In January last year Hollywood director James Cameron and Canadian investigative journalist Simcha Jacobovici aired the discovery of what was billed as possibly Jesus’ family tomb. It was originally discovered in 1980, and kept low key (we’ll see why in a couple of paragraphs). It was “rediscovered” in 1996 by a BBC film crew snooping through Israeli archives.
The airing of the Discovery Channel show was met with a variety of emotions from Christians, biblical scholars, and archeologists: anger, denial, skepticism, dismissal, acceptance, excitement, resignation …you name it, it roused all kinds of reactions. That was a year ago.
Since then, just this past January, a leading New Testament expert from Princeton Theological Seminary, Prof. James Charlesworth, was intrigued enough to organize a conference in Jerusalem, bringing together over 50 archeologists, statisticians and experts in DNA, ceramics and ancient languages, to give evidence as to whether or not the crypt of Christ had been found. After reviewing the data and examining the materials, the experts are deeply divided between “ no way” to “very possible”. Then this from the article**:
“ There was a revelation of sorts. The widow of Joseph Gat, the chief archeologist of the 1980 excavation electrified the conference by saying: "My husband believed that this was Jesus’ tomb, but because of his experiences as a Holocaust survivor, he was worried about a backlash of anti-Semitism and he didn't think he could say this."
They are now considering reopening the tomb which is sealed with concrete on the grounds of an apartment building complex in Israel. No decision has been reached yet.
BUT, here’s the clincher. The Reverend Prof. Charlesworth who organized the reinvestigation of all these experts is already sending a signal. Read this quote from the article**:
Charlesworth, who is also a Methodist minister, says that the possible discovery of Christ's tomb will elicit mixed reactions among Christians. Most, he believes, will view it positively. The faith of some believers, he says, will be buoyed by historical proof that Christ, the son of Joseph and Mary, did exist. "I don't think it will undermine belief in the resurrection, only that Jesus rose as a spiritual body, not in the flesh." He adds: "Christianity is a strong religion, based on faith and experience, and I don't think that any discovery by archeologists will change that."
Say What???? Christians aren’t already convinced there really was a Jesus?? They’ve always claimed they didn’t need material proof, and have rejected all kinds of material proofs of science for so many other things they believe on faith, but NOW they will be “buoyed” by proof??
And lemme get this straight: the doctrine accepted by every Christian on the planet (except Gnostics and JWs) is that Jesus rose body and spirit into heaven, as documented in their sacred book of fable, might possibly be WRONG??? But never mind, it’s only HALF WRONG?? Wow!!! Talk about setting the stage for the greatest apologetics (read: self delusion , denial) in the history of Christianity!
If the proof of the tomb is confirmed, and if Christians buy that transparent and desperate apologetics, and don’t begin to question the efficacy of every other fabled miracle and spiritual myth they’ve ever had shoved down their throats since infancy, then they really, seriously, need to be declared insipid at best, absolute cretins at worst.
** The entire article: http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1704299,00.html
The airing of the Discovery Channel show was met with a variety of emotions from Christians, biblical scholars, and archeologists: anger, denial, skepticism, dismissal, acceptance, excitement, resignation …you name it, it roused all kinds of reactions. That was a year ago.
Since then, just this past January, a leading New Testament expert from Princeton Theological Seminary, Prof. James Charlesworth, was intrigued enough to organize a conference in Jerusalem, bringing together over 50 archeologists, statisticians and experts in DNA, ceramics and ancient languages, to give evidence as to whether or not the crypt of Christ had been found. After reviewing the data and examining the materials, the experts are deeply divided between “ no way” to “very possible”. Then this from the article**:
“ There was a revelation of sorts. The widow of Joseph Gat, the chief archeologist of the 1980 excavation electrified the conference by saying: "My husband believed that this was Jesus’ tomb, but because of his experiences as a Holocaust survivor, he was worried about a backlash of anti-Semitism and he didn't think he could say this."
They are now considering reopening the tomb which is sealed with concrete on the grounds of an apartment building complex in Israel. No decision has been reached yet.
BUT, here’s the clincher. The Reverend Prof. Charlesworth who organized the reinvestigation of all these experts is already sending a signal. Read this quote from the article**:
Charlesworth, who is also a Methodist minister, says that the possible discovery of Christ's tomb will elicit mixed reactions among Christians. Most, he believes, will view it positively. The faith of some believers, he says, will be buoyed by historical proof that Christ, the son of Joseph and Mary, did exist. "I don't think it will undermine belief in the resurrection, only that Jesus rose as a spiritual body, not in the flesh." He adds: "Christianity is a strong religion, based on faith and experience, and I don't think that any discovery by archeologists will change that."
Say What???? Christians aren’t already convinced there really was a Jesus?? They’ve always claimed they didn’t need material proof, and have rejected all kinds of material proofs of science for so many other things they believe on faith, but NOW they will be “buoyed” by proof??
