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"The Lost Tomb of Christ"
The Basics
Part 2
The Experts
Many of the experts cited in the film have since expressed
their disagreement with their portrayal and statements, from saying that they
were taken out of context, to stating they were misrepresented completely. One
of those not complaining is James Tabor, chair of religious studies at the
University of North Carolina, who is featured extensively in documentary and has
said the discovery of the tomb could even strengthen the belief of anyone who
doubted that Jesus even existed. He states "To have a material link to Jesus is
wonderful, it's an archeological dream."
Tabor, whose book The Jesus Dynasty was published last
year raised many of the same questions the documentary generates, says the film
cannot be as easily dismissed as the novel, The Da Vinci Code, even though it
too suggests that Jesus had a child with Mary Magdalene. He also states "This is
archeology. We got the casket. We've got the bones, I think we can say, in all
probability, Jesus had this son, Jude, presumably through Mary Magdalene." His
book challenges many of the beliefs that Christians hold dear, maintaining that
Jesus is neither the son of God nor the son of Joseph but most likely the child
of a Roman soldier named Pantera. He also seems to be one of the last remaining
supporters of Jacobovici,
Jodi Magness, an archaeologist at the University of North
Carolina at Chapel Hill, expressed irritation that the claims were made at a
news conference rather than in a peer-reviewed scientific article. She states
"By going directly to the media, the filmmakers have set it up as if it's a
legitimate academic debate, when the vast majority of scholars who specialize in
archaeology of this period have flatly rejected this."
Amos Kloner, a professor at Bar-Ilan University was the
Jerusalem District the archeologist and director of the excavation of the tomb
in 1980 and has published detailed findings on its contents. He told The
Jerusalem Post that he has dismissed the claims completely saying "It makes a
great story for a TV film,, but it's impossible. It's nonsense. It's a beautiful
story but without any proof whatsoever,"
The Israeli Antiquities Authority, which loaned the two
ossuaries to James Cameron, the documentary's producer for his press
conferences, stated their cooperation did not represent any endorsement of the
documentary, or authentication of the artifacts.
The questions and comments of many more critics of this
documentary can easily be found on the Internet. We have, however, been unable
to locate any comments from experts in the related fields of study that support
the claims of this film.
The Names
The heavy focus on the odds of all the names appearing in
the same tomb originate with University of Toronto statistician Andre
Feuerverger, who calculates that, while the names are common, the chances of
them being found together are 600 to one. Many experts in the field of
statistical analysis strongly challenge the data used and question the
conclusions reached, as being deeply flawed. Actually, Feuerverger admits he is
not a biblical scholar, we have found that he only used one source to make his
assessment and he blatantly calculates that if James is added to the equation,
there would be an increase to a 30,000 to one chance that the Talpiot Tomb
belonged to the holiest family in Christendom. This, even though everyone
connected to this latest Jacobovici documentary clearly knows the James ossuary
is a fraud, including Feuerverger. So much for his credibility, as well
The name "Jesus" was a very popular masculine name in the
first century, appearing in 98 other tombs and on 21 other ossuaries. It is
estimated that one in six men in that era were named Jesus. Mary was so common
as a female name that six New Testament women bear the name 'Mary' and that 30
percent of women in those days had the name Mary or Miriam.
The name Mariamne on one of the ossuaries is the Greek
form of Mary. Simply because Mary Magdalene is believed to have spoken and
preached in Greek they declare positively that this must be her ossuary.
Claiming positively that this is Mary Magdalene is hardly a conclusion that
could stand up under even the slightest scrutiny.
And, finally "Jesus son of Joseph" inscriptions have been
found on several other ossuaries over the years.
DNA Evidence
The documentary uses DNA evidence to attempt to prove
Jesus and Mary Magdalene were married. Of course, no DNA samples of any of the
biblical characters exist, so, the general claim that DNA evidence proves this
is the tomb of Jesus, the Christ and his family is not correct. It is important
to point out that the only valid use of DNA evidence in this scenario is that it
was presented as proof that the individuals in the Jesus ossuary and one of the
Mary ossuaries were not maternally related.
This, however, is far from proof that the two individuals
in these ossuaries were married, as is claimed positively in the documentary.
While the documentary uses DNA evidence to prove a marital relationship the
Jesus and and one of the Marys in the tomb they make no attempt to test the DNA
of any other members of this family tomb, even the child they try to claim is
the son of Jesus. Surely, this was not an oversight or too difficult as
Jacobovici tried to claim, when this question was posed in an interview
following the documentary.
The Location of the Tomb
As a member of the ancient society in which Jesus resided, tradition dictated
that one be buried in the town of their birth. Joseph and Mary were both from
Nazareth, Mary Magdalene was born in Magdala, and Jesus was born in Bethlehem,
as was Anna, Mary's mother. It would be highly unusual to find three bodies;
Jesus and the two Marys, Jesus’ mother, and Mary of Magdala, all buried in tombs
in Jerusalem, when none had any family connections or long-standing personal
ties to the Jerusalem area.
Some
of the events that occurred in the biblical scenario did occur in Jerusalem, but
these can easily be attributed to the fact that the Temple, and the Sanhedrin,
the puppet governing body of the Jews were both based in Jerusalem. Another
false presumption was that Jesus was raised or worked extensively in Jerusalem,
which is not correct by any data available They were a Galilee family with no
ties in Jerusalem.
Jesus the "Husband and
Father"
This theory,
often repeated and perpetually debunked throughout history, that Jesus did not
die was recently popularized by the book and movie The DaVinci Code. The tomb
in question was actually discovered in 1980 and the same concepts were quickly
debunked by archeologists, historians, and biblical scholars. This project was
actually started in 1980 at the time of the brief popularity of The DaVinci
Code, and before the mountain of evidence proving that book was actually what it
was published as; a fiction. See
The Da Vinci Code Debunked .
There is absolutely no proof that Jesus did not die, remained on the Earth,
married, or had children. Conversely, the opposite is clearly backed by
historical reference within, and outside the Bible.
Part 3
"The
Smoking Ossuary"
The Credibility of the Researcher
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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