HAVE ARCHAEOLOGIST FOUND JESUS FAMILY TOMB?
By Andre Austin
Throughout high school and college I avoided the nerdy, dry field of statistics, thinking it was dull, boring and ultimately uncool. As time went forward, I began to change my opinion of statistics. Depending on the angle you might approach statistics can be very exciting. Simcha Jacobovici and Charles Pellegrino co-wrote The Jesus Family Tomb, which is a companion book to the movie The Lost Tomb of Jesus broadcasted in March on the Discovery Channel. Their book suggest that a tomb found in 1980 in Talpiot, Jerusalem is “a statistical Slam dunk”. Depending on your theological orientation the evidence in this book may perhaps be like throwing up a air ball.
Seven of the ten ossuaries have inscriptions as follows:
1. X “Jesus, son of Joseph”. The X may be a Tao cross that (Ezekiel 9:4) signifying righteousness and or Jesus as Tao in (Rev 22:13) as Alpha and Omega in Aramaic Aleph and the Tao. However, in Greek X was initial of Christ not cross.
2. Yosa, Jose or Joseph. This is claimed to be the father or brother of Jesus. Jose may be the nickname of Joseph to distinguish him away from his father who had the same name. No other known ossuary has the name Jose in which piggy backs on the Gospel of (Mark 6:3).
3. “Maria” or “Mary” believed to be the same mother of Jesus
4. “Mariamne also known as Mara”. Scholars claim this is Mary Magdalene. The early church father Origen, called Magdalene “Mariamme” and so did the apocryphal Acts of Philip in which it claims Jesus kissed Mariamme on the mouth. Also, both Jesus and Mariamne were called Mara=masters or teachers/priest. Mary the Great?
So if Mary called Magdalene is not a place name, but a nick name, what does it mean? Mary the Migdal? Mary the Tower? Was she tall? Was she tall and broad?
Some scholars (e.g., Spong, 1992; Starbird, 2005) have speculated that Mary was such an important disciple of Jesus that she was referred to as “The Tower”, using the same kind of affectionate but pertinent nicknames that Jesus was famous for (e.g., Simon “The Rock”, John and James “the Sons of Thunder”, etc.) Baigent (2006) even says that her nickname was actually “Mary the Great”, reasoning that calling her “The Tower” was the same as saying she was “Great”.
5. “Matia” or Matthew. Could this be the New Testament writer and be related to Jesus?
6. “Judah, son of Jesus”. If this is the real biblical Jesus then he was married possibly to the same women who he kissed on the mouth and raised a child?
7. “James, son of Joseph, brother of Jesus”. Some scholars say the last half of this inscription was forged. However, we know from the writings of Flavius Josephus, St. Paul and Jesus own words admit he had brothers and sisters in which some claim from Joseph being a widower from a previous marriage.
If your fate and faith rest in Statistics, the authors state: “The odds are six hundred to one that the Talpiot tomb is the resting place of Jesus…and five members of his family”. Is this an air ball or a slam dunk? Was Jesus bones allowed to decay and turn to dust with the earth and his spirit rise to heaven or did his complete body go up yonder? Statistics may say one thing and your faith may agree or disagree for another point of view. I delegate my opinion to St Paul.The question is asked “How are the dead raised?” (1 Cor 15:35) The answer: “it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body” (1 Cor 15:44).
Notes:
To be balanced I have to give opposing views.
Would Jesus Have Been Buried At All?
