Quote:Jesus’ burial site found - film claims
New film documents discovery of Jerusalem cave containing ten caskets believed to hold remains of Jesus, Mary, Mary Magdalene and others
Ariella Ringel-Hoffman
Published: 02.23.07, 10:26 / Israel Culture
The cave in which Jesus Christ was buried has been found in Jerusalem, claim the makers of a new documentary film.
If it proves true, the discovery, which will be revealed at a press conference in New York Monday, could shake up the Christian world as one of the most significant archeological finds in history.
The coffins which, according to the filmmakers held the remains of Jesus of Nazareth, his mother Mary and Mary Magdalene will be displayed for the first timeon Monday in New York.
Jointly produced by Emmy award-winning documentary filmmaker Simcha Jacobovici and Oscar winning director James Cameron, the film tells the exciting and tortuous story of the archeological discovery.
The story starts in 1980 in Jerusalem’s Talpiyot neighborhood, with the discovery of a 2,000 year old cave containing ten coffins. Six of the ten coffins were carved with inscriptions reading the names: Jesua son of Joseph, Mary, Mary, Matthew, Jofa (Joseph, identified as Jesus’ brother), Judah son of Jesua (Jesus’ son - the filmmakers claim).
Decades of research
The findings in the cave, including the decipherment of the inscriptions, were first revealed about ten years ago by internationally renowned Israeli archeologist Professor Amos Kloner.
Since their discovery, the caskets were kept in the Israeli Antiquities Authority archive in Beit Shemesh, but now two have been sent to New York for their first public exhibition.
Although the cave was discovered nearly 30 years ago and the casket inscriptions decoded ten years ago, the filmmakers are the first to establish that the cave was in fact the burial site of Jesus and his family.
The film, which documents the stages of the discovery, is the result of three years labor and research. It will be broadcast on the international Discovery Channel, Britain's Channel 4, Canada’s Vision and Israel’s Channel 8, which also took part in the film's production.
According to the filmmakers, the film’s claim is based on close work with world-famous scientists, archeologists, statisticians, DNA specialists and antiquities experts.
So if this is true that means all of Christianity is a lie. The only problem I have with this is...isn't this hard to prove? I mean first of all Jesus' name, first of all, wasn't special...there were other people with that name. Also will this be treated with the same scrutiny as was the "James - Brother of Jesus" Coffin that was shown to be a hoax?
The other trouble I have with this is that...if Jesus was burried in this spot couldn't the Pharisee's just go, "Hey people!!! He's right here still. He never raised himself from the dead! We were right!"?
Also, why did it take so long to translate the names? Hebrew isn't a dead language. And why are we just now hearing about this? This should have been made a big deal oh let's say...before the release of the DaVinci Code. Also weren't supposed scholars so sure that Mary went to France
So my main points come to this:
1) How would you prove that this real (eg not a hoax, a misrepresentation, or something like Gnostic graffiti.
2) If real why didn't the Pharisees write down the location and tell the newly forming Christian world that Jesus' body (along with his love child and wife) was at that spot?
3) Will scholars actually take the time to verify claims they make this ground shaking for a faith?
X
(Kinda scared at the fallout of this)
EDIT
Here's a snip-it of another story adding more info that this might not be the Jesus we were thinking of.
Quote:But the senior Israeli archaeologist who thoroughly researched the tombs after their discovery, and at the time deciphered the inscriptions, cast serious doubt on it.
"It's a beautiful story but without any proof whatsoever," Professor Amos Kloner, who had published the findings of his research in the Israeli periodical Atiqot in 1996, told Deutsche
Presse-Agentur dpa Friday.
"The names that are found on the tombs are names that are similar to the names of the family of Jesus," he conceded.
"But those were the most common names found among Jews in the first centuries BCE and CE," he added.
Kloner dismissed the combination of names found in the cave as a "coincidence."
Also (man does anyone think I use that word a lot? Does that bother anyone or is it only because I'm noticing it?) I find it interesting that this is an Israeli scholar saying this. You would think it would be a Christian scholar who would have vested interest in making this claim and the Israeli person would want to tout this as proof for his beliefs?