Posted on 02/26/2007 12:47:38 PM PST by Anti-Bubba182
The Lost Tomb of Jesus, made for the Discovery Channel, will be shown in the U.S. this week and later in Britain by Channel 4.
Today, Cameron is holding a press conference on what he describes as 'one of the greatest archaeological finds of all time'.
Crucially, he is not denying the resurrection - as there were no bones in the caskets.
But the £2million film still strikes at the foundation of Christianity in the same manner as the novel The Da Vinci Code, by Dan Brown, in claiming that Jesus married and had a family.
His theory, which has already met with derision from experts, centres on a tomb found in the Talpiot suburb in 1980. Inside, archaeologists found ten coffins, or caskets for bones, and three skulls.
Six had names etched into them, which were translated as Jesus son of Joseph, Judah son of Jesus, Maria, Mariamne (thought to be Mary Magdalene's real name), Joseph and Matthew.
At the time the inscriptions provoked little interest. The Israeli Antiquities Authority said the names were common at the time.
A connection to the holy family was not made until 15 years later, when a film crew stumbled across the collection in a storeroom.
Though the bones had long since been reburied elsewhere, as was the custom, tiny traces of DNA left in the caskets were tested.
The results for the coffins labelled Jesus and Mariamne showed the two were not related by blood, leading Cameron and his team to conclude they were married.
The film's Israeli director, Simcha Jacobovici, said: 'Either this cluster-of names represents the tomb of Jesus of Nazareth and his family.
'Or some other family, with this very same constellation of names, existed at precisely the same time in history in Jerusalem.'
The idea that Mary Magdalene had a child with Jesus was the main theme of The Da Vinci Code. The book claimed their union was kept secret in a church conspiracy.
The location of Cameron's conference is being kept secret until the last moment to stop crowds trying to see the artefacts. The cave in which they were found has also been put under armed guard.
However, the archaeologist who oversaw the work at the tomb described the theory as 'nonsense'.
Amos Kloner said the names found on the coffins had been found in tombs before, adding: 'It makes a great story for a TV film, but it's impossible.
'Jesus and his relatives were a Galilee family with no ties in Jerusalem. The Talpiot tomb belonged to a middle-class family from the first century.'
I bet I could sell it on E-Bay!
Interesting that they compare this "finding" to a fictional book.
Doesn't anyone recall the St James Ossuary scandal? It wasn't that long ago.
The "other" King of the World...
And yet how many of those 2 billion will watch it?
People, no matter how good a christian will watch or read anything. The argument being "how can I refute it if I haven't seen it myself?". While that may certainly be true, people are making heretics like this millionaires several times over, and the amount that any show it watched - be it on tv or in a theater- is counted, as are how many copies of a book are bought, or even taken out at the library.
Want to say this is fertilizer? Don't watch it, with low ratings it will soon disappear. Don't read it. The publisher isn't going to make oddles of re-prints if there isn't a market for something.
Of course this is just my opinion.
What these scams deliberately omit is common human nature. Those who are beloved and respected by millions tend to lead to lots of children being named after them. It stands to reason that others would be named after Jesus around that time in that region.
At the time the inscriptions provoked little interest. The Israeli Antiquities Authority said the names were common at the time.
I think it is rubbish.
He's dead???
This story alone tears his premise apart.
Coffin? There was no coffin for Jesus in the Bible.
If all the authorities in the world said it was true, it still would not be true. There is only one ultimate authority and that is God. He decides what is true. We don't.
Another research funded by the Wahabi to discredit Christianity.
Cameron, if you're reading this please FreepMail me. I recently also had an amazing discovery, i.e. that I am the Pope, so of course I would expect to be included in on the film's box office receipts.
About 16 years ago I was in the former Yugoslavia with my younger sister on a tour of an old city. In one church, the tourguide showed the group a glass case that contained "Jesus' diapers".
I turned to my sister and said, "Holy Sh!t!"
Always happy to lighten up a Monday! :-)
Was this the guy who put together documentary where he went to places like Afghanistan to find the lost tribes?
I'm not a bettin' man, but I think Jesus can take the heat.
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