Posted on 11/01/2002 10:45:35 AM PST by Polycarp
COMMENTARY
A Discovery That's Just Too Perfect
Claims that stone box held remains of Jesus' brother may be suspect.
By Robert Eisenman Robert Eisenman is the author of "James the Brother of Jesus" (Penguin, 1998) and a professor of Middle East religions and archeology at Cal State Long Beach.
October 29 2002
James, the brother of Jesus, was so well known and important as a Jerusalem religious leader, according to 1st century sources, that taking the brother relationship seriously was perhaps the best confirmation that there ever was a historical Jesus. Put another way, it was not whether Jesus had a brother, but rather whether the brother had a "Jesus."
Now we are suddenly presented with this very "proof": the discovery, allegedly near Jerusalem, of an ossuary inscribed in the Aramaic language used at that time, with "James, son of Joseph, brother of Jesus." An ossuary is a stone box in which bones previously laid out in rock-cut tombs, such as those in the Gospels, were placed after they were retrieved by relatives or followers.
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
I read Eisenman's book several years ago, and it was pretty wacky. It's been a while, but as best I can remember Eisenman argued that Jesus and the early Christians were all violent revolutionaries. For instance, he identified the apostle Thaddeus with a Jewish rebel named Theudas (mentioned in Josephus) who was later executed by Roman authorities after murdering some people. He also claimed that some of the missionaries mentioned in Paul's letters later conspired to murder the emperor Domitian.
I think Eisenman also argued that the Dead Sea Scrolls were Christian in origin (against all sane scholarly opinion) and that either James or Jesus was the "Teacher of Righteousness" mentioned in the scrolls, and he equated Paul with the "Man of Lies".
All these claims were based more on imagination and speculation --- Eisenman's "hunches" --- then they were on any real evidence.
I read this piece when it ran in the LA Times and it noted that the writer had written books on James, the brother of Jesus, so obviously he has a vested interest in shooting down any evidence that proved him wrong.
If you're going to claim someone else's belief as truth you should be honest enough to note his own possible prejudices.
Also, what about the owner of the "Ossuary?" So far, I haven't heard anything that would point a motive on him/her either. He/she wants to remain anonymous. He/she hasn't made an effort to sell this or make money. Correct me if I'm wrong...
This notion that the box has an "owner" impies that this whole process of disclosure is one of commercial motive; either that or notoriety, which doesn't fit with anonymity.
How does something this old escape detection or interest for so long? Surely no single possessor could deny curiosity.
Christians do not believe that. We believe she DID go to His tomb at first light!
It says so RIGHT IN THE BIBLE.
But Catholics cannot admit that. That's why they run away when you pose the question.
You know, at first I thought Polycarp was a bit over the top taking people to task over belief in the genuineness of the ossuary (which for the record, I'd like to find out it is genuine, but either way it doesn't improve or detract from my faith). Then berned came along and things got really crazy.
I am a Catholic. I've never been anything else. And in 30+ years of Catholicism, I've never had one priest, nun, family member, or fellow parishioner state to me that they believe anything but that Mary was there for the whole thing.
I don't know which Catholic church services you've been auditing, but you ain't been in any of the dozen or so churches I've belonged to over the years.
Yeah, like you run away from the clear proof that James the Just was the son of Alphaeus, not Joseph.
This is because the Mary who visited Christ's tomb at earliest possible time is described as "Mary the mother of JAMES AND JOSES".
Exactly, berned, exactly. NOT as "Mary, His mother" or "Mary, mother of the Lord" ... because she wasn't that person. She was the "sister" of "Mary, his mother" identified as "Mary, wife of Clopas" in John 19:25.
And, incidentally, your claim that Catholics believe that "[the Blessed Virgin] Mary 'dropped Jesus like a hot potato' when she saw he was dead" is, without any question, doubt, or equivocation, the dumbest thing you have ever posted here.
And that's saying a whole lot.
Very cool pics of the Ossuary of James as well as extended narrative.
The ancients too, evidently. In the earliest non-biblical reference to James, Josephus' "Jewish Antiquities" (written about 30 years after his death), Josephus writes: ".... so he .... brought before them the brother of Jesus who was called Christ, whose name was James....." That's a pretty important ancient source: a Jewish contemporary.
I'm a liar because I don't agree with YOPIOS?*
The world revolves around Berned's flat earth. LOL!
(* YOPIOS = Your Own Personal Interpretation Of Scripture)
You must explain where you get these special glasses that enable you to tell from this verse that James, Joses, Jude, and Simon were all sons of the same Mary that bore the Lord, because that verse pretty clearly says nothing of the sort.
Well, unless Jesus' siblings were concieved miraculously, Mary could not have remained a virgin.
You must explain where you get these special glasses that enable you to tell from this verse that James, Joses, Jude, and Simon were all sons of the same Mary that bore the Lord, because that verse pretty clearly says nothing of the sort.
What on Earth else could it mean?
The verse doesn't say they were Mary's children. It says they were Jesus' brothers. To the Hebrews, all of your male contemporary (and even not very contemporary) relatives were your "brothers". That's why Abraham calls Lot his "brother" in Genesis, for example. Other verses make it clear that Lot was really Abraham's nephew.
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