Moncton Forum

Scholars and clergymen in Jerusalem slam new Jesus documentary

By The Associated Press

Archaeologists and clergymen in Israel have derided claims made in a new documentary produced by the Oscar-winning director James Cameron that
contradict major Christian tenets.

The Lost Tomb of Christ, which the Discovery Channel will run on March 4 in the United States, argues that 10 ancient ossuaries - small caskets used to store bones - discovered in a suburb of Jerusalem in 1980 may have contained the bones of Jesus and his family, according to a press release issued by the Discovery Channel.

One of the caskets even bears the title, Judah, son of Jesus, hinting that Jesus may have had a son. And the very fact that Jesus had an ossuary would contradict the Christian belief that he was resurrected and ascended to heaven.

Most Christians believe Jesus' body spent three days at the site of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem's Old City. The burial site identified in Cameron's documentary is in a southern Jerusalem neighborhood nowhere near the church. The documentary is directed by Toronto filmmaker Simcha Jacobovici.

Although the documentary makers claim to have found the tomb of Jesus, the British Broadcasting Corporation beat them to the punch by 11 years.

In 1996, when the BBC aired a short documentary on the same subject,
archaeologists challenged the claims. Amos Kloner, the first archaeologist to examine the site, said the idea fails to hold up by archaeological standards but makes for profitable television.

"They just want to get money for it," Kloner said.

Osnat Goaz, a spokeswoman for the government agency responsible for
archaeology, declined to comment before the documentary was aired. She said the Antiquities Authority agreed to send two ossuaries to New York, but they did not contain human remains. "We agreed to send the ossuaries, but it doesn't mean that we agree with [the filmmakers]," she said.

The claims have also raised the ire of Christian leaders. "The historical, religious and archaeological evidence show that the place where Christ was buried is the Church of the Resurrection," said Attallah Hana, a Greek Orthodox clergyman in Jerusalem. "The documentary," he said, "contradicts the religious principles and the historic and spiritual principles that we hold tightly to."

Stephen Pfann, a biblical scholar at the University of the Holy Land in
Jerusalem who was interviewed in the documentary, said the film's hypothesis holds little weight.

"I don't think that Christians are going to buy into this, Pfann said. "But skeptics, in general, would like to see something that pokes holes into the story that so many people hold dear."

"How possible is it?" Pfann said. "On a scale of one through 10 - 10 being completely possible - it's probably a one, maybe a one and a half."

Pfann is even unsure that the name Jesus on the caskets was read correctly. He thinks it is more likely the name Hanun. Ancient Semitic script is notoriously difficult to decipher.

Kloner also said the filmmakers' assertions are false.

"It was an ordinary middle-class Jerusalem burial cave," Kloner said. "The names on the caskets are the most common names found among Jews at the time."

Archaeologists also balk at the filmmaker's claim that the James Ossuary - the center of a famous antiquities fraud in Israel - might have originated from the same cave. In 2005, Israel charged five suspects with forgery in connection with the infamous bone box.

"I don't think the James Ossuary came from the same cave," said Dan Bahat, an archaeologist at Bar-Ilan University. "If it were found there, the man who made the forgery would have taken something better. He would have taken Jesus."

None of the experts interviewed by The Associated Press had seen the whole documentary. Repeated attempts to contact Cameron and Jacobovici were unsuccessful.

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Dan Lirette

www.icminternational.org

A lot of people don't realize that back in the old days people didn't have as many names as today. Half the town was probably named Mary. There were probably a lot of Josephs, too.

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Remember yesterday, respect tomorrow, live for today.
Three out of five cats love Mousehead Beer.

willie c wuddle wrote:

A lot of people don't realize that back in the old days people didn't have as many names as today. Half the town was probably named Mary. There were probably a lot of Josephs, too.

That's actually very true.

The new "documentary" by Mr Cameron fails to mention his primary "scientist" is on trial for forgery PRESENTLY in Jerusalem.

They "found" the tomb of James in 1980 but have photos of it in the "scientist's" home in the 1970's.

hahahaha the film is already a flop.

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Dan Lirette

www.icminternational.org

I'm a bit embarrassed to admit that I never knew there were two Marys mentioned in the Bible till I saw some of the stuff on a TV show. I somehow thought they were the same person, blowing the dust off a certain book here.

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Remember yesterday, respect tomorrow, live for today.
Three out of five cats love Mousehead Beer.

hehe .... Mary the Mother of Jesus and Mary Magdalene :)

You also have two men named Ananias.

There are masses of people, even today, named Jesus....however, they can alsways imitate, but never duplicate :)

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Dan Lirette

www.icminternational.org

I never heard anybody say they were different people, nor did I ever hear anybody ask.

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Remember yesterday, respect tomorrow, live for today.
Three out of five cats love Mousehead Beer.

It's too bad, really....I love James Cameron's work.  This is gonna go down along with "Piranha II:  The Spawning" as one of his biggest blunders.