Scholars say Jesus box may be genuine

CNN

[missyme]

Scholars say Jesus box may be genuine Tuesday, November 25, 2003 Posted: 10:26 AM EST (1526 Scientists say that this box dates from A.D. 63.

ATLANTA, Georgia (AP) -- A purported first-century inscription naming Jesus may or may not be the real thing, but Israel's labeling of the find as a fake is premature, scientists and scholars said at a panel discussion.

At issue is a limestone burial box, or ossuary, with the inscription "James, son of Joseph, brother of Jesus," that emerged on Israel's antiquities market last year.

If authentic, the ossuary would offer a rare physical link to the life of Jesus, but Israel's Antiquities Authority declared the inscription a fraud in June.

Panelists, speaking in Atlanta at the annual joint conference of the American Academy of Religion and the Society of Biblical Literature on Sunday, said authorities should examine the box more closely before passing judgment.

"I don't know for sure whether this is a forged inscription, and I'm sort of cast as a defender of the inscription. I'm not," said moderator Hershel Shanks, editor of the Biblical Archeology Review, which published the initial findings. "What I do know is, Israeli authorities have badly managed the affair."

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The antiquities authority, which has yet to release a full report on its findings, said the ossuary itself is ancient but oxygen isotope analysis suggested the words on it were inscribed in modern times.

The hard, brown patina that covers the box could not be found on the inscription, where a soft, grayish chalk-and-water paste had been applied instead to imitate weathering, the authority said.

James Harrell, a geologist at the University of Toledo and member of the Association for the Study of Marble and Other Stones in Antiquity, said his analysis of the inscription suggests the missing patina could simply be the result of overcleaning -- not forgery.

Shanks said experts from the antiquities authority declined to speak at the forum.

Oded Golan, the collector who came forward with the ossuary in October 2002 and has since been accused of being the forger, said it had been "undoubtedly cleaned" while in his family's possession but did not know how.

Panelists said that while oxygen isotope analysis found most of the inscription showed some sort of modern influence, the last part of it was consistent with the ancient patina -- specifically the part that names Jesus.

The ossuary had been valued at up to $2 million because of the claimed link with Jesus. According to biblical accounts, Jesus' brother James led the early church in Jerusalem and was stoned to death as a Jewish heretic in A.D. 62.

The oldest confirmed surviving artifact that mentions Jesus is a fragment of chapter 18 in John's Gospel from a manuscript dating to A.D. 125.

[presidio9]

REDUNDANT

[ruoflaw]

I appreciate it as I didn't see the first time.

[missyme]

Thank You.

I had not seen it before either. Just thought it was important :-)

[Onelifetogive]

"What I do know is, Israeli authorities have badly managed the affair."

You don't suppose that they mismanaged it onpurpose? Physical evidence of Jesus' story....That would blow a hole in that whole "being Jewish" thing they have happening in Israel.

[missyme]

I think if they mis-managed it and wanted the whole story to go away, then it was out of fear.

This is just my opinion, but little by little I see JESUS coming into the world in a way that's provoking much talk about his personage why he came who he truly is and if he is to return, the controversy regarding "The Passion" as well as this new evidence "ossuary" is giving people of all faiths a way to examine for themselves who JESUS is and if they are willing to receive him. To me G-d is working in mysterious ways to let every human being come to Jesus before it's to late.

[BlackVeil]

This is the latest news on the burial box. It seems unconconclusive, but different arguments are being put.

[safisoft]

You don't suppose that they mismanaged it onpurpose? Physical evidence of Jesus' story....That would blow a hole in that whole "being Jewish" thing they have happening in Israel.

Actually, there a references to Jesus [Y'shua] both by name and also cryptically in many Jewish manuscripts of the early 2nd Century and later. Read the Talmud. Jews do not deny the historical Jesus, so your reasoning isn't quite fair.

Some of the foremost modern authorities of the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke) are Jewish - and are at Hebrew University in Jerusalem.

[My2Cents]

A purported first-century inscription naming Jesus may or may not be the real thing

The fact it was written with a Sharpie pen may have tipped them off...

[Poohbah]

Scholars say Jesus box may be genuine

Chuckle.

There was a novel written in 1980 or so that had, as the McGuffin, a biocybernetic device that could interface an aircraft's sensors directly to the pilot's mind. It was called something like a "biocybernetic interface unit," but the nickname used by the pilot for the thing was "The Jesus Box."

[LiteKeeper]

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