Not only is the idea of the empty tomb suspect due to the many literary precursors, the idea does not square with the practices at the time (Crossan, 1991; Hengel, 1977; McCane, 2003). To the Romans, crucifixion was both a punishment and a deterrent, so they tended to deny burial to people who were crucified. Typically victims were left to hang for days, their corpses rotting in the sun, picked clean by the birds, the pathetic remains savaged by dogs. [1] Would an exception have been made for Jesus? One has to ask: “Why?” After all, according to the Gospels, he was found guilty of blasphemy by the Sanhedrin and guilty of treason by the Romans. At the time of his death, contrary to the popular opinion that his followers were a small group of rag-tag fishermen, Jesus had gathered a large following and a wide support system. To show mercy or favoritism to him would only encourage his followers and add some substance to his claims, an act the Romans would not likely take
(http://www.jesuspolice.com/common_error.php?id=22)
THE LOST TOMB OF JESUS
By Andre Austin
For three hours I observed and listened to The Discovery Channel documentary on the alleged tomb of Jesus and his family. If the evidence isn’t a hoax and comes out authentic it could change many orthodox teachings that have been feed to the followers of Christianity
In the New testament we find brothers of Jesus named Jose, James, Judah and a Simon. Some of these individuals Ossuaries are found. The problem arises out of interpretation and meaning of words and language. We know non related Christians refer to each other as brothers and sisters but in the book of Mark 6:3-4 it appears and seems the context of Jesus brothers is about kin.“behold my mother and my brethren! For whosoever shall do the will of god, the same is my brother, and my sister, and mother”(Mark 3:31-35) Also Brother/Sister could be used as a religious bond. The context of Jesus family tomb is his family tomb and we can reasonably assume their close family members are together with each other in their graves.
The archaeological evidence coming from the tomb in Jerusalem conflicts with several doctrines coming down from past religious leaders being outlined as:
1. Resurrection of Jesus physical body into the jurisdiction of heaven vs. his spiritual body being in the kingdom of the air/spirit. What does it mean that flesh and blood can’t enter the gates of heaven and Jesus explicitly saying a spirit has no flesh and bones (Luke 24:39)?. Earth is for the body going to dust and heaven for the spirit. The Koran and the Gnostic following each other in error saw the crucifixion of Christ as a substitute replacement. Now if Jesus body went up to heaven and he came back to talk to Paul only saw a ray of light (Acts 9:3) and Paul says he didn’t confer with flesh and blood with Jesus (Gal 1:16). Even after he died his shadow could go through doors without being open making him separated from his body and spirit. And Paul prefers to be away from the body and with god (2 Cor 5:8). Paul talks about the material body and spiritual body as different with the spiritual body going to heaven (1Cor 15:35-54).Paul didn’t think his body would go to heaven and wanted it burned (1 Cor 13:3).We take on white light/robes as angels not being able to marry absent the flesh (Luke 20:36; John 20:12;Rev 7:13).
2. The Virginity dilemma. Not all Christians believed Mary lived a life as a Nun. The Gospel of Philip reports: “Some said, Mary conceived by the holy spirit, they are in error”. Isaiah might be the source of the problem where the word “young woman” or “virgin” could be used for Mary conceiving Immanuel. The virgin birth and the Trinity doctrine may perhaps be in jeopardy as Christianity self-inflicted wound being influenced by ancient pagan Egypt’s Black Madonna of the Trinity of Isis, Horus and Osiris. The Council of Trullo in 692 declared Mary a eternal virgin/Nun hopefully DNA test of these Ossuaries will have the chance of proving blood relationships. The apostle Paul says that Jesus "was born of the seed of David" (Romans 1:3). Here the word "seed" is literally in the Greek "sperma.". Therefore Jesus had the male and female chromosomes that makes a human being “according to the flesh” (Romans 1:3). Tradition claims that St Luke personally knew Mary and made images of her as black and travelers inside Europe will find her black. It was in Rome that an infection and confusion of the ancient Isis with Mary and made her a perpetual virgin contrary to scripture. Josephus had sex with Mary after she gave birth “And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son and called his name Jesus” (Matthew 1:25). The word knew is synonymous with sexual knowledge; and if Mary didn’t have other children why refer to Jesus has her firstborn having the inference that others would come.
