Book Review
True Raiders
by
Brad Ricca
Saint Martin’s Press. New York.
2021.
“True Raiders” brings to mind the great Stephen Spielberg film “Raiders of the Lost Ark” in which the heroic Indiana Jones competes with the Nazis to find the Ark of the Covenant. The Ark contained the tablets of the Ten Commandments that God had given to Moses. The Ark had great power according to the Old Testament.
In 1909, a group from Great Britain visited the Holy Land with the intention of finding the Ark of the Covenant. Previous to embarking on their trip the members of this group discussed the financial (!) value that the Ark would have. Like the French archeologist and the Nazis in the film, this group seemed to have been oblivious to the spiritual significance of the Ark of the Covenant.
An international incident was triggered when the leader of the group and others proceeded to dig under the Dome of the Rock. When this news got out, there were riots throughout Ottoman Palestine. The whole effort was a debacle.
It is a very interesting and readable book. What comes across from an Orthodox Christian interpretation of these events is that God cannot be accessed any other way than through faith. In the Spielberg film, a French archeologist tells Indiana Jones the Ark is a radio to talk to God.
Such a view is blasphemous and really misguided. The group in the book appeared to be nice people but failed to comprehend the line between spirituality and secular history. The Ark is not and cannot be reduced to a mere historical artifact.
One can find God only through prayer and worship in Church. Archeology and history are good things but only up to a point. The sacred should never be confused with the secular.
A case in point is how some people treat icons. Some people treat them as “art” when in reality they are door ways to heaven helping us to worship God. As for the Ark of The Covenant, the best case put forward comes from the Ethiopian Orthodox Church (Oriental Orthodox) which claims it has the Ark in one of their Churches.
The Ethiopian Church has a priest-monk who is specially trained to keep watch over the Ark. The Ethiopians deny access to any and all people by suggesting those unworthy to approach will die. The reverential treatment given to the Ark by the Ethiopians is greater evidence of having the Ark than any secular claimants.
The 1909 group admitted their failures to find the Ark. In more recent years there have been others claiming to have found the Ark. None of the claims are convincing. The serious attitude of the Ethiopians is impressive and worthy of more respect than any other claims.
Still, the book is a very good and interesting read.