Tuesday, February 27, 2007

More on the Christ family's cryptic crypt


Is this Christian belief of Christ's empty tomb and an ascent to Heaven precluded by scientific evidence? Click here to view a video clip.


(this undated photo of Talpiyot tomb comes from Vision TV, Canada, and was tagged with the working title for the new docu-drama, "The Lost Tomb of Jesus.) The entrance is now sealed and lies between two apartment houses in a southern Jerusalem suburb.

AFP photo of press NY Press conference to kick off Discovery Channel's Sunday broadcast based on "The Jesus Family Tomb".

Out of all the news updates following Cameron's high profile press conference in New York's Public Library about the discovery of a Jesus Family Tomb, Time Magazine's seems to be the least hysterical, weighing up evidence as well as motive.

No librarian dared to shush James Cameron and his cohorts at the New York City Public Library on Monday when they unveiled two of their ancient ossuaries to a rapt crowd of mostly show-biz journalists, along with a few more staid religious reporters. The setting lent a rather academic feel to the presentation, which in a more standard press conference room would have been unmistakable as Hollywood heavy-hitting aimed for a ratings war. Cross CSI NY with Tomb Raider, Da Vinci Code, and a bit of 'Holy' Ghost, and you have a guaranteed audience of Bible belt viewers and cynics alike.
(Just a mention of Cameron's latest project on this Jerusalem-based blog sent hits skyrocketing to over 85,000 in a single day. The comments have been thoughtful, cynical, faithful, or playful. Izzy welcomes the extra voices.)

It is interesting to note that archaeologists in Jerusalem are rolling their eyes at the crypt craze just unleashed in the US, and even the British tabloid press has been rather lukewarm. After all, the same evidence was examined on the BBC eleven years ago. The hypothesis was dismissed as conjecture by Amos Kloner, a top Israeli scholar who pointed out that a poor family from Nazareth would be very unlikely to be buried in this style. These compelling New Testament names were so popular at the time of burial that the Israeli Antiquities Authority suggests that this cluster is only "coincidence", rather like finding Tom, Dick, and Harry together in an American family tomb of the 1940s. Cameron countered this assertion at his press conference by quipping: "If you found a John, a Paul and a George, you're not going to leap to any conclusions... unless you found a Ringo." The sticking point is whether this purported Mary Magdalene bone box is equivalent to finding a Ringo. The show will be broadcast on Sunday if you want to look at the "evidence" for yourself. The authorities in Jerusalem are mulling over opening the tomb up to visitors, according to the Jerusalem Post. Newsweek posts a preview clip from the show. Click here.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Appreciate the new photos,Izzy, but am already sick of the Hollywood christ-basher Cameron and his Canadian sidekick. They probably were going to hell already. Still, I want to see the docu-drama.
Got me in a pickle

Anonymous said...

Although I am a atheist I predict the Jesus Tomb discovery will have no impact to Christianity.

All religions are based on faith, i.e. believe in something in the absence of evidence or proof. Christianity have survived 2000 years without evidence of what really happened in Jesus life, other than a bunch of old books written almost a century after his death. When the church took over and proceeded to spit out endless writings about the religion, millions of people totally believe them. So why should this discovery change anything? Christianity is a true religion and worshipers worship anything they want.

Anonymous said...

Maybe the real quandary is whether any God believes in us. That's the point of practicing a faith, I think

It's getting crowded on the Bones conversation down below, so I am posting this up here...on the "sequel" Agree with anonymous that this film on Jesus and the Family Tomb probably won't be anymore significant than, say, Sly and the Family Stone. Apparently pilgrims already are starting to arrive in Talpiyot, so we may be proved wrong. But no way will easter be cancelled. It just means stand by for a new domination..maybe they will worship Judah, the grandson. Oops.. that would be called Judaism...so it all needs a careful rethink. :)

Izzy Bee said...

ANd how about this snarky quote from a Jerusalem scientist?
Joe Zias, curator for the Rockefeller Museum in Jerusalem from 1972 to 1997, personally catalogued the Talpiyot ossuaries and clearly has no time for Simcha Jacobovici--the "naked archaeologist."
"He's pimping off the Bible … He got this guy Cameron, who made 'Titanic' or something like that—what does this guy know about archeology? I am an archeologist, but if I were to write a book about brain surgery, you would say, 'Who is this guy?' People want signs and wonders. Projects like these make a mockery of the archeological profession."

Anonymous said...

YouTube has more clips:


The Movie Trailer of The Lost Tomb of Jesus (3 minutes)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPNOKiWTouI

SImcha Jacobovici (The Naked Archeologist) gives a rundown, not a rubdown, of the stats and science
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kfh2FzJJmGQ

Chris Rosebrough said...

I’ve written a comprehensive rebuttal to claims and evidence of this film. Please read it and decide for yourself.

You will find it at extremetheology.com

en said...

jesus who?