Reasons Not to Believe

Well, you’ve probably seen the news and even the documentary about the supposed tomb of Jesus. According the documentary, in the tomb, discovered in 1980, six notable ossuaries were found. They were labeled Yeshua bar Yosef (Jesus son of Joseph), Maria (Mary), Yose (Joseph), Matia (Matthew), Mariamene e Mara (Maria the Master believed to be Mary Magdalene by the filmmakers) and Yehuda bar Yeshua (Judah son of Jesus believed to be the son of both Jesus and Mary Magdalene by the filmmakers). This, of course, provides more reason for atheists not to believe.

Upon further investigation, however, the whole thing seems more like a doubtful concoction. Amos Kloner, the original excavator of the tomb described the documentary as “nonsense” in his comments. Rather than first seeking a peer-reviewed scientific article to publish the theory the story was presented to the media and purported to be respectable. Jodi Magness, an archaeologist at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill said that this documentary’s makers “have set it up as if it's a legitimate academic debate, when the vast majority of scholars who specialize in archaeology of this period have flatly rejected this." (Cooperman, A., 2007)

After reading numerous articles concerning the story and documentary’s claims the argument for this actually being Jesus’ tomb becomes more and more shaky. DNA evidence is fractured and inconclusive. These were all common names that people of the day had. This family was from the area of Judea where individuals were called by their first name and father’s name while Jesus came from an area that called him by his first name and city of origin: Jesus of Nazareth. Many respected archeologists, not filmmakers, including the original excavator, have cast numerous denunciations over the claims of the documentary.

To make the claims that this documentary makes and to believe that it poses a true question or threat to the resurrection of Jesus and therefore Christianity is pretty ludicrous. It’s another notch for an uncaring atheist to throw out in an argument, but for the people seeking truth this is no more than a clever ploy to capitalize on the inquisitive market. Its popularity will make the filmmakers lots of money because it’s so controversial, but the truth will come out and the whole thing will eventually fall into obscurity. The basis it stands on can’t hold it up to scrutiny for very long. So, don’t worry brothers and sisters, your faith is well placed and will not fail you.

-Steve

Cooperman, Alan. (March 2, 2007). 'Lost Tomb of Jesus' Called a Stunt. Leading

Archeologists Denounce Documentary As Fiction. Retrieved March 7, 2007 from http://www.nwaonline.net/articles/2007/03/07/religion/030307tomb.txt