A Preemeptive Against Discovery Channel's "The Lost Tomb of Jesus"

[Sean Osborne]

This is a wholly deserved preemptive strike against the heretical offering of this evening on the Discovery Channel from producer James Cameron and director Simcha Jabobovici. This faux documentary, entitled "The Lost Tomb of Jesus" is totally unsupported by any scientific fact.

The program is nothing more than the producer and director attempting to reap fame and fortune off the refuted and disproved premise of "The DaVinci Code".


Below is a link to the Discovery Channel's faux news release cum program teaser for reference. I will post pertinent excerpts also.

Page 1:

http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2007/0...20070225073000

Page 2:

http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2007/02/25/tomb_arc_02.html?category=archaeology&guid=20070225073000

Jesus Family Tomb Believed Found

Jennifer Viegas, Discovery News

Feb. 25, 2007 — New scientific evidence, including DNA analysis conducted at one of the world's foremost molecular genetics laboratories, as well as studies by leading scholars, suggests a 2,000-year-old Jerusalem tomb could have once held the remains of Jesus of Nazareth and his family.

The findings also suggest that Jesus and Mary Magdalene might have produced a son named Judah.

The DNA findings, alongside statistical conclusions made about the artifacts — originally excavated in 1980 — open a potentially significant chapter in Biblical archaeological history.

A documentary presenting the evidence, "The Lost Tomb of Jesus," will premiere on the Discovery Channel on March 4 at 9 p.m. ET/PT. The documentary comes from executive producer James Cameron and director Simcha Jacobovici.

...

At least four leading epigraphers have corroborated the ossuary inscriptions for the documentary, according to the Discovery Channel.

There was also a YNet.com news article on this subject post this past Saturday (24 FEB 2007).

http://www.ynetnews.com/home/0,7340,L-3086,00.html

Read and pay close attention to the above link, it is crucial because Professor Amos Kloner is the original discoverer of the Talpiyot tomb.

Here's my take on this Discovery Channel rubbish.

This film and its pretext is very obvious heretical rubbish. The cited Israeli archeologist, Prof. Amos Kloner, clearly and specifically refuted these claims in 1996. In fact Prof. Amos Knloner and his coleagues refute them to this day. What is scheduled to be broadcast on tonight (Monday, 26 February 2007) was long ago proven to be heretical nonsense.

A quote from the YNet news story...

"The findings in the cave, including the decipherment of the inscriptions, were first revealed about ten years ago by internationally renowned Israeli archeologist Professor Amos Kloner."

I located the following in a Google search with "Amos Kloner" as the sole search criteria.

http://www.bibleinterp.com/articles/Kloner_Reich_report.htm

The “James son of Joseph” Ossuary

By Prof. Amos Kloner and Ronny Reich

The cricital except follows:

"The family of Jesus and James had no burial cave in first century Jerusalem and it is known that about a generation elapsed between the death of Jesus and that of James. It is not known from the details of their lives that the family moved from Nazareth to Jerusalem. It is thus not likely that in the space of thirty years the burial of a large family related to Jesus and his brother James developed in Jerusalem, that made it necessary to write the deceased’s name on the ossuary in order to distinguish him from others. According to the above proposal, that such an ossuary would derive from a large group, it is unlikely that the present ossuary of Ya‘acov son of Yosef originates in the burial cave of the above family. The rationalization that early Christians were buried in Jerusalem according to their own rites still lacks proof or evidence."

(signed)Respectfully,
Prof. Amos Kloner

And there's more on this...

http://www.abcnews.go.com/GMA/Books/story?id=1746724&page=3

"Amos Kloner, who subsequently published the official report on the Talpiyot excavation, maintained that the "possibility of it being Jesus' family [is] very close to zero."17

17. London Sunday Times, March 31, 1996.

[Sean Osborne]

Another current article is online at FoxNews.com:

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,254669,00.html

[samizdat]

Thanks Sean.

[samizdat]

LifeSiteNews reported on February 26, 2007:

"Titanic" director James Cameron and Canadian TV-director Simcha Jacobovici are claiming they have evidence of a Jerusalem tomb that allegedly houses the remains of Jesus and his family. However the foremost archaeologists in Israel have slammed the claims as totally without foundation.

Israeli archeologist Amos Kloner, who was in charge of the 1980 investigation of the tomb which is the subject of the new claims by Cameron-Jacobovici, said "The claim that the burial site has been found is not based on any proof, and is only an attempt to sell." Kloner added, "I refute all claims and efforts to waken a renewed interest in the findings. With all due respect, they are not archeologists." Kloner said that while "it makes a great story for a TV film," there is "no likelihood" that Jesus and his relatives had a family tomb, and dismissed the claims as "impossible" and "nonsense."

"Not a Lenten season goes by without some author or TV program seeking to cast doubt on the divinity of Jesus and/or the Resurrection," said Catholic League president Bill Donohue, commenting on the hype generated. "Last April," added Donohue, "NBC's 'Dateline' featured the wholly discredited and downright laughable claims of Michael Baigent, and two years ago ABC treated us to a special that questioned every aspect of the Resurrection." He concluded, "Now we have the Cameron-Jacobovici thesis."

Archeologist Joe Zias, who spent a quarter-century at the Rockefeller University in Jerusalem, said "Simcha has no credibility whatsoever."

Donohue points out that "Jacobovici's credibility explodes when one considers that he still believes the 2002 tale about an ossuary with the inscription, 'James, son of Joseph, brother of Jesus.'" On June 18, 2003, the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) in a unanimous decision the 15-member committee, condemned the 'James ossuary' as a modern forgery.

Donohue blasted the Discovery Channel for airing both the James ossuary fraud and the current one. "The Discovery Channel aired the 2002 hoax and now it's back with the Titanic fraud. It's time the Discovery Channel discovered ethics and stopped with the sensationalism," he said.

[Sean Osborne]

Exactly. FRAUD. Period.

[Segestan]

The story is clearly a hoax. However, it is very likely that some early Christians are buried at Jerusalem. After the Destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD , Vespasian left a garrison of 800 men to keep the supporters of any of the infighting jewish factions from returning to the site or attempt a rebuilding , he would only allow Christians to enter the ruins. It seems logical to assume that at least some Christians buried their dead at that tragic site..
The story of Jesus , his wife and child is a clear attempt to discredit Christian credibility.

[Backstop]

So why do you think Cameron is doing this?

1. For positive cash flow, fame, glory, etc.
2. To discredit our religion.
3. Or something else.

[Segestan]

Discuss it here: http://www.jesusfamilytomb.com/forum/

Hear it: http://www.jesusfamilytomb.com/new_d...ies/judah.html

Seems to be Christian trophy hunters who are without a clear understanding of the implications of discrediting scripture. You're a Christian you decide.

[Sean Osborne]

For a believing Christian THE definitive word on this topic was spoken of by Jesus himself:


Matthew 24:26:

Wherefore if they shall say unto you,

Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth:

behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not.