CNN: Archaeologists Report 1st Direct Evidence of Jesus

Oct. 21, 2002 | CNN

[jern]

BREAKING: Archaeologists Report 1st Direct Evidence of Jesus

[zarf]

A fossilized electric shaver?

[nmh]

What's the evidence?

[BibChr]

For the record, I reject the premise. No evidence nor objective scientific premise requries the rejection of the Four Gospels, plus other NT allusions, as "firsthand evidence."

Dan
How to Make Your Very Own Jesus

[Junior]

I've gone out to the CNN website and they've got nothing. You've got no link. Give us something!

[r9etb]

For the record, I reject the premise.

I do, too. However, one commonly hears that there are no contemporary non-Christian refrences to Jesus, and some folks consider that to be proof that Jesus was fictional.

IF this story is true, then that line of argument dries up and blows away. Of course, then the topic shifts to whether this actual human, Jesus, was actually God.

[prisoner6]

OK. Where's the direct evidence? Please provide links to posts like this!

pris0ner6

[jgrubbs]

A search on the http://news.google.com for "Jesus" brings back this:

http://www.startribune.com/stories/614/3378837.html

Newly discovered inscription about Jesus written in A.D. 63, scholar claims

Associated Press

Published Oct 21, 2002 JESU22

WASHINGTON -- An inscription on a burial artifact that was recently discovered in Israel appears to provide the oldest archaeological evidence of Jesus Christ, according to an expert who dates it to three decades after the crucifixion.

Writing in Biblical Archaeology Review, Andre Lemaire, a specialist in ancient inscriptions at France's Practical School of High Studies, says it is very probable the find is an authentic reference to Jesus of Nazareth.

The archaeology magazine planned to announce the discovery at a news conference today.

That Jesus existed is not doubted by scholars, but what the world knows about him comes almost entirely from the New Testament. No physical artifact from the first century related to Jesus has been discovered and verified. Lemaire believes that has changed, though questions remain, such as where the piece with the inscription has been for more than 19 centuries.

The inscription, in the Aramaic language, appears on an empty ossuary, or limestone burial box for bones. It reads: ``James, son of Joseph, brother of Jesus.'' Lemaire dates the object to 63 A.D.

Lemaire says the writing style, and the fact that Jews practiced ossuary burials only between 20 B.C. and A.D. 70, puts the inscription squarely in the time of Jesus and James, who led the early church in Jerusalem.

All three names were commonplace, but he estimates that only 20 Jameses in Jerusalem during that era would have had a father named Joseph and a brother named Jesus.

Moreover, naming the brother as well as the father on an ossuary was ``very unusual,'' Lemaire says. There's only one other known example in Aramaic. Thus, this particular Jesus must have had some unusual role or fame - and Jesus of Nazareth certainly qualified, Lemaire concludes.

It's impossible, however, to prove absolutely that the Jesus named on the box was Jesus of Nazareth.

The archaeology magazine says two scientists with the Israeli government's Geological Survey conducted a detailed microscopic examination of the surface patina and the inscription. They reported last month that there is ``no evidence that might detract from the authenticity.''

The ossuary's owner also is requiring Lemaire to shield his identity, so the box's current location was not revealed.

James is depicted as Jesus' brother in the Gospels and head of the Jerusalem church in the Book of Acts and Paul's epistles.

The first century Jewish historian Josephus recorded that ``the brother of Jesus the so-called Christ, James by name,'' was stoned to death as a Jewish heretic in A.D. 62. If his bones were placed in an ossuary that would have occurred the following year, dating the inscription around A.D. 63.

The Rev. Joseph Fitzmyer, a Bible professor at Catholic University who studied photos of the box, agrees with Lemaire that the writing style ``fits perfectly'' with other first century examples and admits the joint appearance of these three famous names is ``striking.''

``But the big problem is, you have to show me the Jesus in this text is Jesus of Nazareth, and nobody can show that,'' Fitzmyer says.

The owner of the ossuary never realized its potential importance until Lemaire examined it last spring. Hershel Shanks, editor of Biblical Archaeology Review, himself saw the box Sept. 25.

Lemaire told The Associated Press the owner wants anonymity to avoid time-consuming contacts with reporters and religious figures. The owner also wants to avoid the cost of insurance and guarding the artifact, and has no plans to display it publicly, he said.

