In Search of the Mountain of God: The Discovery of the Real Mt. Sinai

Rating:
Summary: Indiana Jones Meets Bible Archeology Review
Review: Bob Cornuke's story is both entertaining and convincing. This quick-read is in two distinct parts. First, the riveting true-life story that carries the reader along on a vicarious adventure ride, chronicling Bob Cornuke and Larry Williams' exploits . However, it's the last section that provides the "guts" of Cornuke's persuasive argument. Facts and photos seem to support that these two intrepid adventurers have actually found the real Mount Sinai of the Bible. Clearly, it's an injunction for further research that the academic world cannot ignore.

Refreshing in their approach, Cornuke and his friend Larry Williams used the Bible as their guidebook and discovered that Mount Sinai is exactly where, and as, the Bible describes it. Too often we are hampered by baseless traditions, such as the Mountain of God being located in the Sinai Peninsula. All too often we see pseudo-scholars attempt to discredit the Bible by using baseless facts such as this. Unfortunately, most true experts have been armchair-bound due to the recalcitrant attitude of the Saudi government. For decades, Western archeologists, Bible scholars and nearly everyone else have consistently been refused entry into Saudi Arabia.

Though I can't condone the illegal scheme used to sneak into Saudi Arabia, nor the surreptitious methods they used on-site, the results of their clandestine mission are nevertheless staggering.

Actually written by one of the participants, I see that an effort has been made to tactfully correct some of the factual errors brought forth previously in various national and international media accounts. "The Gold of Exodus," written by New York Times correspondent Howard Blum about this same adventure, misses the spiritual elements and many of the facts described in this volume. Yet, the "Gold of Exodus" remains an interesting companion piece -- especially to those interested in the friction between Israel and the Arab world.

The very-human story of Cornuke's spiritual struggle, along with ample Bible references, facts and photos, make Cornuke's effort a valuable work. I heartily recommend "In Search of the Mountain of God: The Discovery of the Real Mt. Sinai" to anyone that enjoys an exciting real-life adventure story, or to anyone who is serious about personally investigating the accuracy of the Bible and this archeological find-of-the-century.

Sig Swanstrom Director, The Society of Fellows, Seattle Pacific University

Rating:
Summary: The Closest Trip You'll Ever Take to Mt. Sinai!
Review: Do you enjoy the dangers and thrills of the unexpected? Would you dare to set foot inside a fenced and guarded mountain, forbidden to all, but perhaps one of the holiest spots on earth? All of this and more can be found in this hard to put down book. For thoses who have not heard of Robert Cornuke, he and a companion located a mountain in Saudi Arabia which they believe to be the true Mt. Sinai. There are many things to recommend about this book. Unlike other books written about this mountain named Jabal Al Lawz, this one contains 16 pages of excellent quality color photographs. (The photographs alone make the book worth the purchase) Several of the pictures of the sites on the mountain are smartly captioned with passages from the Bible which appear to allude to it. Essentially, the book contains two sections. The larger first section focuses on Cornuke's discoveries in Saudi Arabia and the price he and his partner pay for taking such a risks in a country which is unsympathetic towards intruders. The highlight of the book is Cornuke's descriptions of his remarkable observations on Jabal Al Lawz. The smaller second section focuses mainly on Egypt. Included in this section is an examination of the problems with the traditional Mt. Sinai, and the exploration of an underwater land bridge in the Gulf of Aqaba. Readers of Howard Blum's "The Gold of Exodus" will note many differences between the two books. Cornuke's book does not touch on the intrigue which is present in Blum's book. Also missing is any mention of the potential treasure which Blum's book claims may be buried around the mountain. The reader may even conclude after reading Cornuke's book that Blum perhaps took a great many literary shortcuts around the true story. Cornuke's book can be recommended to readers on two levels. The sense of adventure conveyed through Cornuke's daring personal narrative succeeds in keeping the reader totally absorbed in the book. But it is through its own bold claims, backed up by convincing photographic evidence, that the book challenges the reader's intellect and forces one to ponder its consequences.

