in the southern portion of the state. It is situated on Fountain Creek and is located south of the Colorado...
. He describes himself as a Biblical archaeologist
Biblical archaeology
For the movement associated with William F. Albright and also known as biblical archaeology, see Biblical archaeology school. For the interpretation of biblical archaeology in relation to biblical historicity, see The Bible and history....
, but has no degree or training in archaeology.
Background and explorations
He holds a Master of Arts in Biblical Studies and a Ph.D. in Bible and Theology, both from the unaccreditedEducational accreditation
Educational accreditation is a type of quality assurance process under which services and operations of educational institutions or programs are evaluated by an external body to determine if applicable standards are met...
Louisiana Baptist University
Louisiana Baptist University
Louisiana Baptist University is an accredited theologically conservative Christian university, founded in 1973, located at 6301 Westport Avenue in Shreveport, Louisiana....
. He has been a police
Police
The police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...
officer in Costa Mesa, California
Costa Mesa, California
Costa Mesa is a city in Orange County, California. The population was 109,960 at the 2010 census. Since its incorporation in 1953, the city has grown from a semi-rural farming community of 16,840 to a primarily suburban and "edge" city with an economy based on retail, commerce, and light...
. He is the author of six books about his explorations over the last 20 years. Archaeologists and other critics characterize his approach of using of the Bible as a literal guide
Biblical literalism
Biblical literalism is the interpretation or translation of the explicit and primary sense of words in the Bible. A literal Biblical interpretation is associated with the fundamentalist and evangelical hermeneutical approach to Scripture, and is used almost exclusively by conservative Christians...
for his explorations as pseudoarchaeology.
Cornuke is travel guide/business partners with Chuck Missler
Chuck Missler
Charles "Chuck" Missler is an author, evangelical Christian, Bible teacher, former businessman and US Navy officer. He is the founder of the Koinonia House ministry based in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho.-Biography:...
.http://www.travelmgmt.com/ark/default.htm Cornuke received credits at Missler's unaccredited Koinonia Institute, which were transferable to the unaccredited Louisiana Baptist University
Louisiana Baptist University
Louisiana Baptist University is an accredited theologically conservative Christian university, founded in 1973, located at 6301 Westport Avenue in Shreveport, Louisiana....
. Missler holds a Master of Science in Engineering from UCLA and is a 1999 graduate of Louisiana Baptist University, and currently Cornuke in Colorado, a 2005 graduate, and Missler in Idaho are professors at the school.
Cornuke also makes a claim of discovering the anchors from the Apostle Paul’s ship wreck, as described in the Bible's Book of Acts, chapter 27 — by searching the sea floor off the coast of Malta
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
.
His most recent expeditions were to Takht-i-Suleiman
Takht-i-Suleiman
For the similarly named locations see Takht-e Suleyman Massif in Iran, Taxte Soleymān in Pakistan, and Sulayman Mountain near Osh, Kyrgyzstan.Taxte Soleymān, is an archaeological site in West Azarbaijan, Iran...
in Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
in July 2005 and June 2006, where he discovered a rock formation approximately 400 ft long at 13120 ft (3,999 m) elevation. Cornuke's search appeared on Fox News, CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
, and Good Morning America
Good Morning America
Good Morning America is an American morning news and talk show that is broadcast on the ABC television network; it debuted on November 3, 1975. The weekday program airs for two hours; a third hour aired between 2007 and 2008 exclusively on ABC News Now...
as well as others.
Mount Sinai
Cornuke's book, In Search of the Mountain of God, claimed he was the original researcher of the biblical match of Biblical Mount SinaiBiblical Mount Sinai
The Biblical Mount Sinai is the mountain at which the Book of Exodus states that the Ten Commandments were given to Moses by God...
to Jabal al-Lawz
Jabal al-Lawz
Jabal al-Lawz is a mountain located in northwest Saudi Arabia, near the Jordan border, above the Gulf of Aqaba at 2580 metres above sea level. The name means mountain of almonds....
in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
. Earlier, however, in 1984, Ron Wyatt
Ron Wyatt
Ronald Eldon Wyatt was an adventurer and former nurse anaesthetist noted for advocating the Durupınar site as the site of Noah's Ark, among other Bible-related pseudoarchaeology...
had already claimed to be the discoverer of the Biblical Mount Sinai at Jabal al-Lawz
Jabal al-Lawz
Jabal al-Lawz is a mountain located in northwest Saudi Arabia, near the Jordan border, above the Gulf of Aqaba at 2580 metres above sea level. The name means mountain of almonds....
.
