Bob Cornuke (born 1951) is an American writer and president of the Bible Archaeology Search and Exploration Institute (BASE), which is operated from his home in
Colorado Springs, Colorado
Colorado Springs is the most populous city in El Paso County, Colorado, United States, and its county seat. The city had a population of 478,961 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, a 15.02% increase since 2010 United States Census, 2 ...
.
He describes himself as a
Biblical archaeologist, 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 unaccredited
Louisiana Baptist University. He is the author of six books about his explorations. Cornuke uses the
Bible as a literal guide for his explorations, and prioritizes it over secular and historical sources.
James K. Hoffmeier describes him as "a former Los Angeles SWAT policeman and more recently a real estate agent" in his 2005 book ''Ancient Israel in Sinai: The Evidence for the Authenticity of the Wilderness Tradition''.
Cornuke claims to have discovered the anchors from the
Apostle Paul
Paul, also named Saul of Tarsus, commonly known as Paul the Apostle and Saint Paul, was a Apostles in the New Testament, Christian apostle ( AD) who spread the Ministry of Jesus, teachings of Jesus in the Christianity in the 1st century, first ...
’s shipwreck in
Marsaskala, as described in the Bible's
Book of Acts
The Acts of the Apostles (, ''Práxeis Apostólōn''; ) is the fifth book of the New Testament; it tells of the founding of the Christian Church and the spread of The gospel, its message to the Roman Empire.
Acts and the Gospel of Luke make u ...
, chapter 27 — by searching the sea floor off the coast of
Malta
Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...
.
He also expedited to
Takht-i-Suleiman in
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...
in July 2005 and June 2006, where he asserts that he found a rock formation approximately 400 ft long at elevation. Cornuke's search appeared on ''
Fox News
The Fox News Channel (FNC), commonly known as Fox News, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Conservatism in the United States, conservative List of news television channels, news and political commentary Television stati ...
'',
CNN
Cable News Network (CNN) is a multinational news organization operating, most notably, a website and a TV channel headquartered in Atlanta. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable ne ...
, and
Good Morning America
''Good Morning America'', often abbreviated as ''GMA'', is an American breakfast television, morning television program that is broadcast on American Broadcasting Company, ABC. It debuted on November 3, 1975, and first expanded to weekends wit ...
as well as others.
Mount Sinai
Cornuke's book, ''In Search of the Mountain of God'', claimed to match of
the biblical Mount Sinai to ''
Jabal al-Lawz'' in
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...
. A similar claim was made earlier, in 1984, by
Ron Wyatt.
Island of Malta
In 2002 Cornuke claimed to have found anchors from the biblical shipwreck of the Apostle Paul in waters near Malta. This claim has been disputed.
[Olsen, Ted]
Apostle Paul's Shipwreck Makes Headlines
''Christianity Today
''Christianity Today'' is an evangelical Christian media magazine founded in 1956 by Billy Graham. It is published by Christianity Today International based in Carol Stream, Illinois. ''The Washington Post'' calls ''Christianity Today'' "eva ...
.'' May 15, 2003
In 2003 ''
Christianity Today
''Christianity Today'' is an evangelical Christian media magazine founded in 1956 by Billy Graham. It is published by Christianity Today International based in Carol Stream, Illinois. ''The Washington Post'' calls ''Christianity Today'' "eva ...
'' 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."
Noah's Ark
Supporters of Cornuke 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.
[Brannon Howse]
Noah's Ark? For Real
''Christian Worldview Network'', June 16, 2006. 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.
''NoahsArkSearch.com''. Even creationist geologists doubt whether the rocks viewed by Cornuke are petrified and are urging caution.
[Tas Walker]
Caution about 'Ark' discovery
''CreationOnTheWeb.com'', July 5, 2006.
The research team included Arch Bonnema, film producer of
The Genius Club and other well-known Christian businessmen.
John Morris, of the Institute of Creation Research, does not believe the rocks viewed by Cornuke are petrified or Noah's Ark.
[John Morris, Ph.D.]
Ark is rock not petrified wood
''icr.org'', July 21, 2006.
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.
[Rick Lanser, M.Div]
, ''abr.christiananswers.net'', July 20, 2006.
''National Geographic'' critiqued the rocks at the site.
[Kate Ravilious]
''National Geographic'', July 5, 2006.
Books
* ''In Search of the Mountain of God: The Discovery of the Real Mt. Sinai, Part 1'',
Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2000. (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. (Co-written with
David Halbrook)
* ''In Search of the Lost Ark of the Covenant, Part 3'',
Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2002. (Co-written with
David Halbrook)
* ''The Lost Shipwreck of St. Paul'',
Global Publishing Services, 2003.
* ''Ark Fever:Legend Chaser'',
Tyndale House Publishers, 2005.
* ''Relic Quest: Legend Chaser'',
Tyndale House Publishers, 2005.
* ''The Bell Messenger: A Novel'', (with
Alton Gansky
Alton Gansky is an American novelist
A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living wage, living writin ...
),
Howard Books, 2008.
* ''Temple — Amazing New Discoveries That Change Everything About The Location Of Solomon's Temple'',
LifeBridge Books, 2014.
References
External links
Bob Cornuke Homepage*
ttp://www.cults.co.nz/c.php#cornuker NZ Cult List - a dictionary of cults & religious groups: C: Bob CornukeA Critique of Bob Cornuke with a timelineIs Mount Sinai in Saudi Arabia? by Gordon Franz
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cornuke, Bob
American Christian writers
American pseudoarchaeologists
Promise Keepers
1951 births
Living people
Los Angeles Police Department officers
Louisiana Baptist University alumni