Alleged "Jesus Tomb" a Titanic Fraud

Every year, you can count on it. Right before Easter, just as the lillies are getting ready to spring from the soil, some crackpot theory about Jesus is going to appear as well, attempting to destroy the faith of many. And let's just say that the soil these theories spring from is the same thing that fertilizes the flowers: a load of crap.

Last year, we were all "enlightened" by the so-called "Gospel of Judas", which wasn't written by the apostle at all, but by a much later, 4th-century Gnostic cult to buttress their heresies. So much for that one.

So what's this Lent's entry in the "Jesus Ain't Who You Think He Is" sweepstakes?

Well, it seems James Cameron, famed director of the Titanic movie, is ready to climb aboard another sinking ship. Tonight, the Discovery Channel will air his documentary on the supposed "family tomb" of Jesus, called The Lost Tomb of Jesus. Supposedly, Cameron has "discovered" that some Jewish ossuaries, or bone boxes (pictured - more on ossuaries below), contained the bones of Jesus, Mary Magdalene (who Cameron thinks was married to Christ - I guess this is The Da Vinci Code Part Two), not to mention their son - allegedly.

The only problem with this little theory is the usual problem with these conspiracy theories - there's no evidence! There isn't a shred of evidence that this is the tomb of Jesus of Nazareth (or Mary Magdalene, for that matter), but there's a mountain of evidence to the contrary.

But, as I mentioned in an earlier post, who needs evidence - especially when there's a titanic (sorry, I couldn't resist) amount of money to be made. And, it just so happens that the premiere of this documentary is coinciding with the release of a book of the same name.

For this project, James Cameron has enlisted the help of Simcha Jacobovici, better known to fans of his TV show as The Naked Archaeologist. As you'll discover, it's an apt nickname, because in this case, the archaeologist has no clothes.

So, how do we know this tomb has nothing to do with Jesus Christ? For starters, here are Nine Myths About the "Jesus Tomb" adapted from garyhabermas.com, the website of noted Evangelical scholar (and another one of my fine former professors) Gary Habermas:

1. The Names "Joseph" and "Jesus" (see point 5) were very popular in the 1st century. "Jesus" appears in at least 99 tombs and on 22 ossuaries. "Joseph" appears on 45 ossuaries. So, even statistically, it's a near-certainty this tomb belongs to someone other than Jesus Christ.

2. "Mary" is the most common female name in the ancient Jewish world. Again, odds are that this is not the tomb of Mary Magdalene.

3. There is no early historical nor tomb connection to Mary Magdalene.

4. There is no historical evidence anywhere that Jesus ever married or had children.

5. The "Jesus" in the tomb was known as "Son of Joseph," but the earliest followers of the New Testament Jesus didn't call him that.

6. It is unlikely that Jesus' family tomb would be located in Jerusalem, since they were from Galilee.

7. This tomb was costly. It apparently belonged to a wealthy family. Jesus' family was not.

8. All ancient sources agree that, very soon afterwards, the burial tomb of Jesus of Nazareth was empty.

9. The alleged tomb data fail to account for Jesus' resurrection appearances.

Ah, yes...that last point, especially, is a BIG problem for this whole "Jesus tomb" theory. A year after the death of a Jewish person, after the body had decomposed, relatives would enter the sepulchre to retrieve the bones, and place them in an ossuary, or bone box. The ossuary would then be kept in a family crypt. Ossuaries were used to keep the bones of a person in one place so that - no kidding - it would be easier for God to resurrect the person on the last day.

Keep in mind that Cameron does not claim to have Jesus' body, or bones: there are none in this ossuary anyway, and the tomb in question doesn't belong to Jesus, at any rate. Of course, even in the first century, all sides agreed that retrieving Jesus bones was impossible. Both friend and foe alike recognized that Jesus' tomb was empty after Easter Sunday (point 8 above). And we haven't even mentioned the overwhelming evidence for the bodily Resurrection of Jesus Christ.

James Cameron has made a serious miscalculation. He believed he could debunk the Resurrection of Christ. Instead, his project will share the fate of a certain ocean liner, which lost a battle against a large iceberg. Cameron's fiction is no match for an icy cold mountain of insuperable facts.

Stay tuned - I'll have much more on the evidence for the Resurrection in future posts, which will serve as even more proof that the alleged "Jesus Tomb" is indeed a Titanic fraud.