And lemme get this straight: the doctrine accepted by every Christian on the planet (except Gnostics and JWs) is that Jesus rose body and spirit into heaven, as documented in their sacred book of fable, might possibly be WRONG??? But never mind, it’s only HALF WRONG?? Wow!!! Talk about setting the stage for the greatest apologetics (read: self delusion , denial) in the history of Christianity!
If the proof of the tomb is confirmed, and if Christians buy that transparent and desperate apologetics, and don’t begin to question the efficacy of every other fabled miracle and spiritual myth they’ve ever had shoved down their throats since infancy, then they really, seriously, need to be declared insipid at best, absolute cretins at worst.
** The entire article: http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1704299,00.html
you'd just love it if it was true right? then you can justify you're atheisism. but its not true. they can never prove it. Why don't you just give it up. Jesus is Lord and He Lives.
ReplyDeleteWell, Anon, I don't need to justify my atheism. With no evidence of god, and god concept being counter to natural and physical laws, a lack of belief in god needs no more justification than does my lack of belief in gnomes or tribbles.
ReplyDeleteIt's all rather simple, if you think about it. This presupposes that you think, and aren't simple.
As for wanting to see the Jesus tomb be the real thing...sure,you bet. Any new scientific discovery, that can be corroborated and confirmed with a high degree of certainity expands human knowledge. That's always a good thing. Of course, making Xtians like you having to swallow reality, and diminish your fantasy would make it just that much more enjoyable, almost priceless. :)
Lord Vader LIVES. May the Farce be with you.
Hump
Old news
ReplyDeleteOr listen to this
Friend,
ReplyDeleteyeah..well, if you call 4 weeks old...I guess so.
Back my day when cave men transmitted news on the backs of mastadons, by carrying stone tablets from settlement to settlement, four weeks was considered pretty timely.
Of course, as we all know, its not the news per se that's important. You can get news anywhere. It's my sterling interpretation, critique and observations of the fallout from that news that endears me to my readership.
:p
Hump
Bar-Ilan University Prof. Amos Kloner, the Jerusalem District archaeologist who officially oversaw the work at the tomb in 1980 and has published detailed findings on its contents, on Saturday night dismissed the claims. "It makes a great story for a TV film," he told The Jerusalem Post. "But it's impossible. It's nonsense."
ReplyDelete"There is no likelihood that Jesus and his relatives had a family tomb," Kloner said. "They were a Galilee family with no ties in Jerusalem. The Talpiot tomb belonged to a middle-class family from the 1st century CE."
So with the likelihood that Jesus' family never even had a family tomb ... well. *Yawn*
Joyce, well, thats one archeologist's opinion.
ReplyDeleteWhat makes real science different from blind belief and fake science is that these things undergo peer review by experts. The concensus of opinion determines whether or not a finding is authentic and is meaningful ... not just one expert's opinion.
That said... i don't necesarily believe it IS the jesus family tomb. I do believe the coincidences(assuming they werent manufactured, and I havnt heard anyone say they were), are remarkable and compelling. I didn't hear that experts' explanation for those coincidences.
What it seems he based his dismissal on was the Jeruseleum vs Galilie locale, which comepletly dismisses any possibilility the family relocated after the crucifixtion. Why?
And middle class vs what...lower class or upper class? Who's to say what "class" and how much money jesus' family, or his follwers accumulated, to justify the osturaries and the tomb?
But, time will tell what if anything comes from this.
Thanks for the info.
Hump
PS: the tomb was a contribution by a local jesus follower, if you recall. jesus'family didnt have to pay for it. That contributor was at least middle class.
ReplyDeletenow what?
Professor Craig Evans, who has done a lot of research into Jewish burial practices and Christianity, has written a response to the Lost Tomb of Jesus here
ReplyDeleteThanks, anon...Interesting, but nothing new in that article. Almost all those objects were previously raised.
ReplyDeleteBut, like i said...experts run the gamut from "no way" to "very possible". So Professor Craig goes into the "no way" catagory. It hardly puts an end to it based on his interpretation.
However, something telling. If you read the 2nd to the last paragraph in his article at the link you provided you find he injects into /fall back on his Xtian indoctrination, taking a sudden departure from his dispassionate and scientific approach that he fronts through the rest of the article.
He proposesthat there should have been some reference to "son of god" or "messiah" on the proported jesus ostuary, not just a simple "jesus son ofJoseph". He seems wilfully ignorant of the very likly fact that at the time of his death jesus would have been presumed to have been a venerated rabbi with radicle ideas about how Judaism should be followed, and not a the supernatural beng he was later made to be.
The god title would have been bestowed in the late first or early 2nd century, when the cult fathers wrote the gospel and endowed jesus with supernatural powers far beyond those of mortal men.
Only someone with a strong Christian prejudice would make the assumption that Jesus' contemporaries attributed to the deceased any godly powers...especially in light of the fact they had his corpse and buried it!! Remeber, with a corpse theres no supernatural ressurection story. There is no independent evidence of jesus god worship during his lifetime, other than post jesus' cultist, I mean, christian scripture... which was all written 60-200 years after jesus's demise.
Hump