Thursday, March 01, 2007

Want it, Have it?


(A photo from February 26th showing the ossuaries exploited by the Film "Jesus' Tomb." Simcha Jacobovici (farthest left) was the director, while the film was produced by James Cameron (next person right) -- Photo from the National Geographic).

Sometimes you get what you want, and sometimes you just pretend you do. A recent article in National Geographic tells about ossuaries attributed to Jesus, Mariamne (possibly Mary Magdalene), and their son. But of course, this has been decried as nonsense, because everyone knows they actually had a daughter.
Scratch that last sentence: my authority is not the latest best-selling thriller, but Scripture. There is no evidence from Scripture that Christ ever married. But this seems fact is deliberately rejected by some, possibly in the interest of a fortune to be made.
While the Discovery Channel's president talked about the extreme significance and ramifications of the find, Israeli archaeologists and a Greek Orthodox priest (among others) presented another side. Stephen Pfann, from Jerusalem's University of the Holy Land stated that "The pool of names that was available during the 1st century A.D. in this country was very limited," and tombs have been found in the past which list the occupant as Jesus son of Joseph. The ossuary is not remarkably decorated, and there is no absolute evidence linking Christ to the remains of the poor guy in the ossuary who just can't stay buried.
Where has this world come from, anyway? I'm kind of surprised that the movie which trumps the 20-year-old, already-published find was even made when a ridiculously similar movie ("The Body") starts with the exact same story, minus the wife and kid.
Scripture, though still pure and God-breathed, is not regarded by many people as an ultimate authority. One person (who questions the film's intent) maintains that Christ and his family were from Nazareth, not Jerusalem. While he is well-intenioned, he is overlooking the Biblical account which gives the location of Christ's murder and burial (and resurrection, raise God!) as Jerusalem.
I am increasingly led to believe that tomb raiders aren't just interested in the booty inside the tomb anymore: there's plenty more to be made in the movie theatres. If people swallowed "the DaVinci Code," their esophaguses may be extended enough for more swill. And if watching people slurp it up isn't enough, it's sickening to hear the words "Good stuff!"

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