Rating:
Summary: Not Again!
Review: Give me a Break! This is the third book about the same trip and the story changes yet again. This time the spies are gone, but the racial slurs and bad archaeology are still here. This time Jim Irwin gets credit for deciding that Mt. Sinai is in Arabia, and David Fasold and Ron Wyatt are reduced to a short mention in the back of the book. Anyone with any knowledge of Arabian archaeology will tell you that what they have found does not add up to Mt. Sinai. There are well documented bull petroglyphs all over Northwest Saudi Arabia. The boundry markers look like graves that are found all over the country and are still being made by the Bedouin today. The Caves of Moses are still Nabatean tombs even though the photo used in this book in not the same one used in Mr. William's book. The pile of rocks that the bull petroglyph is on looks like many naturally occuring formations all over western Arabia. The v-shaped alter looks like building foundations to me. And what a suprise, a black top mountian is an area of volcanic activity! Mr. Cornuke is still trying to make a buck using the word of God and the ignorance of Arabia that is common in the U.S. I know all of this because I have lived in Saudi Arabia for eighteen years and have traveled extensively in the western part of the country. I also have a degree in archaeology and have devoted many years to reading about the archaeology of this country. And yes, I am a devout Christian, not a Muslim.

Rating:
Summary: REVIEWING SOME REVIEWERS
Review: I do quite a bit of reading with fairly critical eyes, and yet I don't hesitate to give IN SEARCH OF THE MOUNTAIN OF GOD five stars. It is an exciting adventure story about a very significant subject. The evidence that Mr. Cornuke provides in support of his belief that Jabal al Lawz in Saudi Arabia is the REAL Mount Sinai is absolutely overwhelming. It is an excellent book that may very well challenge some of your previously held beliefs while it authenticates the historicity of the Old Testament.

What I primarily wish to do here is to correct some remarks in three of the other online reviews which I suspect might confuse others: A READER FROM USA states that Jabal al Lawz cannot be the real Mount Sinai because Colin Humphreys evidently claims in his book, 'The Miracles Of Exodus', that Mount Sinai had to have been a volcano (due to its burning, smoking peak, and its trembling.) Yes, that would be true, but only if one feels compelled to attribute natural phenomena to all of the miracles described in The Bible. If a person accepts that God is quite capable of transcending His own creation, then finding a "rational" explanation for every miracle is not necessary, and probably fruitless. Because the circumstances on Mount Sinai when Moses met there with God describes what we commonly associate with volcanic activity, it does not at all follow that Mount Sinai MUST have been a volcano. God may heal a person of cancer, but that DOES NOT mean that God MUST be a surgeon!

WILLIAM E. THOMPSON seems to be reviewing two of Cornuke's books simultaneously and that is bound to cause confusion for those unfamiliar with the other book. The statement that the explorers should have (admittedly) returned to the site for further investigation is in regards to Cornuke's, 'In Search Of The Lost Mountains Of Noah', in which he relates his failure to locate Noah's Ark. Although Chapter Twenty-Six ('The Blood Of The Lamb') of that book is quite moving - in which the sacrifice of a lamb is compared with the sacrificial act of Jesus - I agree that the book ultimately should have been shelved until the author had legitimate evidence to offer. But that is no reason to avoid this superior book on the discovery of Mount Sinai. (Incidentally, if Noah's Ark happens to be of interest to you, I recommend viewing the one hour documentary, 'THE DISCOVERY OF NOAH'S ARK' by G. Edward Griffin, available through WWW.REALITYZONE.COM)

