AnswerManFeb 25th, 2007 - 08:27:51

The reaction to this will be interesting. Non-believers wouldn't be surprised by the revelation and would probably turn to another channel. And believers would be too outraged to watch it at all. Result? Non-believers will continue to scoff and believers will continue to believe.

Besides, a lot of this is old news. JESUS - A LIFE, a biography done by award-winning biographer, A.N. Wilson, not only suggests that Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene, it suggests that their wedding ceremony took place as part of the Festival of Cana. Wilson's other suspicions include (but are not limited to):

1) That the great stone guarding the tomb was moved away from the entrance in the same way it was put there ... by a lot of men. Jesus was removed from the tomb out of fear that the Romans would later desecrate it. So, when the empty tomb was discovered the next day, it was naturally assumed that the stone was moved by some kind of mystical power ... and that Jesus had gone to Heaven. Wilson also ascribes the reappearance of Jesus as the work of a look-alike. Later, when worry over Roman desecration passed, Jesus was returned to the tomb.

2) Judas did not betray Jesus. He was framed. All the other disciples distrusted Judas since his friends were criminals and revolutionaries. So, Judas made the perfect patsy. According to Wilson, the real betrayer was the one disciple who was conspicuously absent from the Garden of Gethsemane when the Romans showed up to arrest Jesus ... a disciple who also happened to be the Sergeant at Arms for the Jewish Sanhedrin, the entity that convinced Pilate to arrest Jesus - namely, Peter. The Roman soldiers gave Judas the pieces of silver to make it SEEM like he was the betrayer ... and take the heat off the real betrayer. Later, Judas killed himself ... not because he felt guilty about betraying Jesus ... but because he knew none of the other disciples would believe he was innocent after the silver pieces frame-job.

The point of all this is simple. Wilson's book caused a brief sensation, then vanished into media obscurity. Cameron's film will have the same fate. Non-believers don't NEED to be convinced ... and believers will REFUSE to be convinced.

Report this comment

byzinskiFeb 25th, 2007 - 08:51:44

Yes, Christians will and should be outraged. However, they won't issue Fatwas, burn buildings and run amok in the streets like the 'religion of peace'.

Report this comment

MS, OhioFeb 25th, 2007 - 13:52:51

It's hilarious how people try to debunk other peoples beliefs.. Its because they are so barren that they have no beiefs of their own.. James Cameron worships at the altar of greenbacks.. He will make a quick buck but like you all said.. It will cause a stir for a minute and get absolutley nothing accomplished... As for me... You are right.. Nothing is gonna change my beliefs.. I don't care what they say in the documentary.. Jesus saved me. Period..

Report this comment

a TheologianFeb 25th, 2007 - 14:27:11

Well AnswerMan,

A.N. Wilson and James Cameron are both in error.

A.N. Wilson is no Theologian and has to sell books. Sadly, with unfounded notions in the pages.

I would love to see the sound documentary evidence that Jesus married Mary Magdalene as part of the Festival of Cana. If this were true Jesus would have had no followers. He asked them to leave their wives behind (Luke 18:28-29). They would have not followed, if Jesus would not have done the same. To note Mary Magdalene traveled with the disciples and Jesus (Luke 8:1-3). This would have made Jesus a hypocrite and not the figure of history we know today.

I would love to know what men moved the stone guarded by trained killers. Was A.N. Wilson suggesting the that the disciples who were cowering and hiding in fear of death(John 20:19), suddenly had a brain storm to take on the armed guards with their two swords (Luke 22:38). Remember Peter in the Garden of Gethsemane had a very poor aim, being a fisherman and all (John 18:10). I would have put my money on the guards (Matthew 27:54, 65-66 and 28:11) and if this had occurred who would spread the message of the gospel? The disciples would have been dead and Jesus would still be in the tomb.

Let's say for argument sake that the disciples did succeed in killing the guards and stealing the body. What would be the point of dying for a lie you made up. The disciples were all poor and tortured for the preaching of the gospel and met death for it's sake (except John).

They did not get riches, power and many sex partners from the preaching of the gospel. Like the cult leaders of today do.

I do not see the purpose of the actions suggested by A.N. Wilson nor any evidence for her fanciful notions.

Her assumption concerning Judas and the Garden betrayal are pure fabrications.

I have studied this material in depth for decades, in it's original languages and it's historical background. There is nothing to support such claims.

If one is a novice on this subject one should read 'More than a Carpenter' by Josh McDowell and progress on to the 'The Case for Christ' by Lee Strobel. In Strobel's book you will meet the top conservative scholarship on the subject and their well informed views. Men like Gary Habermas, Craig Blomberg and Bruce Metzger. If you wish to go deeper you should read their works as well as N.T. Wright's.

As for James Cameron, Bar-Ilan University Professor Amos Kloner, a Jerusalem archaeologist who officially oversaw the work at the tomb in 1980 and has published detailed findings on its contents, dismissed the claims.

'It makes a great story for a TV film,' he told The Jerusalem Post Saturday night.

