Wednesday, March 07, 2007
Prediction Concerning the "Jesus Tomb"
While numerous additional articles even from non-Christian sources (including the Washington post and Scientific American) continue to debunk the theory that the tomb and bones of Jesus have been discovered (see here and previous post for links), I am going to go out on a limb and predict that this "documentary" is going to win some sort of award. Remember the Oscars of 2005 when the Passion of the Christ didn't win a single thing even though grossing over 611 million dollars worldwide? Giving James Cameron and his people awards for this pack of distortions would be right up the alley of the A-list people and I wouldn't put it past them because it goes right in line with their agenda - true or false it really doesn't seem to matter. I fully expect to hear of this Discovery Channel special winning some type of award this year.
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8 comments:
Lying about the name Jesus, for profit, yet again...
Hello Matt and all,
The most interesting aspect of this Jesus Tomb story revolves around the actual names on the bone boxes compared to what is being asserted in the effort to make a profit. Pay special attention to the tortured explanations of how names like Jesus, Mary, Matthew, Joseph, and others were "translated" (interpolated) from inscriptions that actually say otherwise. Most specifically, both Christians and those who are promoting this "Jesus Tomb" discovery and its associated assertions are profiting from the very same long-term process of obfuscation and meticulous misdirection.
For anyone, whether Christian leaders and adherents or James Cameron to keep a straight face while claiming that the name Jesus was one of the most common in Second Temple Israel is highly instructive. The name that is commonly translated as Joshua was very common, but the name Jesus is a very unique and narrowly targeted construction of recent centuries that simply cannot have truthfully appeared anywhere in the ancient Near East. Likewise, many are writing that Jesus is instead the english form of Joshua, as if the millions of english speaking Christians and Jews named Joshua have foreign names. Furthermore, does anyone know of any person named Joshua who would seriously assert that the English form of their name is Jesus? These deceptive assertions are beyond absurd.
This long-term charade about a name that simply could not have been written or pronounced in Aramaic, Hebrew, Greek, or even Latin, which is now being touted as one of the more common names from ancient Israel/Judea, serves as an illuminating microcosm for the entire New Testament and the many dubious assertions and activities that have accompanied it and Christianity throughout their entire existence. As Christians rally to "prove" that this archeological find can't be the tomb and bones of the "Jesus" and "Mary" of the New Testament, they too should honestly answer questions about why it is correct to interpolate those names in such a unique way to support the veracity of the most profitable story in history, but not to interpret an archeological discovery. Christians must truthfully answer the question of why it is wrong for the "Jesus Tomb" crew to use Christianity's own methodology to arrive at the names now being asserted as appearing on those bone boxes.
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Here is Wisdom !!
Thanks for the comments. I appreciate your honest questioning. I believe if you look into the facts you will find that it was quite a common name in the first century. The Greek name Jesus is found in multiple places in the New Testament in reference to different people. It has also been found in that form on many other ossuaries including another that is also Jesus son of Joseph. Now if you are talking about Hebrew/Aramaic that may be another issue. I was thinking the inscriptions in the tomb were in Greek but I could be wrong. Anyone know the answer to that?
Matt thanks for the links to the Washington Post and Scientific American. The show on the DC was so full of bunk it was not even worth seeing.
Shalom,
Bobby Valentine
If it wins any awards, I think they'll be those phony online awards or from some association no one cares about (except its members and trustees). I find it hard to believe that it would rank for any worthwhile documentary award.
Matt, it does seem that Cameron and his bunch have been tackled and now everyone is piling on. This documentary was one-sided from the beginning and apparently so one-sided that almost everyone can see the obvious - the emperor is naked!
One of the lastest issues of TIME includes a short piece about the "Jesus Tomb." The writer was a student of (or is at least a fan of) the late Raymond Brown, and wishes out loud that today's scholarship was more thorough and honest. He notes that today's younger scholars are way too interested in making a big splash early in their careers. He says that what we're seeing now (and will see into the future) is the ripple effect from the Da Vinci Code.
Raymond Brown always did put out good work. I really enjoyed his commentaries on John.
The reason I think this will win some type of award is because people want to hear what they want to hear. If it helps them think they are okay the way they are, many will endorse it even if it isn't genuine.
Adam,
You may be right on the money but I wouldn't be surprised if it doesn't do something bigger. You just never can tell.
Bob,
Good analogy!
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