[ElisabethInCincy]

I saw it too but did not have volume up and saw the text at bottOm as leon harris talked...I been searching for more past 20 minutes..INTERSTING INDEED !!! EVEN THOUGH I NEED NO PROOF :)

[Paradox]

Yeah, I saw that. Turns out that Jesus lives in Puerto Rico. Come to think of it, I know a couple of them, maybe he's a Cuban?

Hmmm, who knows, but here is more evidence:

THREE PROOFS THAT JESUS WAS PUERTO RICAN
His first name was Jesus
He was bilingual
He was always being harassed by the authorities

THREE PROOFS THAT JESUS WAS BLACK
He called everybody "brother"
He liked Gospel
He couldn't get a fair trial

THREE PROOFS THAT JESUS WAS JEWISH
He went into his father's business
He lived at home until he was 33
He was sure his Mother was a virgin, and his Mother was
sure he was God

THREE PROOFS THAT JESUS WAS ITALIAN
He talked with his hands
He had wine with every meal
He worked in the building trades

THREE PROOFS THAT JESUS WAS A CALIFORNIAN
He never cut his hair
He walked around barefoot
He started a new religion

THREE PROOFS THAT JESUS WAS IRISH
He never got married
He was always telling stories
He loved green pastures

(and now the MOST Compelling EVIDENCE:)

THREE PROOFS THAT JESUS WAS A WOMAN
He had to feed a crowd, at a moments notice, when there was no food.
He kept trying to get the message across to a bunch of men who just didn't get it.
Even when he was dead, he had to get up because there was more work for him to do. 

[Dog Gone]

An expert on ancient inscriptions is claiming that the wording on a first-century burial box -- ``James, son of Joseph, brother of Jesus'' -- refers to Jesus of Nazareth.

If the artifact is authentic, it raises two questions: Who was James? And did Jesus have a brother and other siblings?

The Gospels call James the ``brother'' of Jesus, and other New Testament books say he later led the Jerusalem church.

The second question is trickier and involves a three-sided church debate.

Protestants traditionally read the New Testament as meaning Mary gave birth to Jesus as a virgin and then had James, three other sons and at least two daughters with Joseph.

In accord with church fathers writing after the New Testament era, the Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholics teach Mary's ``perpetual virginity,'' which means she and Joseph never had marital relations.

The Orthodox think Joseph had James by his first wife, and after she died he married Mary -- whose only child was the virgin-born Jesus. Thus, James was Jesus' stepbrother.

Catholics commonly hold that James was merely Jesus' close relative, perhaps the son of Joseph's brother Clopas or a cousin on Mary's side. The new inscription, if authentic, would rule out that option.

[Shenandoah]

I'm not the most religious guy in the world, but I really liked that link to making your very own Jesus.

[Dallas]

It's showing on their broadcast...

[El Sordo]

Maybe they're talking about Jesus Mendez.

[txzman]

'How to Make Your Very Own Jesus'

Liked your Site Dan! Very Funny - Great place to send people when they refuse to listen to fact, logic, reason or historical record.

Interesting story on James' ossuary. Wonder what will happen if indeed it continues to bear witness to the further verification of the Biblical record. For me, I need none :)

[jgrubbs]

I agree with the Protestants, I think James was Jesus' son, and I think he had other brothers and sisters. The Roman Catholics don't believe this because then it would mean that Mary is just like any other woman, and not a "holy perpetual virgin" that they can worship.

[M. T. Cicero II]

I am always touched by the way Jesus is portrayed in the gospel of John. No figure of myth ever had the weakness, which requires compassion (from us) or had the compassion, how he related to those around him, which he showed.

[texson66]

I agree with the Protestants, I think James was Jesus' son,.....

Please let me know what Protestants believe this!!!!!

[jgrubbs]

HEHE LOL MAJOR TYPO

I ment James is Jesus' brother.

[Desdemona]

I agree with the Protestants, I think James was Jesus' son, and I think he had other brothers and sisters. The Roman Catholics don't believe this because then it would mean that Mary is just like any other woman, and not a "holy perpetual virgin" that they can worship.

Mary is not worshipped, as she is not divine. She is venerated.

Whether step-brother or cousin to Jesus, it doesn't matter. James was a close relative. He was from the same house. Mary did not birth him. We do know from scripture that Jesus came from a large family where all relatives were considered brothers and sisters, aunts and uncles. Exact geneology doesn't matter.