In his review, ABUJIFAN far too easily dismisses the many indicators that point to Jabal al Lawz as the REAL Mount Sinai. He fails to address many of the historic landmarks that (coincidentally?!) happen to be in the same general location as the burnt Mountain, and also the coral reef that (conveniently) connects the lower tip of the Sinai Peninsula (across The Red Sea) with Saudi Arabia and the immediate area where all of these landmarks are found! He didn't mention the existence of the water-worn Split Rock (referenced in Exodus 17:5-6 and Isaiah 48:21 of The Bible) - an astonishing find! And he dismisses the photograph of the (presumed) Golden Calf Altar as a pile of rocks that "look like many naturally occurring formations all over Western Arabia." Well, I've lived in the Southwestern U.S. all of my life, and unless rocks form quite differently in Arabia than they do here, that formation is hardly naturally occurring, and I find it incredible that a person with a degree in archaeology would make such a claim. And therein, I suspect, is the rub. Is this a case of "professional jealousy"? Would it bother a pedigreed archaeologist if a testosterone-laden explorer armed with just his wits and his Bible made one of the greatest discoveries in the archaeologist's own backyard? Well, I don't know the answer to that, but I DO KNOW that IN SEARCH OF THE MOUNTAIN OF GOD: THE DISCOVERY OF THE REAL MOUNT SINAI is a real page-turner and a Five Star book, doggone-it! That's all I have to say; I'm gonna go climb back under my rock now and wait to see who finds me first, an archaeologist or an adventurer.

Rating:
Summary: REVIEWING SOME REVIEWERS
Review: I do quite a bit of reading with fairly critical eyes, and yet I don't hesitate to give IN SEARCH OF THE MOUNTAIN OF GOD five stars. It is an exciting adventure story about a very significant subject. The evidence that Mr. Cornuke provides in support of his belief that Jabal al Lawz in Saudi Arabia is the REAL Mount Sinai is absolutely overwhelming. It is an excellent book that may very well challenge some of your previously held beliefs while it authenticates the historicity of the Old Testament. -------- What I primarily wish to do here is to correct some remarks in three of the other online reviews which I suspect might confuse others. -------- A READER FROM USA states that Jabal al Lawz cannot be the real Mount Sinai because Colin Humphreys evidently claims in his book, 'The Miracles Of Exodus', that Mount Sinai had to have been a volcano (due to its burning, smoking peak, and its trembling.) Yes, that would be true, but only if one feels compelled to attribute natural phenomena to all of the miracles described in The Bible. If a person accepts that God is quite capable of transcending His own creation, then finding a "rational" explanation for every miracle is not necessary, and probably fruitless. Because the circumstances on Mount Sinai when Moses met there with God describes what we commonly associate with volcanic activity, it does not at all follow that Mount Sinai MUST have been a volcano. God may heal a person of cancer, but that DOES NOT mean that God MUST be a surgeon! -------- WILLIAM E. THOMPSON seems to be reviewing two of Cornuke's books simultaneously and that is bound to cause confusion for those unfamiliar with the other book. The statement that the explorers should have (admittedly) returned to the site for further investigation is in regards to Cornuke's, 'In Search Of The Lost Mountains Of Noah', in which he relates his failure to locate Noah's Ark. Although Chapter Twenty-Six ('The Blood Of The Lamb') of that book is quite moving - in which the sacrifice of a lamb is compared with the sacrificial act of Jesus - I agree that the book ultimately should have been shelved until the author had legitimate evidence to offer. But that is no reason to avoid this superior book on the discovery of Mount Sinai. (Incidentally, if Noah's Ark happens to be of interest to you, I recommend viewing the one hour documentary, 'THE DISCOVERY OF NOAH'S ARK' by G. Edward Griffin, available through WWW.REALITYZONE.COM -------- In his review, ABUJIFAN far too easily dismisses the many indicators that point to Jabal al Lawz as the REAL Mount Sinai. He fails to address many of the historic landmarks that (coincidentally?!) happen to be in the same general location as the burnt Mountain, and also the coral reef that (conveniently) connects the lower tip of the Sinai Peninsula (across The Red Sea) with Saudi Arabia and the immediate area where all of these landmarks are found! He didn't mention the existence of the water-worn Split Rock (referenced in Exodus 17:5-6 and Isaiah 48:21 of The Bible) - an astonishing find! And he dismisses the photograph of the (presumed) Golden Calf Altar as a pile of rocks that "look like many naturally occurring formations all over Western Arabia." Well, I've lived in the Southwestern U.S. all of my life, and unless rocks form quite differently in Arabia than they do here, that formation is hardly naturally occurring, and I find it incredible that a person with a degree in archaeology would make such a claim. And therein, I suspect, is the rub. Is this a case of "professional jealousy"? Would it bother a pedigreed archaeologist if a testosterone-laden explorer armed with just his wits and his Bible made one of the greatest discoveries in the archaeologist's own backyard? Well, I don't know the answer to that, but I DO KNOW that IN SEARCH OF THE MOUNTAIN OF GOD: THE DISCOVERY OF THE REAL MOUNT SINAI is a real page-turner and a Five Star book, doggone-it! That's all I have to say; I'm gonna go climb back under my rock now and wait to see who finds me first, an archaeologist or an adventurer.