'But it's impossible. It's nonsense,' he said

Report this comment

G A AndersonFeb 25th, 2007 - 14:50:26

How odd it is that a grave site found 2,000 years later should happen to be that of Jesus. Cameron is even talking about DNA testing.
Little is known about the life of Jesus outside of the gospels. Certainly there must have been some records kept by the Roman authorites about this
'truoblemaker' that they had to execute. The gospells written years after the events give little detail about his personal life.
Does it really matter whether or not he married or not? The teachings he gave us can help us obtain peace of mind and better relations with others. Unfortunately even those who profess him as 'thier savior' have trouble following these ideals.
Still, there is a need for an explanation for why life is the way it is, cruel and unjust for some, and Christianity provides that explanation and a hope for something better for many. It does enpower some who feel that with the help of God they can endure what is often unbearable without that faith.
As it doesn't matter to me who Jesus was I find such things like this unneccessary. Maybe this is a question for serious historians but the likes of Cameron, Dan Brown and the Holy Blood, Holy Grail people have no business with this.

Report this comment

a TheologianFeb 25th, 2007 - 16:03:48

Yes, there are records outside the Gospels recording Jesus. Cornelius Tacitus, Lucian of Samosata, Flavius Josephus, Suetonius, and Plinius Secundus,(Pliny The Younger).

Notably our first written words concerning the resurrection of Jesus are not found in the Gospels, but in 1Cor.15, which predates the Gospels and was first accepted as Scripture as were all of Paul's writings.

This text does not speak of a handful of witnesses to the resurrected Jesus, but of well over 500 witnesses. Paul makes it clear that if Jesus was not resurrected than the Christian faith is in vain.

Bar-Ilan University Prof. Amos Kloner, continues

'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.'

Report this comment

BelieverFeb 25th, 2007 - 19:14:53

Christians should now take this opportunity to discuss Jesus with non-believers. The 'door' has now been opened, making it easier for those uncomfortable with sharing the Gospel with others. Although Mr. Cameron's 'findings' are totally contrary to the Bible, Jesus will now be brought to the forefront and HE will be the subject of several media outlets, print & television. This is an opportunity for believers to discuss Jesus truthfully with others.

Report this comment

on the fenceFeb 26th, 2007 - 23:34:49

I believe in Jesus as the great teacher and peacemaker that he was. As for the miracles, I wasn't there so I wouldn't venture to make such an uninformed opinion either way. As for the accounts in the gospels, I must take them all with a grain of salt. If you examine the way in which Jesus gathered followers, it is not unlike the forming of any of the not so well begotten cults of history (e.g. Heaven's Gate), it just happened to grab hold with a significant amount of people. No one disputes that the apostles were mortal men and mortal me lie. As such, I cannot justify blindly believeing their accounts without concrete evidence. I am not drawing comparisons between Jesus and the Heaven's Gate leader. I believe Jesus was strong in the belief that his teachings would genuinely help mankind (and they would if we all actually practiced what he preached). All in all, Cameron's find may well be the tomb of Jesus and he may well have had a son, but that doesn't change who he was as a man and teacher. Furthermore, by realizing he was a man and not a deity, makes his accomplishments and sacrifice that much more impressive and admirable.

Report this comment

Pem SterlingFeb 27th, 2007 - 01:30:23

I love it!! Another dodo bird is actually attacking the person

of Jesus Christ AGAIN which, as we(christians) should all realize ,is a

WONDERFUL

opportunity for the Grace of God to be revealed since,guess what, Jesus

is certainly not the least bit worried about being EXCAVATED aaat allll.

However, aside from the defacto realization that the Holy Spirit will only

use such blatant ignominy to enhance the reality of Jesus, it is a good idea

for people who are really interested in historical likelihood to recall

what statistics REALLY mean when it comes to people . . .

Numero uno : how many Hispanic people do you know today named JESUS,much

less Jewish people of the 1st century who were only in the habit of naming

children with Jewish/hebraic names not Greek,Roman, or western European??

In other words, as attested by the 500(?) or so other tombs which list a Jesus

son of Joseph, names were a limited resource - probably for good Jewish

religious reasons.Also, many people of that time may have emulated the names

of the family of Jesus and therefore gave those names to sons and daughters.

Gosh, we do that sort of thing today as well.

el numero 2 Not only do people and statistics anti- coagulate(as in someone

always seems to win the lottery even if it isn't u or me) but RELIGION also acts

in a very anti statistical manner.

Statistics really don't prove a hell of a lot about human behaviors period

UNLESS a realistic and honest study FIRST takes all human cultural and

religious data of the time period under scrutiny into strong consideration

AND on top of that ANY individual facts and details known to be true about

the historical persons being researched.

Question: Y is this 'documentary' scheduled to be aired on 'educational'

TV instead of 'Hollywood Pilgrimages ... a culture of jackass elites and

ideas' ? OHYEAH, I'd like to see a show with that name.Now, that'd be real

American entertainment.

Report this comment

AnswerManFeb 27th, 2007 - 20:04:08

In the last paragraph of my earlier post, I stated my point ... that whether Cameron's assertions are true or false, his film will be a flash in the pan. To people who believe in a Christian God, no assertion outside of scripture would be taken with any serious grain of salt. And to people who are non-believers, frankly, they wouldn't care whether Cameron's assertions are true or not.

As a simile, remember the scene in the Monty Python film, LIFE OF BRIAN, where one group of followers choose to follow the 'gourd' ... while others choose to follow the 'sandal' ... leaving a lone preacher preaching his own gospel with nobody around listening to him. Cameron will be that preacher.

Report this comment