Jordan Battles to Regain 'Priceless' Christian Relics

BBC ^ | 3/29/11 | Robert Pigott

[marshmallow]

They could be the earliest Christian writing in existence, surviving almost 2,000 years in a Jordanian cave. They could, just possibly, change our understanding of how Jesus was crucified and resurrected, and how Christianity was born.

A group of 70 or so "books", each with between five and 15 lead leaves bound by lead rings, was apparently discovered in a remote arid valley in northern Jordan somewhere between 2005 and 2007.

A flash flood had exposed two niches inside the cave, one of them marked with a menorah or candlestick, the ancient Jewish religious symbol.

A Jordanian Bedouin opened these plugs, and what he found inside might constitute extremely rare relics of early Christianity.

That is certainly the view of the Jordanian government, which claims they were smuggled into Israel by another Bedouin.

The Israeli Bedouin who currently holds the books has denied smuggling them out of Jordan, and claims they have been in his family for 100 years.

Jordan says it will "exert all efforts at every level" to get the relics repatriated.

Incredible claims

The director of the Jordan's Department of Antiquities, Ziad al-Saad, says the books might have been made by followers of Jesus in the few decades immediately following his crucifixion.

"They will really match, and perhaps be more significant than, the Dead Sea Scrolls," says Mr Saad.

"Maybe it will lead to further interpretation and authenticity checks of the material, but the initial information is very encouraging, and it seems that we are looking at a very important and significant discovery, maybe the most important discovery in the history of archaeology."

[BlueMoose]

HC2

[teenyelliott]

ping

[HKMk23]

‘Priceless Christian Relics’ Likely BUNK

http://www.getreligion.org/2011/04/its-all-greek-to-media/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+getreligion%2FDmXm+%28GetReligion%29

[SunkenCiv]

• Are lead tablets discovered in a remote cave in Jordan the secret writings about Jesus?
• Jordan Battles to Regain 'Priceless' Christian Relics
• Could this be the biggest find since the Dead Sea Scrolls? Seventy metal books found..
• Could this be the biggest find since the Dead Sea Scrolls?
• Could lead codices prove "the major discovery of Christian history"?
• Is this the first ever portrait of Jesus?
• Is this the first ever portrait of Jesus?
• Lost for 2,000 years... Could this be the first portrait of Jesus?
• Ancient Books Uncovered in Jordan May Date to Start of Christianity..

sidebars:

• Ancient Jewish manuscripts reveal a forgotten history
• New book connects the Eucharist with its Jewish roots
• Did God have a wife? Scholar says that he did
• A Is for Ancient, Describing an Alphabet Found Near Jerusalem
• Who Invented the Alphabet: The Semites or the Greeks?
• Jews Return to Ancient Jericho Synagogue
• What is Beneath the Temple Mount?
• In Search of Herod"s Tomb
• 2,100 year-old Greek coin may have marked rare astronomical event
• OU Professor Says Ancient Text Reveals Startling Information About Magi, Star of Bethlehem

[SunkenCiv]

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[muawiyah]

As early as 1829 there were actually American Biblical scholars who had full command of the Biblical languages ~ Classical Greek, Aramaic, Hebrew, Latin ~ and actually some other related languages.

John Leland, who wrote the words of the First Amendment was one of them.

The fact that America was wide open and waiting development did not mean we had no educated men.

I haven't found a cross reference to Leland and some of the Primitive Baptist and Christian Church movement folks who also associated with (or against) Smith.

[Elsie]

The fact that America was wide open and waiting development did not mean we had no educated men.

AMEN!

And folks got more 'education' in one room schools using McGuffys readers than some college graduates do today!

[SunkenCiv]

• Fake. Fake. Fake. Fake. Fake.