Jesus' Tomb
Amy Welborn has some take downs on the "discovery" of Jesus' tomb.
Some highlights:
"Because, you know - using DNA tests to determine if remains belong to Jesus, Mary or Mary Magdalene is...totally doable. And of course, Jesus (Yeshua, Joshua...etc..etc..) or Mary (actually Miriam...) weren't common names in the 1st century. Or, as my husband pointed out last night, "It's not like Judah wasn't the name of the whole, you know..people..." "
Quoting Scripture Scholar Ben Witherington: "there is no independent DNA control sample to compare to what was garnered from the bones in this tomb. By this I mean that the most the DNA evidence can show is that several of these folks are inter-related. Big deal. We would need an independent control sample from some member of Jesus' family to confirm that these were members of Jesus' family. We do not have that at all. ... Several of these ossuaries have very popular and familiar early Jewish names. As the statistics above show, the names Joseph and Joshua (Jesus) were two of the most common names in all of early Judaism. So was Mary. Indeed both Jesus’ mother and her sister were named Mary. This is the ancient equivalent of finding adjacent tombs with the names Smith and Jones. No big deal. "
Quoting Archaeologist Dr. Leen Ritmeyer:
Will the world take heed to the comments of Amos Kloner, quoted in the Jerusalem Post who said that the documentary’s claims were “impossible” and “nonsense” and that there was “no likelihood that Jesus and his relatives had a family tomb in Jerusalem”? Jesus and his family hailed from Nazareth in Galilee, as anyone with a shred of Bible knowledge knows and there was no reason for them to have a family tomb in Jerusalem. It is worth knowing that Jacobovici and Cameron are not original in their claim. The assertion that the family tomb of Jesus has been located was made in James D. Tabor, “The Jesus Dynasty, The Hidden Story of Jesus, His Royal family, and the Birth of Christianity” (2006).Watch this theory go the way of all such contrived “sizzling” and “staggering” “discoveries”!
As Amy points out, the surest sign of Easter approaching is someone claiming to debunk Christianity!
UPDATE (10:56 AM): Check out this Breitbart article where scholars give this "discovery" no credibility at all. As the article notes, this exact claim had already been debunked.
Comments
DNA may not prove the bones belonged to Jesus, but it could prove that the couple found (namely Jesus and Mary Mag) are the parents of the child. Hey, this is just what they found. You can make your own decision about the facts:
www.jesusfamilytomb.com
Posted by: Elana | February 26, 2007 4:03 PM
No one's disputed that this was indeed a family. But the claim that this was in fact Jesus is what we're objecting to, because there's no evidence to support that claim. I won't waste time repeating the argument, since I know you've heard the argument because you've been on Amy Welborn's blog as well.
Posted by: Paul Smith | February 26, 2007 4:19 PM
Was it only 5 years ago when Ben Witherington claimed the "James Ossuary" as proof of the existence of Jesus Christ and as PROOF AGAINST the Ever-Virginity of the Mother of God? Was it only 5 years ago when BW was all over the news breathlessly arguing for the authenticity of his bone-box and revealing his humble belief that he was somehow chosen (like some Holy Prophet) to deliver this good news to the world and the bad news to the poor, benighted Roman Catholics and Orthodox Christians? Surely Witherington must realize by now, even as he is being used anew by the enemies of the Faith (They are linking the James Ossuary to the "Jesus Tomb!"), that he was never a Prophet but always just a pawn.
Witherington uses his "James Ossuary" against the Ever Virgin, Theotokos, Mary:
http://www.catholic.com/library/Bad_Aramaic_Made_Easy.asp
Posted by: Joe | February 26, 2007 7:03 PM
Hello all,
Ever consider that the New Testament and the stories of Jesus Christ are the Roman deceptions that the original Hebrew texts warned about? Isn't it odd that the New Testament is full of Greco-Roman names from Europe, not from Judea? Isn't it odd that all of the purported authors of New Testament books have European names and made numerous geographical errors. For example, the proven fact that there was no town named Nazareth during the Second-Temple period. Why have the Vatican, Papacy, and Christianity been characterized by such extreme duplicity and deception for their entire existence if they were truly representatives of the Creator?
You do understand that Gog from Magog refers to Greeks and Romans (Greco-Romans) who invaded, subjugated, and scattered the children of Israel? Isn't it at all worrisome that the Vatican and Christianity have "whitewashed" the names, images, and activities of all of the supposed Judean characters in the long-dubious New Testament that history proves would have been dark-skinned, dark-haried locals, not blue-eyed European invaders. Consequently, billions of people have long been deceived into worshipping a false god with a name that never could have existed in ancient times!
Ever heard of strong lies and strong delusion? Read 2 Thessalonians 2:11 again.
Can you say woe, woe, woe?
Here is Wisdom !!
Posted by: Seven Star Hand | February 26, 2007 8:22 PM