Earlier this week, the web was abuzz about a reported discovery of a tomb discovered in Jerusalem that was said to date from the first century. This discovery used very high end technology, including robots, in an effort to make verification more scientifically sound. A book was written about it, called "The Jesus Discovery", written by James Tabor, a scholar in scripture, and Simcha Jacobovici, a filmmaker. The book delves into the archaeological findings and, the authors suggest, posits that the tomb that was fairly recently unearthed points to the real possibility that another tomb discovered some time ago might be that of Jesus himself. A documentary focusing on the archaeological findings is being made and set to air in a few months on the Discovery Channel, and it has received significant publicity and endorsements.
Evidently, according to the authors, this discovery of a tomb in 2010 could be traced to perhaps the earliest Christian art and artifacts yet discovered. There is an inscription that could be translated to mean "Divine Jehovah, raise up, raise up'. According to the authors of the book, much of the other imagery discovered along with the bones also seem to suggest early Christian belief that just might even predate the earliest Christian writings, including the New Testament of the Bible.
Those who advocate the Christian ties also argue that it sheds new light on an earlier discovery of another tomb dating back to the early 1980's which, according to some, now might have a legitimate claim to being the tomb of Jesus.
“A compelling argument can be made that the garden tomb is that of Jesus of Nazareth and his family.” according to the authors.
The authors continue: “The discovery provides the earliest archaeological evidence of faith in Jesus' resurrection from the dead, the first witness to a saying of Jesus that predates even the writing of our New Testament gospels, and the earliest example of Christian art, all found in a sealed tomb dated to the 1st century.”
Although the book is already a top-seller, it is not without it's detractors, who take a more skeptical view of the implied meanings of this discovery that the authors take. Many scholars argue that the authors fail to make a compelling case that these are, actually, the tombs that the authors claim that they are, or that they automatically imply that the other tomb is that of Jesus.
Some of the critics are quite harsh, and leave no doubt that they are not at all impressed with the findings. Andrew Vaughn of the American Schools of Oriental Research says that there is a “zero percent chance that their theory is correct”. Eric Meyers, a Duke University Biblical scholar, added this to a “long list of presentations that misuse not only the Bible but also archaeology.” Jodi Magness, a professor at the University of North Carolina, says, “It pains me to see archaeology hijacked in the service of non-scientific interests, whether they are religious, financial, or other.” She goes on to question the credentials, or the lack thereof according to her, of the authors. “Professional archaeologists do not search for objects such as Noah's Ark, the Ark of the Covenant, or the Holy Grail.” She suggests that these types of exploits are usually led by amateurs, and that archaeology is not driven by beliefs or theories, but rather “is a scientific process”.
The debate rages on. Some links below are included for further reading on the subject:
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