3. St Peter is depicted as a Jet-Blackman by Christians in their art. Peter’s Ossuary is in the tomb of Jesus countering Rome’s assertion he was killed as an upside down pillar and buried in Rome. But all the available evidence has Peter with Paul in Jerusalem for three conference meetings. So when the fathers of the Church of Rome wanted to establish a hierarchical ecclesiastical system under their authority they were encouraged by the political power of Rome to downgrade Egypt and Israel. In their need for a justification of their authority, the Roman fathers claimed that Peter was given keys and power to give before dying in Rome. Peter was not martyred in Rome. Just think of an integrated tomb with Jesus. And just think of the incredible story the Catholics gave fuel to Peter escaping the gates of Rome then returning after hearing a vision of Jesus saying he was going to Rome to be crucified. First of all Peter knew the protocol of Christianity taking up your own cross for deeds not self to be crucified. I don’t think Peter committed the sin of suicide.
4. Church doctrines against woman priests is in conflict with Mary Magdalene Ossuary calling her a master/teacher. I see nothing wrong with female priests. The antagonism is just cultural restrictions not religious codifications. I believe Mary Magdalene was slandered as a prostitute for the sacrifice of unnecessary church dogmas. It seems to me that Christians men/women should be equal (1 Corinthians 14:26).
5. Restrictions on Marriage may have lead to the idea of making Jesus a Bachelor. Priests weren’t allowed to get married because Rome wanted control of real estate property not being passed on to wives or to priests sons.
Some people say that Jesus was poor and couldn’t afford this tomb. Christians were called The Poor as a name which is evident “blessed are the poor (Christians) in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” Matthew 5:3. I see some of Jesus’ disciples who were rich bankrolling his burial Mausoleum. Doubters also say that Jesus would have been buried in Nazareth not Jerusalem. Evidence says that Nazareth was a religious sect and not a proven city until hundreds of years after Jesus death. Furthermore, why bury a body in an expected location making it venerable to desecration and destruction? Hopefully archaeological evidence will prove the Jesus tomb is a hoax or truth.
By Andre Austin
Throughout high school and college I avoided the nerdy, dry field of statistics, thinking it was dull, boring and ultimately uncool. As time went forward, I began to change my opinion of statistics. Depending on the angle you might approach statistics can be very exciting. Simcha Jacobovici and Charles Pellegrino co-wrote The Jesus Family Tomb, which is a companion book to the movie The Lost Tomb of Jesus broadcasted in March on the Discovery Channel. Their book suggest that a tomb found in 1980 in Talpiot, Jerusalem is “a statistical Slam dunk”. Depending on your theological orientation the evidence in this book may perhaps be like throwing up a air ball.
Seven of the ten ossuaries have inscriptions as follows:
1. X “Jesus, son of Joseph”. The X may be a Tao cross that (Ezekiel 9:4) signifying righteousness and or Jesus as Tao in (Rev 22:13) as Alpha and Omega in Aramaic Aleph and the Tao. However, in Greek X was initial of Christ not cross.
2. Yosa, Jose or Joseph. This is claimed to be the father or brother of Jesus. Jose may be the nickname of Joseph to distinguish him away from his father who had the same name. No other known ossuary has the name Jose in which piggy backs on the Gospel of (Mark 6:3).
3. “Maria” or “Mary” believed to be the same mother of Jesus
4. “Mariamne also known as Mara”. Scholars claim this is Mary Magdalene. The early church father Origen, called Magdalene “Mariamme” and so did the apocryphal Acts of Philip in which it claims Jesus kissed Mariamme on the mouth. Also, both Jesus and Mariamne were called Mara=masters or teachers/priest. Mary the Great?
So if Mary called Magdalene is not a place name, but a nick name, what does it mean? Mary the Migdal? Mary the Tower? Was she tall? Was she tall and broad?
