Good idea!
1. One mathematician gave "odds" that there was only a 1:600 chance that the boxes of bones belonged to anyone else. This was based on the chance that the names of Christ's family would all be in the same vault.
-1:600 is not really impressive. Would you get on a plane that had 1:600 chance of crashing?
2. We know that there was incredible persecution of the early Christians. Would they risk such persecution if they knew Christ really didn't exist?
3. We also know that the Romans and Jews would have done anything to suppress Christianity. Is it likely that they would have built up a ossuary and put any bones in there in the hopes that they could refute Jesus's claims?
-Is there a chain of custody showing that this was never tampered with.
4. Why would a family from Galilee, and a poor one at that, be buried in Jerusalem, in such an impressive (read expensive) chamber?
5. How do we know that some misguided pilgrim didn't set this up at some point in the distant past?
Hmmm...God's Word or the word of another atheist from Hollywood? Not much of a choice for any believer in Jesus.
This clown just wants the publicity and the money that "The DaVinci Code" got. The best thing for Christians to do is laugh at him for thinking we are dumb enough to give his blasphemy any attention at all.
These enemies of Jesus know that Christians aren't into slitting the throats of blasphemers, as the Muslims would do if he attacked their faith. However, perhaps someone should mention to him that Jesus will punish anyone who endangers the faith of a child, promising that it would be better for him to have a millstone hanged around his neck and before being tossed into the sea.
1. Their claims seek to prove God a liar. They cannot, therefore, be true.
2. The chief archeologist that oversaw the work at the tomb, Bar-Ilan University Prof. Amos Kloner, called their claims "nonsense".
3. "There is no likelihood that Jesus and his relatives had a family tomb," Kloner said. "They were a Galilee family with no ties in Jerusalem. The Talpiot tomb belonged to a middle-class family from the 1st century CE."
4. There were many tombs found in the area over the years that had the words "Jesus son of Joseph" inscribed on them.
How about Amos Kloner saying the story is "nonsense"? Mt. Athos posted this:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1791244/posts
Purporting to find Christ's bones is nothing more than rehashed Templar pulp fiction.
Well, for one, they are appealing to the lies about the Ossuary of James. Whatever researchers think this is credible, presume the Ossuary of James, one of the most pathetic hoaxes in archaeological history, is actually true.
The inscription on the Ossuary of James was scratched THROUGH the patina, proving that the Ossuary was old, but the inscription is new. This discovery, with an empty space that the authors presume to be where the Ossuary of James was, lacks patina altogether on all but one ossuary.
Oh, wait... I forgot... a lot of folks fell for the Ossuary of James hoax because it was only anti-Catholic. Defending Christ would require eating too much crow...
Take the situation as an opportunity to communicate the Gospel.
There is no need to debate, because even if one were to win a debate empirically or rationally, such would be good for nothingness without faith in Christ.
The type of tomb was described in the Gospels, and the guarding of he tomb was documented in the Gospels. The penalty for a Roman soldier who allowed the object he was guarding to be taken illegitimately was death. Multiple guards fell asleep and a stone larger than could be moved by one man was moved to unseal the tomb. They were very cognizant of what had happened, to the point of going to the chief priests who then conspired to fabricate lies in an agreement where the priests would then defend them so they wouldn't be executed. (Matthew 28:11-15) Note, that the guards would fully admit to their seniors that they had fallen asleep at their posts,..a crime punishable by death, then they alleged Christ's followers had come and taken away the body, when all of his followers believed he was still in the grave and were in remorse, not realizing the meanings of the Prophecies (John 20:9). In addition, the priests were conspiring in a worldly fashion to retain worldly control of their religion(Matt 28:11-15). This is an important point, because today, just as then, those who will believe in Him through faith see clearly the truth, while those who deny Him, will prefer to follow worldly thinking.
Those who will be saved, will be saved purely by Him, by His grace, while those who reject Him, and seek to reject faith, are given that freedom in their volition.
Not only was the body gone from the tomb (Luke 24:1-5, Mark 16:1-7,John 20:1-10), Jesus Christ was seen for some 40 days along with many others who had been ressurrected. He was touchable and ate meat while in His resurrected body. His wounds were unique and touched by his disciples.(John 20:24-31)
He was the first fruits. He ascended to heaven in his resurrection body.
Prior to His crucifixion, Peter was prophecied to deny him three times before the cock crowed. Peter insisted this would never happen, as one of his closest disciples. While our Lord and Savior Christ Jesus was taken to the high priest, asked if He was indeed the Christ, Son of the Blessed, and our Lord responded "I am", and the high priest rent his clothes, shortly thereafter, Peter denied or Lord three times to avoid being associated with Him in public. (Mark 14:40-72)
Even his disciples didn't believe he had risen when first told of it. Instead they made first hand eyewitness testimony that He had indeed left the tomb.(Luke 24:10-12, Mark 16:6-11)
Later He was seen by them and they even touched His resurrected body. (Luke 24:34-53,
Pinging for later
Had to do a double take. I thought the title said "Jesus Family Talking Tomb." I was picturing some lame Easter display complete with loudspeaker.
Baptist ping
Isn't it amazing that these "scientific" "discoveries" are made and announced a few weeks before Easter every year?
If we tricked them one year and held Easter in August, would we get these "discoveries" in July?
Cameron is doing what people from Hollywood are supposed to do (in their own warped way of thinking). He has seen Moore win an Oscar for a fictitious documentary. He has seen Gore win an Oscar for a fictitious documentary. Cameron is betting he will get huge publicity and probably an Oscar from Hollywood for this fictitious documentary.
1. The documentary reflects the modern prejudice to give a privilege to material remains over literary evidence. Thus, a collection of bone boxes, no matter the problems with DNA and origins, etc., are more important than the texts of the Bible.
2. Two crucial texts of the New Testament speak against the historical claims of the documentary. One is the claim--made first in the Gospel of Mark, written ca. 67--that Jesus was buried in the family tomb of Joseph of Aramathea. Keep in mind that, at the time when this Gospel was written, kin and friends of this Joseph were still alive, and could have disputed the claim at a moment's notice. The other, even more crucial, is what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15, 1-8. Paul reminds them of a tradition that he himself received from the apostles--so this tradition must go back to just a few years after the death and burial of Jesus.
3. Yet the ossuaries are there, with those names. What is the best explanation for their existence? My strong suspicion is that they are forgeries from the 3rd-4th century, when pilgrimages to Jerusalem began, and when the search for physical remains of the ministry of Jesus was keen. The ossuaries themselves probably go back to the 1st century, but the inscriptions will likely be proven to date to 3rd-4th century.
Here's the official movie site with all the info including DNA:
www.jesusfamilytomb.com
wouldn't the Pharisees have had a better chance of knowing of this tomb than we do 2000 years later? And wouldn't they have used such information? And wouldn't the Romans have done the same? Wouldn't the pre-Damascus Paul have used this info? Are we trying to say the tomb was secret? Then why are the names there?