Mysterious bones of Jesus, Joseph and Mary

The Daily Telegraph (UK) ^ | February 24, 2007 | By Tim Butcher in Jerusalem

[George W. Bush]

The RC compiled the scriptures, didn't they?

They affirmed the common scriptures of the early churches in the East and West. There was a bit of wrangling over the inclusion of Hebrews and Revelation (but the East insisted). In general, it was to combat the wild heresies of the day and was a Good Thing, whether you are RC or non-RC in theology.

[George W. Bush]

OK,that's it! I call a Catholic jihad.

Darn. I never expected The Catholic Jihad.

[Tanniker Smith]

Only Jesus was born without sin.

I'd disagree with you on that one, but the point of it is that we both disagree with the story as it is preposterous and doesn't square with either of our sets of beliefs.

Other than that, I decline to involve myself in religious p*ssing matches.

[Duffboy]

Right, unless you believe the new testament isn't pushing their own agenda.

[Deo volente]

Mary does nothing but lead us closer to Jesus, her Son.
The last time she speaks in the Gospels, at the marriage feast at Cana, she says, "Do whatever He tells you." So she wants us to keep our ultimate focus on the Lord Jesus.

She herself refers to her "lowliness" in her Magnificat in Luke, Chapter 1.
She tells us that God has done great things for her. She is still a creature, but one who was most perfectly open to the plan God had for her life. We Catholics venerate her and hold her in high esteem as the preeminent example of discipleship, but we WORSHIP God alone.

[Tanniker Smith]

Hence, Assumption Day.

I once, as a joke, explained to someone who didn't know any better but asked me anyway, what the "Feast of the Assumption" was as follows: Mary disappeared from Earth. Everyone assumed she'd went to Heaven.

Hey, the proof is the 120+ year-old stained glass from somewhere in Western Europe in my childhood parish. (I think it was Dutch.)

TS

[wildbill]

I'm not a believer, but I'm willing to bet there was a person named Jesus who had relatives and that all were buried somewhere.

As a lover of history and archeological digs that confirm written tales of the past, whether Greek, Latin, or Hebrew--or Sanskrit for that matter, I love to these types of finds.

I'd like to recommend a book I read recently called "The Jesus Dynasty" by a Biblical scholar and archeologist that pulls together a lot of the recorded history of Jesus in the various books of the Bible and has some pretty good theories on his birth, his brothers, several possible tombs and ossuaries and the operation of the Church after the crucifixion. For a non-believer to recommend it should tell you a lot.

Go to this url for some really interesting excerpts.
http://www.jesusdynasty.com/Exerpts-from-James-Tabors-Jesus-Dynasty.html

[MHGinTN]

And maybe Moses ...

[toddlintown]

"The human remains inside were destroyed before any DNA testing could be carried out."

Sure.

[MHGinTN]

Good theories ... recommended by a nonbeliever ... begging the notion that Jesus was not resurrected and remains of his body may be somewhere around the ME ... resurrection from the grave being the hinge pin upon which Christians open their souls to God's truth and receive Salvation through Faith in Him ... a book that offers alternate theories which have zero proof only nonbeliever speculation ... think I pass.

[Mercat]

You know what? I'm not trying to dump my beliefs on anyone. I was justing giving information.

[proudmilitarymrs]

My merely being Catholic offends you?

sheesh

[nwrep]

Likewise, Mary was assumed body and soul into Heaven.

Can you provide any scriptural reference?

[aculeus]

THE PLOT THICKENS ...



The Middle East Blog, TIME
February 23, 2007 6:55
Jesus: Tales from the Crypt
Posted by Tim McGirk | Comments (54) | Permalink | Trackbacks (0) | Email This

Brace yourself. James Cameron, the man who brought you 'The Titanic' is back with another blockbuster. This time, the ship he's sinking is Christianity.

In a new documentary, Producer Cameron and his director, Simcha Jacobovici, make the starting claim that Jesus wasn't resurrected --the cornerstone of Christian faith-- and that his burial cave was discovered near Jerusalem. And, get this, Jesus sired a son with Mary Magdelene.

No, it's not a re-make of "The Da Vinci Codes'. It's supposed to be true.

Let's go back 27 years, when Israeli construction workers were gouging out the foundations for a new building in the industrial park in the Talpiyot, a Jerusalem suburb. of Jerusalem. The earth gave way, revealing a 2,000 year old cave with 10 stone caskets. Archologists were summoned, and the stone caskets carted away for examination. It took 20 years for experts to decipher the names on the ten tombs. They were: Jesua, son of Joseph, Mary, Mary, Mathew, Jofa and Judah, son of Jesua.
Israel's prominent archeologist Professor Amos Kloner didn't associate the crypt with the New Testament Jesus. His father, after all, was a humble carpenter who couldn't afford a luxury crypt for his family. And all were common Jewish names.

There was also this little inconvenience that a few miles away, in the old city of Jerusalem, Christians for centuries had been worshipping the empty tomb of Christ at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. Christ's resurrection, after all, is the main foundation of the faith, proof that a boy born to a carpenter's wife in a manger is the Son of God.

But film-makers Cameron and Jacobovici claim to have amassed evidence through DNA tests, archeological evidence and Biblical studies, that the 10 coffins belong to Jesus and his family.

Ever the showman, (Why does this remind me of the impresario in another movie,"King Kong", whose hubris blinds him to the dangers of an angry and very large ape?) Cameron is holding a New York press conference on Monday at which he will reveal three coffins, supposedly those of Jesus of Nazareth, his mother Mary and Mary Magdalene. News about the film, which will be shown soon on Discovery Channel, Britain's Channel 4, Canada's Vision, and Israel's Channel 8, has been a hot blog topic in the Middle East (check out a personal favorite: Israelity Bites) Here in the Holy Land, Biblical Archeology is a dangerous profession. This 90-minute documentary is bound to outrage Christians and stir up a titanic debate between believers and skeptics. Stay tuned.
--Tim McGirk/Jerusalem



http://time-blog.com/middle_east/

Via Drudge

[sine_nomine]

If something is on Drudge I go to Free Republic because the links work better and the commentary is great.

These things should be discussed and refuted.

[George W. Bush]

My merely being Catholic offends you?

Huh? I never said Catholics offend me.

[easternsky]

Here we go. I do not care what title you carry on you, If the Blood of Jesus is not applied to your life and you are walking daily with him. NO NAME WILL GET YOU THERE

[proudmilitarymrs]

Why is how I choose to worship anyone's business but my own? I responded to a misstatement by a non-Catholic about a Catholic belief and now I'm being proseltyzed?

Gimme a break.

[easternsky]

Sorry you felt I was proselyting. I was just stating a truth.

[blu]

psstSome people just can't get around our Catholic-ness. They never will. They will always try to get us to change, and forsake Mary. I have folks like that in my family- they were born again and I'm going to hell. I love to tell them I'll say a rosary for them! (Since they used to be Catholic, they get it!) I just ignore them.