Some scholars (e.g., Spong, 1992; Starbird, 2005) have speculated that Mary was such an important disciple of Jesus that she was referred to as “The Tower”, using the same kind of affectionate but pertinent nicknames that Jesus was famous for (e.g., Simon “The Rock”, John and James “the Sons of Thunder”, etc.) Baigent (2006) even says that her nickname was actually “Mary the Great”, reasoning that calling her “The Tower” was the same as saying she was “Great”.
5. “Matia” or Matthew. Could this be the New Testament writer and be related to Jesus?
6. “Judah, son of Jesus”. If this is the real biblical Jesus then he was married possibly to the same women who he kissed on the mouth and raised a child?
7. “James, son of Joseph, brother of Jesus”. Some scholars say the last half of this inscription was forged. However, we know from the writings of Flavius Josephus, St. Paul and Jesus own words admit he had brothers and sisters in which some claim from Joseph being a widower from a previous marriage.
If your fate and faith rest in Statistics, the authors state: “The odds are six hundred to one that the Talpiot tomb is the resting place of Jesus…and five members of his family”. Is this an air ball or a slam dunk? Was Jesus bones allowed to decay and turn to dust with the earth and his spirit rise to heaven or did his complete body go up yonder? Statistics may say one thing and your faith may agree or disagree for another point of view. I delegate my opinion to St Paul.The question is asked “How are the dead raised?” (1 Cor 15:35) The answer: “it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body” (1 Cor 15:44).
Notes:
To be balanced I have to give opposing views.
Would Jesus Have Been Buried At All?
Not only is the idea of the empty tomb suspect due to the many literary precursors, the idea does not square with the practices at the time (Crossan, 1991; Hengel, 1977; McCane, 2003). To the Romans, crucifixion was both a punishment and a deterrent, so they tended to deny burial to people who were crucified. Typically victims were left to hang for days, their corpses rotting in the sun, picked clean by the birds, the pathetic remains savaged by dogs. [1] Would an exception have been made for Jesus? One has to ask: “Why?” After all, according to the Gospels, he was found guilty of blasphemy by the Sanhedrin and guilty of treason by the Romans. At the time of his death, contrary to the popular opinion that his followers were a small group of rag-tag fishermen, Jesus had gathered a large following and a wide support system. To show mercy or favoritism to him would only encourage his followers and add some substance to his claims, an act the Romans would not likely take
(http://www.jesuspolice.com/common_error.php?id=22)
THE LOST TOMB OF JESUS
By Andre Austin
For three hours I observed and listened to The Discovery Channel documentary on the alleged tomb of Jesus and his family. If the evidence isn’t a hoax and comes out authentic it could change many orthodox teachings that have been feed to the followers of Christianity
In the New testament we find brothers of Jesus named Jose, James, Judah and a Simon. Some of these individuals Ossuaries are found. The problem arises out of interpretation and meaning of words and language. We know non related Christians refer to each other as brothers and sisters but in the book of Mark 6:3-4 it appears and seems the context of Jesus brothers is about kin.“behold my mother and my brethren! For whosoever shall do the will of god, the same is my brother, and my sister, and mother”(Mark 3:31-35) Also Brother/Sister could be used as a religious bond. The context of Jesus family tomb is his family tomb and we can reasonably assume their close family members are together with each other in their graves.
The archaeological evidence coming from the tomb in Jerusalem conflicts with several doctrines coming down from past religious leaders being outlined as:
1. Resurrection of Jesus physical body into the jurisdiction of heaven vs. his spiritual body being in the kingdom of the air/spirit. What does it mean that flesh and blood can’t enter the gates of heaven and Jesus explicitly saying a spirit has no flesh and bones (Luke 24:39)?. Earth is for the body going to dust and heaven for the spirit. The Koran and the Gnostic following each other in error saw the crucifixion of Christ as a substitute replacement. Now if Jesus body went up to heaven and he came back to talk to Paul only saw a ray of light (Acts 9:3) and Paul says he didn’t confer with flesh and blood with Jesus (Gal 1:16). Even after he died his shadow could go through doors without being open making him separated from his body and spirit. And Paul prefers to be away from the body and with god (2 Cor 5:8). Paul talks about the material body and spiritual body as different with the spiritual body going to heaven (1Cor 15:35-54).Paul didn’t think his body would go to heaven and wanted it burned (1 Cor 13:3).We take on white light/robes as angels not being able to marry absent the flesh (Luke 20:36; John 20:12;Rev 7:13).
