One of the worst possible claims for Christianity may well be made tonight. Neil Silberman once quoted David Flusser, the late and great professor of ancient Judaism and early Christianity at Hebrew University, on the subject of archeology “refuting” Christian beliefs:  

Many years ago a man from the BBC came to me and he asked me if the Dead Sea Scrolls will harm Christianity. I said to him that nothing can harm Christianity. The only thing which could be dangerous to Christianity would be to find a tomb with the sarcophagus or ossuary of Jesus — still containing his bones. And then I said I surely hope that it will not be found in the territory of the State of Israel.
Neil Silberman, The Hidden Scrolls: Christianity, Judaism, and the War for the Dead Sea Scrolls (New York: Putnam, 1994), p. 129.

The question is, has this happened? The Lost Tomb of Jesus claims that it has.

I don’t find the claim to be credible. 

The evidence is shaky. Too often, one of the scientists on the project bursts forth with the claim of “this must be what happened,” or “this must be the conclusion we draw.” A simple reconsideration of the facts in evidence would allow a rational mind to say, “Not so fast. What about the alternatives?”

In short, I think one of two things has happened. First, and most likely, a team of legitimate scientists have stumbled on a nest of forgeries and wholeheartedly bought into the site because of their understandable enthusiasm for the possibility. Or, a team of mostly legitimate scientists has stumbled onto a very near-miss and are misreading the evidence.

[Edit] After watching the critical discussion (led by Ted Koppel), I’m leaning toward the last one–but I still think the evidence for forgery is still compelling.

Read on for more, including the “so what” for Christians in the 21st Century.  

James Cameron has been taken in by a pro, Simcha Jacobovici. The guy is well respected in many circles, but it looks like he’s started to believe his own hype (much like James Cameron), if you ask me. Though respected, his work is refuted.¹

Amos Kloner, the first archaeologist to examine the site, said the idea fails to hold up by archaeological standards but makes for profitable television.

“They just want to get money for it,” Kloner said.²

Unfortunately, this story is going to get a lot more press, and probably will carry much weight with the atheist/skeptic crowd.

The biggest problem I have with all of this hype and hoopla is the fact that there is an entire section on Jacobovici’s Jesus Family Tomb Website dedicated to the unrelated pop archeology/conspiracy buff/pseudo history topics of “Skull and Bones,” “Secret Societies,” “Templar Flags,” and “The Pontormo Code.”

Incidentally, the Pontormo Code refers to the “all seeing eye” set in a pyramid in a painting by Pontormo. Further obscuring the significance, a later and less-talented painter added the pyramid-and-eye much later. At any rate, there’s your “link” from the Chevron above the tomb to the Pontormo pyramid to the Templars to the rest of the conspiracy.

Here’s another problem: They found that the genetic material from the “Mariamne” box and the “Jeshua bar Josef” box were not directly related. They then surmised that they “must be husband and wife.” Why couldn’t she have been the wife of the man from the “Jose” ossuary? Cause that wouldn’t be sexy enough. It wouldn’t sell any newspapers. It would be dog bites man instead of man bites dog.

The whole thing smacks of the pseudo-science of “rock star” theology and science.

The problem is that Simcha tends to put together some pretty “sexy” documentaries that “recreate” rather than provide evidence. He’s willing to settle for plausible instead of likely.

By the way, the last guy involved with a claim about “ossuaries, the family of Jesus, and a Discovery Channel documentary” is currently on trial for forgery. When they searched his apartment, the authorities called it a “factory for fakes.” He had dirt from archeological digs (for faking patinas and falsifying soil sample comparisons), ancient charcoal (to mess with Carbon 14 dating tests), and a variety of drills for cutting new inscriptions. ^{3 4}

Granted, this is not the same guy. But we’re in that ball park. Jacobovici is claiming that the “missing ossuary” from the Talpiot tomb is the controversial “James Ossuary” which is at the heart of a forgery trial in Israel. He’s actually claiming that controverted item. The provenance (or reliability) of that item may well sink the entire claim–or it could “make” it in the unlikely event that enough experts support the claims of its authenticity.

I think that Oded Golan, the “finder” of the James Ossuary, has very nearly duped the world.

So what does this mean for us? IF the claim is real, quite frankly, it could mean quite a bit. Our traditional interpretation of the Resurrection and the Ascension involve a bodily resurrection and a bodily ascension. If these items become a factual entry in the body of Christian archeological evidence, then there will be much discussion of our theology, particularly with regard to Christology (our understanding of Christ). And any conversation about Christology is going to impact our dealings with soteriology (the theology of salvation).

And that’s at the very heart of what we do.

But the assertion I made originally still remains: I don’t think that this is the “tomb of Jesus and his family.”