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"The Lost Tomb of Christ"
"The
Smoking Ossuary"
The
credibility in any discovery of this magnitude, of course, is directly connected
to the credibility of the researcher behind it. James Cameron, the producer of
this documentary, may have the weight of enough credibility to sink the Titanic
but the actual focus of this project Simcha Jacobovici, the man who is behind
these questionable claims, has all the believability of a con artist in field of
burial box identification.
One of the least considered, yet most damaging, aspects of the credibility
of Simcha Jacobovici is his previous discovery of, what he claims to be, an
ossuary containing the remains of James, the brother of Jesus. This ossuary
allegedly inscribed with the words James son of Joseph brother of Jesus, is also
featured in the documentary and it was implied that it may be connected to this
tomb.
Jacobovici claims that tests on the patina, or surface residue, of the James
Ossuary, which surfaced in 2002, indicate that it also came from the Talpiot
tomb, even though Israeli authorities have pronounced the James Ossuary, which
purportedly held the bones of a brother of Jesus, is a complete forgery.
The experts, who were shown conducting the tests on the ossuary residue in the
film have been documented as saying they cannot verify it came from the same
tomb, only the same general region.
James Tabor, chair of religious studies at the University of North Carolina, who
was interviewed with him after the film claimed that the fact the inscription
was forged did not effect the authenticity of it as the ossuary of James, the
brother of Jesus.
In 2003,
again, around Easter time, Jacobovici did another film about the ossuary of
James, the brother of Jesus. This ossuary proved to be complete hoax, and
the owner of the fake was arrested and now is going to trial on faking it as
part of a global criminal counterfeit antiquities ring.
An Ongoing Forgery Trial
The ongoing
fraud trial of the James ossuary owner Oded Golan, is now in a Jerusalem
courtroom, where he is charged with forging the inscription on the box presented
in this film. Amazingly, Golan was actually presented as an expert in this
documentary, even though he is charged with antiquities forgery.
Jacobovici
does not address this fraud trial directly in the film, which is very damaging
to his credibility, and simply passed it off as turning in favor of his bogus
claim.
For documentation on the fraud touted by Mr. Jacobovici as a genuine
article visit the following links:
Owner of "James Ossuary" Under Arrest - False Artifact Claimed
Jesus Had Siblings
James ossuary part of Israeli fraud charges
James Ossuary Owner Arrested on Fraud and Forgery Charges
Introduction to the Problem and Synopsis of the 2004 Israeli
Indictment
Proof of the Fraud
Antiquities Authority
Director of Israel’s Antiquities Authority
The director of Israel’s Antiquities
Authority, Dr. Shuka Dorfman, now says that further tests on the (James)
ossuary, evidence shows that the ancient inscription is a fake. Microscopic and
chemical analyses indicated that a forger had cut through layers of material and
ancient varnish to make the inscription then covered the letters with what the
Washington Post newspaper describes as "a recently applied mixture of water and
ground chalk." The results of Lemaire's examination were published only last
year by Biblical Archaeological Review, but without the benefit of peer review
or third-party testing.
Deputy Director of Israel’s Antiquities
Authority
Antiquities Authority Deputy Director
Uzi Dahari led the three-and-a-half-month long investigation into the ancient
box. He told reporters that the agency decided to investigate the authenticity
of the James ossuary "because the whole world was talking about this, and a lot
of innocent people could be hurt if you're trying to fool them to make money."
Co-investigator Yuval Goren of Tel Aviv University said that the antiquities
team concluded that the ancient Aramaic script appeared to have possibly been
written by more than person. The report says that a forger could have utilized
a computer program that scanned ancient letters from known texts, and then
etched the words on the side of the limestone box. Experts remain divided over
whether the word "Yeshua" (Jesus) was forged, "but the rest for sure is fake,"
Goren announced. "Yeshua was a very common name. If all you have is the name
Jesus, that proves nothing," he added.
On the
'Jesus Tomb' Official Movie Site we find this statement:
"An incredible archaeological discovery in Israel changes history
and shocks the world. Tombs with the names The Virgin Mary, Jesus of Nazareth,
Mary Magdalene and Judah, their son, are found and an investigation begins."
This link details the findings of
forgery by the Israeli Antiquities Authority.
Final Reports on the Yehoash Inscription and James Ossuary
from
the Israeli Antiquities Authority
Do we really want to
consider this potential history-shattering
and Christianity-debunking documentary valid, when it comes from a man,
who brought us another fake ossuary just three years ago,
without the very closest fine-tooth combing and white glove scrutiny?
Part 4
Historical Evidence for
the Crucifixion
Did He Die?
Part 5
The Resurrection Reality
Talking Points and Links
A List of Quotes on the Documentary
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