Rating:
Summary: Fascinating!
Review: I'm a reader of everything about archaeology & Biblical times that I can find. I bought all of this author's books at the same time. Each one is as dull as the others. I have as much frustration as the author does in his tedious writing, and failure to come to a conclusion about whether he's made it to God's mountain/Noah's Ark or not.
When he should have returned to a site for a second visit, he writes instead that they decided to wait til another time. Well, hold off your book til "another time" and give us the real stuff, not a trip with inconclusive and incomplete results.

Rating:
Summary: Interesting.
Review: In the last century, we have witnessed multitudes of books that call into question the traditional history and propose a new radical theory. And I'm specifically speaking of biblical scholarship. The majority of the books I refer to debunk biblical representations of history, but this is one of the few that sets forth a new argument in favor of the Bible's literal, historical, and complete truth. The author is not a professional archaeologist, theologian or scholar, but just a fundamentalist (ex-policeman) with his Bible. (Reminding us that the majority of big historical finds are uncovered by amateurs for a little boost in his credibility) So what has he found? The real Mount Sinai.... Jabal Al Lawz. (Arabia) The common placing of Sinai is in Egypt. Why? He unveils that the only reason is that of tradition, a fourth-century fortune teller gave the Egypt-placing of tradition. Here people gather to the supposed sacred site, among whom is included Pope John Paul II. However, what is the scriptural location?? 'Galations 4:25 Now Hagar stands for Mount Sinai in Arabia.' Well there we go.. not Egypt. He was right! We have been wrong. I once saw a brief television clip on this expedition, where authorities deemed his work as unprofessional. The reasons behind this I do not recall. After examining the information presented in this book, I see its argument as very convincing for someone who believes in miracles of the ancient world, since Jabal Al Lawz fits every criteria for identification with Sinai, where as the traditional marking bears none of its features. ( altars, caves, rocks, fire, etc. ) The Bible alone depicts the site they have found. As opposed to admitting the vindication of the Torah's record, you would either have to think 1) that it was set up to resemble Mt. Sinai by a different group of ancients, or 2) coincidental. I tend to bet that this is why scholars don't like accepting the research done by Robert Cornuke. They already view Yahweh's supernatural liberation as myth, and this is the antithesis of that consesus. Accepting this book as true would account for the silence of archaeology in the Sinai Peninsula regarding the Exodus from Egypt, and give Exodus Apologetics an additional leg to stand on, or more like A leg to stand on. This is the holiest mountaintop in the world we're talkin' here, this book is definitely a interesting, and RELEVANT, topic. Sure, it could have been better, yet I do recommend it. The funniest aspect is that after the original discovery, they next discovered that the locals, our Islamic friends, regarded this as the Mountain of Moses all along!!!!

Rating:
Summary: Jabal al Lawz
Review: Moses ascended the 7800-7900 foot mountain approaching into a consuming fire. To the Israelites, the mountain rumbled with power, smoke ascended from its crown, the children of Israel could smell the burning of granite, and a brilliant fire could be seen at a great distance. Only Mose saw the Lord face to face. To the rest of the children of Israel, Jehovah appeared in a pillar of fire.