2. The Virginity dilemma. Not all Christians believed Mary lived a life as a Nun. The Gospel of Philip reports: “Some said, Mary conceived by the holy spirit, they are in error”. Isaiah might be the source of the problem where the word “young woman” or “virgin” could be used for Mary conceiving Immanuel. The virgin birth and the Trinity doctrine may perhaps be in jeopardy as Christianity self-inflicted wound being influenced by ancient pagan Egypt’s Black Madonna of the Trinity of Isis, Horus and Osiris. The Council of Trullo in 692 declared Mary a eternal virgin/Nun hopefully DNA test of these Ossuaries will have the chance of proving blood relationships. The apostle Paul says that Jesus "was born of the seed of David" (Romans 1:3). Here the word "seed" is literally in the Greek "sperma.". Therefore Jesus had the male and female chromosomes that makes a human being “according to the flesh” (Romans 1:3). Tradition claims that St Luke personally knew Mary and made images of her as black and travelers inside Europe will find her black. It was in Rome that an infection and confusion of the ancient Isis with Mary and made her a perpetual virgin contrary to scripture. Josephus had sex with Mary after she gave birth “And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son and called his name Jesus” (Matthew 1:25). The word knew is synonymous with sexual knowledge; and if Mary didn’t have other children why refer to Jesus has her firstborn having the inference that others would come.
3. St Peter is depicted as a Jet-Blackman by Christians in their art. Peter’s Ossuary is in the tomb of Jesus countering Rome’s assertion he was killed as an upside down pillar and buried in Rome. But all the available evidence has Peter with Paul in Jerusalem for three conference meetings. So when the fathers of the Church of Rome wanted to establish a hierarchical ecclesiastical system under their authority they were encouraged by the political power of Rome to downgrade Egypt and Israel. In their need for a justification of their authority, the Roman fathers claimed that Peter was given keys and power to give before dying in Rome. Peter was not martyred in Rome. Just think of an integrated tomb with Jesus. And just think of the incredible story the Catholics gave fuel to Peter escaping the gates of Rome then returning after hearing a vision of Jesus saying he was going to Rome to be crucified. First of all Peter knew the protocol of Christianity taking up your own cross for deeds not self to be crucified. I don’t think Peter committed the sin of suicide.
4. Church doctrines against woman priests is in conflict with Mary Magdalene Ossuary calling her a master/teacher. I see nothing wrong with female priests. The antagonism is just cultural restrictions not religious codifications. I believe Mary Magdalene was slandered as a prostitute for the sacrifice of unnecessary church dogmas. It seems to me that Christians men/women should be equal (1 Corinthians 14:26).
5. Restrictions on Marriage may have lead to the idea of making Jesus a Bachelor. Priests weren’t allowed to get married because Rome wanted control of real estate property not being passed on to wives or to priests sons.
Some people say that Jesus was poor and couldn’t afford this tomb. Christians were called The Poor as a name which is evident “blessed are the poor (Christians) in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” Matthew 5:3. I see some of Jesus’ disciples who were rich bankrolling his burial Mausoleum. Doubters also say that Jesus would have been buried in Nazareth not Jerusalem. Evidence says that Nazareth was a religious sect and not a proven city until hundreds of years after Jesus death. Furthermore, why bury a body in an expected location making it venerable to desecration and destruction? Hopefully archaeological evidence will prove the Jesus tomb is a hoax or truth.