Author Gordon Franz claimed that Cornuke, "had forged a letter from the King of Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
in order to obtain a visa into the Kingdom," and wanted to debunk Wyatt's, Cornuke's and Williams' claim that the Biblical Mt. Sinai was in Saudi Arabia. Franz argued that the "biggest problem with the identification of Mt. Sinai at Jebel Al-Lawz is that it does not meet the Biblical criteria for the site. These claims are based on three challenged assumptions and a supposed misunderstanding of the archaeological remains that they observed." The three assumptions were: 1) the Sinai Peninsula was within the territorial borders of the Land of Egypt, 2) "that Mt. Sinai is located in the Land of Midian, which is identified as part of the Saudi Arabian peninsula," and 3) "Apostle Paul says in Gal. 4:25 that Mt. Sinai was in Saudi Arabia."
Cornuke responded to Franz's accusations by calling him to "honestly examine and evaluate the [credible] historical, geographical, archeological and Biblical evidence that Jabal al-Lawz might be the real Mount Sinai". Allen Kerkselager, associate professor of Theology at St. Joseph's University stated "Jabal al Lawz may also be the most convincing option for identifying the Mt. Sinai of biblical tradition" and should be researched. Roy Knuteson former Professor of New Testament and Greek and Bible Archaeology at Northwestern College, Minneapolis, has argued that "None of the suggested sites in the Sinai Peninsula fit the biblical requirements.
According to Cornuke, the scholar Frank Moore Cross
Frank Moore Cross
Frank Moore Cross, Jr. is Hancock Professor of Hebrew and Other Oriental Languages Emeritus at Harvard University, notable for his work in the interpretation of the Dead Sea Scrolls, his 1973 magnum opus Canaanite Myth and Hebrew Epic, and his work in Northwest Semitic epigraphy...
of Harvard Divinity School
Harvard Divinity School
Harvard Divinity School is one of the constituent schools of Harvard University, located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in the United States. The School's mission is to train and educate its students either in the academic study of religion, or for the practice of a religious ministry or other public...
http://www.baseinstitute.org/franz.pdf supports his Mt. Sinai claims, but according to Franz, "Frank Moore Cross, retired professor of Hebrew at Harvard University opines that the mountain of God was located in the Land of Midian. When asked if he had a guess what mountain might be Mt. Sinai, he responded, 'I really don't'" and Moore "later put the "Midian Hypothesis" in print, but did not endorse any mountains for the location of Mt. Sinai (Cross 1998: 60-68)." Another critic noted the "BASE institute site had some quotes from respected archaeologists which seemed to support the idea that Jebel al-Lawz was a good candidate for Mount Sinai," but, "when I contacted some of these individuals, they assured me they never made such statements, neither did they feel Jebel al-Lawz was the real Mount Sinai." Thus, "it became quickly obvious that some of the information on the BASE Institute site was not legitimate."
Maltese
In 2002 Cornuke claimed to have found anchors from the Biblical shipwreck of St. Paul. This claim has been disputed, however, with Cornuke being labelled by some as a "con artist" who was claimed "to have found the wreck of Paul's ship from Acts - and then got sued for breaking 'all aspects' of an oral contract with a former US ambassador to Malta." This case was unsuccessful with the judge ruling that the book was already released and could not be prevented from being sold. His critics believe he is "more interested in the money to be gained from their claims than in providing genuine evidence for anything." Cornuke says that these anchors were actually discovered by fishermen years before he went in search of them and had already been recovered.Gordon Franz noted Charles Grech (a retired restaurant owner) found a third anchor in front of the same underwater cave that might have been found off the Munxar Reef, but this was not certain. Only one anchor was examined by Anthony Bonanno and it was only examined in Mr. Grech's home. Bonanno believes that anchor appears to be "consistent" with the "era of the shipwreck of St. Paul, in 60 A.D." and "a Roman/Alexandrian grain freighter," but he did not directly link the anchors with St. Paul.
Franz unilaterally dismisses every Maltese claim Cornuke has made. Franz has noted "had no tangible proof of the anchor stocks to show the world. The first of the anchor stocks was melted down; the second, third and fourth were in private collections; and the fifth and six had been sold." So Cornuke, with "the aid of the US ambassador to Malta, Kathy Proffitt, was enlisted to convince the President and Prime Minister of Malta to offer an amnesty to anyone who would turn over antiquities found off the Munxar Reef" and the pardons were issued on September 23, 2002." As a result, "two anchor stocks" were "turned over to the authorities."
