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The Lost Tomb of Jesus?
As I'm sure you've heard, James Cameron, director of the Titanic, and Simcha Jacobovici, a Toronto film maker, are promoting their new documentary, The Lost Tomb of Jesus.
Matt Lauer, Today Show host, was asking if this discovery will cause many to rethink their Christian beliefs.
Well, I certainly hope it doesn't because its not getting much validation from the people who know about these things.
Cameron and Jacobovici spent time on Larry King Live last night endlessly going over the statistical significance of finding a tomb with the names of Jesus, Mary, Mary Magdalene and Joseph on them.
The storyline of the documentary suggests that Jesus married Mary Magdalene and they had a son named Judah. The documentary supposedly shows archaeological evidence to support their storyline.
I'm no expert of this stuff but at first glance, it seems to me they have several problems:
Amos Kloner, the archaeologist in charge of the excavation site when it was found in 1980 said it is laughable that Cameron -- some 27 years later -- claims to have found "proof" of Jesus' burial site. He said many tombs have been found with similar names because they were such common names.
Reuters is reporting that most scholars in Israel are dismissing it as a publicity stunt.
Simcha Jacobovici, who brought the story to Cameron, has a severe credibility problem. A few years ago he made a similar documentary claiming to have found the Ossuarie (Ossuaries are small caskets) of James of the New Testament. The film was later dismissed as a fraud and in fact is in litigation.
CNN's own reporter on site in Jerusalem reported last night that while everyone in Jerusalem is talking about it, most do not take it seriously. (Read article).
Albert Mohler, president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, has said the DNA they are using has no basis and is flawed. Perhaps Bill Donohue, president of the Catholic League said it best, "Not a lenten season goes by without some author or TV program seeking to cast doubt on the divinity of Jesus and/or the resurrection."
Donohue also said he thinks Cameron, director of Titanic, is now responsible for a "Titanic Fraud."
And it seems a lot of people agree.
____________
Gary Randall
President
Faith & Freedom
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9 Comments:
No discovery proves or disproves Biblical facts… Bible confirms or invalidates discoveries.
Alex Ptachik
Yes but many have been discounting it without knowing anything about it. Though the names are common having a family with that exact same configuration of names would be far more unlikely.
They say they have DNA evidence and the only way that would be useful is if it shows that all the bones are related in the way they should be for it to be Jesus' family. That would take the probability of it NOT being coincidence up yet another notch.
Of course for many Protestants it wouldn't be a big deal one way or the other - that Jesus was married would be a 'geewhiz' bit of info because Protestants and 'New Thought' religions don't see sex as the vehicle of original sin as earlier sects did (and do).
I'm open to the possibility and will wait until everything is laid out - either way it shouldn't make or break anyone's faith or lack there of.
Of course it's not real. It's just myths and fables created by people who couldn't understand why things happen. They're nice stories, but no more real than the easter bunny or tooth fairy.
In this matter, I agree with Gary (you see, I don't hate Gary...). While I don't mind taking such a consideration somewhat seriously, the evidence is simply not meaningful at present. If someone were to say they had found the bones of King David, I strongly suspect the level of evidentiary material would be very high. Interestingly, Roman Cathlics have been presenting bones and other relics for years...maybe this is just more of the same??
A couple of other comments:
Alex (Anon 1:47)
No discovery proves or disproves Biblical facts… Bible confirms or invalidates discoveries.
I think this is a little weak - the two should mutually co-exist just fine. God never told you to turn your brain off to follow His Word.
I am puzzled by Gary's quote of Bill D. Why anyone would quote or in anyway reference Bill D. is, of course, beyond comprehension - at least if integrity, truth and the Gospel have any meaning to them.
Sincerely,
In a living Jesus Christ,
Human
James Cameron must be the smartest man in the world. He has clearly brought something to light which has never been thought of before. He would have us to believe Jesus did not raise from the dead. WOW. This guy has to be an original, a real trailblazer.
What a Charlatan this Cameron guy is. He is a tragic Clown.
Anon 3:21
I appreciate the spirit of Christ manifested through you - regardless of whether the content of your statement is the truth.
One of my favorite jokes has been: "Have you heard? They had to cancel Easter this year. Yes, they found the body." Dang, they ruined a perfectly good punch line....
Well Cameron isn't saying he didn't raise from the dead, merely that his body didn't disappear 'where ever' when ever he did die, possibly the second time.
That is one thing I've never really understood about fundamentalists - isn't believing the Bible, an anthology of many authors, is absolutely pedantically true just a form of idolatry? Couldn't Jesus have been the Son of God and his second death was just a metaphorically a bodily ascent to heaven? If you wanted to prevent grave robbers wouldn't that the story you'd want people to think so they wouldn't go grave hunting?
Also would explain why their even was a crypt - some wealthy believer offered to provide a final resting place for Jesus and his family? How would any of this in anyway imply that Jesus still wasn't everything substantive people believe - Son of God, resurrected, etc?
Again, quite being threatened by something that would actually substantiate Jesus actuals existence and much of what is said in the Gospels?
Of course I am not a Christian but it would seem if the faith is in God all of this is pretty irrelevant to that faith, isn't it?
What is really funny is that the only place is it being taken seriously is in the tabloids (which now includes all of the mainstream press) in America.
Everyone else it seems, knows stupidity when they see it.
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