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Robert Cornuke is the president of the Bible Archaeology Search and Exploration (BASE) Institute in Colorado Springs, Colorado. He is a former police officer and present-day Biblical archaeology explorer who "consciously models himself on 'Indiana Jones.'"[1] He is the author of six books on biblical history relating to archaeological explorations. His critics have called him a con artist, a fraud, questioned his qualifications, and he was sued by a US Ambassador.

Cornuke's explorations have included biblical Mount Sinai in Saudi Arabia (four years after it had already been discovered by someone else[2]), exploring in Turkey with the late Jim Irwin for Noah’s Ark, ancient Assyrian and Babylonian flood accounts in the Zagros Mountains of Iran, following the presumed trail of the Ark of the Covenant through Israel, Egypt, and the Ethiopian highlands, and searching the seafloor off the coast of Malta for the anchors from the Apostle Paul’s ship wreck (in the Bible: Book of Acts, chapter 27), which he claims to have found[3], but others deny[4].

Cornuke has appeared on CBS, NBC, MSNBC, The 700 Club, and Fox Television’s Ripley’s Believe It or Not. He also speaks at Bible conferences like Steeling the Mind, where he shows video footage and lectures about his travels and discoveries [5]. In 2006, Cornuke is schedule to give a workshop at Louisiana Baptist University's graduation week; [6] the same university where he earned his Ph.D. in 2005.

Controversy and criticism

Ron Wyatt was the original discoverer of biblical Mt. Sinai as Jabal al-Lawz in 1984,[7] but was vaguely mentioned in Cornuke's book The Mountain of God (page 218) once. In this book, Cornuke claimed himself as the discoverer and researcher of the biblical match to the mountain in Saudi Arabia. An event that occurred with Cornuke in 1988 (four years after Wyatt) after learning from someone else about Jabal al-Lawz's likeness to Sinai.[8]

Cornuke has been labelled 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."[9] Due to his factual errors and "lies," some believe he seems "to be more interested in the money to be gained from their claims than in providing genuine evidence for anything."[10] Christianity Today reported Kathryn Proffitt (US Ambassador) sued Cornuke to stop the sale of his book after she arranged for the "Maltese government to pardon the fisherman" who owned ancient anchors Cornuke "believed were from the apostle's ship." 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."[11] He did not complete his side of the agreement.

A federal judge denied the request to hold the book since it was already released at the time. Even still "what the Maltese government is apparently upset about, however, isn't that Coruke'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."[12]

Published books

In Search of the Mountain of God: The Discovery of the Real Mt. Sinai, ISBN 0805420525
In Search of the Lost Mountains of Noah: The Discovery of the Real Mt. Ararat. ISBN 0805420541
Ark Fever (Legend Chaser), ISBN 1414302967
Relic Quest (Legend Chaser), ISBN 1414302975
The Lost Shipwreck of Paul, ISBN 0971410038
In Search of the Lost Ark of the Covenant, ISBN 0805420533

References

Books

Moller, Lennart. The Exodus Case: New Discoveries Confirm the Historical Exodus. Scandinavia, 2002. (Information about Wyatt's journey)

External links

BASE Institute
Christianity Today article on the controversies surrounding the alleged discovery of Paul's anchors.
Ten Reasons to be wary of Bob Cornuke
Dictionary of Cults & Religious Groups List: CSee: Bob Cornuke
A Critique of Bob Cornuke with a timeline Following three decades of misleading statements.

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 Cornuke's explorations have included biblical [[Mount Sinai]] in [[Saudi Arabia]] (four years ''after'' it had already been discovered by someone else[http://www.pinkoski.com/files/index.php?id=36]), exploring in [[Turkey]] with the late [[Jim Irwin]] for [[Noah's Ark hoaxes|Noah’s Ark]], ancient [[Assyrian]] and [[Babylonian]] flood accounts in the [[Zagros Mountains]] of [[Iran]], following the presumed trail of the [[Ark of the Covenant]] through [[Israel]], [[Egypt]], and the [[Ethiopia]]n highlands, and searching the seafloor off the coast of [[Malta]] for the anchors from the [[Apostle Paul]]’s ship wreck (in the Bible: [[Book of Acts]], chapter 27), which he claims to have found[http://www.khouse.org/articles/2004/503/], but others deny[http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2003/119/42.0.html].
-Cornuke has appeared on [[CBS]], [[NBC]], [[MSNBC]], The [[700 Club]], and Fox Television’s [[Ripley’s Believe It or Not]].
+Cornuke has appeared on [[CBS]], [[NBC]], [[MSNBC]], The [[700 Club]], and Fox Television’s [[Ripley’s Believe It or Not]]. He also speaks at Bible conferences like [[Steeling the Mind]], where he shows video footage and lectures about his travels and discoveries [http://www.jcsm.org/biblelessons/Steeling2002.htm]. In 2006, Cornuke is schedule to give a workshop at [[Louisiana Baptist University]]'s graduation week; [http://lbu.edu/mayworkshops.html] the same university where he earned his Ph.D. in 2005.
-In 2005, Cornuke completed his Ph.D. from the unaccredited [[Louisiana Baptist University]] and is an adjunct speaker at LBU.
 ==Controversy and criticism==