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Here we go: some fuel for the fire, courtesy of director James Cameron, on "Titanic" fame:
February 23, 2007 6:55 
Jesus: Tales from the Crypt
Posted by Tim McGirk | Comments (318) | 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
Enjoy
TS