The fire of God was hot enough to melt the surface of the brown granite into a coal color, black, obsidian, textured glass, with the core remaining brown granite. An angelic trumphet blasted from the top of the Mountain of God announcing the presence of Jehovah. "Mount Sinai was covered with smoke, because the Lord descended on it in fire. The smoke billowed up from it like smoke from a furnace, the whole mountain trembled violently" Exod 18-19 . After, Moses descended from the Holy Mount, his face radiated with the power of God. The children of Israel requested Mose put a veil over his face to block the radiance. The children of Israel had withdrawn to safer purses while Mose communicated with Jehovah.

The power of Jehovah brought fear upon the children of Israel, and in the forty days and forty nights Moses remained on the mountain, they began to encourage Aaron to build them a gold calf. The stone cutter used the granite to build a massive alter and employed thousands of Israelites to move the stones into place. The altar was flat on the top. Aaron used the gold from jewelry to metal-work a golden calf. "Take off the gold earrings that your wives, your sons and your daughters are wearing, and bring them tome." "These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt." "Tomorrow there will be a festival to the Lord." Exod 32:1-5 A pictograph of a male bull was etched in the granite of the altar. Saudi Arabia was not known for large herds of cattle. Mose later would destroy the golden calf, grind up the gold, and distribute it down the stream flowing from the rock of Horeb.

Rating:
Summary: Fascinating!
Review: This book is not only interesting from a factual point of view, but the author also does an excellent job recounting his adventures in an entertaining manner. (I disagree with the reviewers on the bottom that said this book was tedious reading.) The pictures in the middle are fascinating as well as the text which is very convincing. He goes into detail about what he has found and brings the Scriptures to life. I am looking forward to re-reading Exodus as now it seems more real. The discoveries the author made are compelling evidence that this may well be the real Mt. Sinai

Rating:
Summary: Exciting read, low scholarship, high on Bible integrity
Review: This is an exciting tale told from the perspective of "hands on" explorers who read the Bible as accurate in matters of history. Written as an easy read, the book is very interesting but weak from a scholarship perspective. Still, the excitement captured by the authors makes this a good book to read, particularly if you are interested in lands of the Bible.

Mr. Cornuke is a dedicated Christian believer, as evidenced from his writings and the way he uses Scripture to guide his searches. He has a background in forensics, which makes for an interesting view from which to handle archaeological evidence. His conclusions are in disagreement with the traditional route of the Exodus, which places the Israelites wandering around in the Sinai Peninsula. The problem with the traditional assertion is the lack of evidence and common sense. I give Mr. Cornuke a lot of credit for breaking with the tradition, especially since the tradition is not based upon Biblical information.

Mr. Cornuke places the crossing of the Red Sea on the southern tip of the Sinai Peninsula (straits of Tiran), offering as evidence Bible verses and an underwater land bridge. He attempts to excavate drowned chariots, but claimed that water was too deep. As for Mt. Sinai, Mr. Cornuke places it in Saudi Arabia. He offers some photographic evidence, for example, pictures of an altar with c calf inscribed on it. Of course such evidence by itself is not conclusive. But his assertions fit the known geography of the land a lot better than the Sinai Peninsula. I'm convinced that Mt. Sinai is not in the Sinai Peninsula, and is located likely in Saudi Arabia, although I disagree with the mountain Mr. Cornuke chose.

The book is written from the perspective of an explorer and is a fast, exciting read. Although the level of scholarship in this book is a little weak, the book makes up for this somewhat because of the "take you there with me" mentality of the authors. You really feel as if you are along with them, making the discoveries as you go through the ancient lands. If you would like a more detailed work that comes to similar conclusions (ie Sinai is located in Arabia), I would recommend the book "The Miracles of Exodus" by Colin Humphreys. This book offers a lot more scholarship, and retains the "take you there with me" mentality.