Franz questions Cornuke's research in that "Mr. Cornuke does not interact with, or mention, some very important works on the subject of Paul's shipwreck; nor are they listed in his bibliography.". All these scholars have claimed different sites where St. Paul may have been shipwrecked. Gordon also has criticized Cornuke's understanding of the biblical story and description. On August 15, 2005, James Mulholland, a life-long member of the Maltese community and a member of the Pauline Association in Malta, stated that Franz made four errors in his refutation of Cornuke and that Cornuke's evidence was not compelling. Mulholland pointed out three problems with Franz's arguments: 1) That Marsaxlokk bay was visible from Munxar Reef, 2) That Franz misidentified the Munxar reef referred to by Cornuke, 3) That Franz only dismisses, but does not refute Cornuke's identification of the real Munxar Reef as the location, and 4) while "Mr. Franz makes a compelling argument," but "these ancient sites would have been well-known by experienced sailors." Mullholland concluded, "we could pick each element of Mr. Cornuke's overall theory and propose other locations that could possibly match that single element. However, that's not the appropriate exercise here. The compelling nature of Mr. Cornuke's theory rests in the fact that ALL of the elements come together in one location. I could show you a place on the western side of the island where they possibly meet."
In 2003 Christianity Today
Christianity Today
Christianity Today is an Evangelical Christian periodical based in Carol Stream, Illinois. It is the flagship publication of its parent company Christianity Today International, claiming circulation figures of 140,000 and readership of 290,000...
reported that the then U.S. ambassador Kathryn Proffitt sued Cornuke to stop the sale of his book after she arranged for the "Maltese
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
government to pardon the fisherman." (Cornuke would claim these "were from the apostle's ship.") Proffitt contended that as part of the pardon arrangement and several other issues, Cornuke agreed to remain silent about the pardon and "to allow Proffitt and the Maltese government to edit the book. He would also be required to encourage tourists to visit ancient temples." According to some he did not keep his part of the agreement.
A federal judge denied the request to hold up publication of the book since it was already released at the time. Even still, "what the Maltese government is apparently upset about, however, isn't that Cornuke's book was published without its permission, but that it claims that the shipwreck never happened in the traditional site on the northeastern tip of the island, now known as St. Paul's Bay
St. Paul's Bay
Saint Paul's Bay is a town in Malta, situated in the north east of the island of Malta, sixteen kilometres from the capital city Valletta.Its name refers to the shipwreck of Saint Paul, as documented in the Acts of the Apostles, due to the tradition that Saint Paul was shipwrecked on the isles,...
."
Saudi Arabia
Cornuke and his partner "snuck" into Saudi ArabiaSaudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
illegally. Later on Cornuke falsely told "guards" they were medical doctors after being captured so the Saudi Arabian guards did not consider them Jewish spies. However, "Cornuke found himself in a sticky situation when one by one each guard came to him complaining of various ailments."
Noah's Ark
Cornuke's surrogates claimed in June 2006 that Cornuke may have discovered Noah's Ark in a pile of dark-colored rocks on the Iranian Takht-e Suleiman ("Throne of Solomon") or Mount Suleiman in the Alborz (Elborz) Mountains. Cornuke relies heavily on one eyewitness of Noah's Ark, Ed Davis, in which there are problems with him being in Iran let alone at this site when he claimed to see Noah's Ark in 1943. Even creationist geologists doubt whether the rocks viewed by Cornuke are petrified and are urging caution.The research team included Arch Bonnema, film producer of The Genius Club
The Genius Club
The Genius Club is a 2006 film from the United States written and directed by Tim Chey. The film was released on October 27, 2006 via the Cinemark Theaters....
and other well-known Christian businessmen.
The oldest creationist organization does not believe the rocks viewed by Cornuke are petrified or Noah's Ark.
Even Cornuke himself isn't completely convinced that what he observed was Noah's Ark or even if it was petrified wood. Associates for Biblical Research also produced a 7,800-word paper about problems with the Cornuke site.
National Geographic critiqued the rocks at the site.
Books
- In Search of the Mountain of God: The Discovery of the Real Mt. Sinai, Part 1, Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2000. ISBN 0-8054-2052-5 (Co-written with David Halbrook)
- In Search of the Lost Mountains of Noah: The Discovery of the Real Mt. Ararat, Part 2, Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2001. ISBN 0-8054-2054-1 (Co-written with David Halbrook)
- In Search of the Lost Ark of the Covenant, Part 3, Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2002. ISBN 0-8054-2053-3 (Co-written with David Halbrook)
- The Lost Shipwreck of St. Paul, Global Publishing Services, 2003. ISBN 0-9714100-3-8
- Ark Fever:Legend Chaser, Tyndale House Publishers, 2005. ISBN 1-4143-0296-7
- Relic Quest: Legend Chaser, Tyndale House Publishers, 2005. ISBN 1-4143-0297-5
- The Bell Messenger: A Novel, (with Alton GanskyAlton GanskyAlton Gansky is an American novelist in the Christian fiction genre.He has written 23 novels and 6 non-fiction books. Beginning in 2009, Mr. Gansky co-authored three military fiction novels, including Certain Jeopardy , Blaze of Glory and Fallen Angel with former Army Ranger Jeff Struecker who...
), Howard Books, 2008, ISBN 978-1416549819