The Tomb of Jesus?

I've been asking diehard Christians a question which I will put forth here:

If there was undisputed proof the real tomb of Jesus and Mary were found would that effect your faith in Christianity and The Holy Bible?

Watch the Discovery Channel Sunday, March 4, 2007 8:00 CST for James Cameron's documentary on the subject.
[Edited 3/3/07 6:25am]

I think this is a wonderful opportunity for Christians to share the miracles we've seen in our own lives, as a result of following the Bible's teachings.

I'm not just talking, "He got that job, when he really, really needed it, because he was flat broke..." Though, that is important. (Thank You, Lord! )

I'm also talking, "The pastor laid hands on the parishioner and prayed that he would be healed in Jesus Christ's name, according to what the Bible says about Him having facilitated healing by the "stripes" He received during His Earthly ministry -- and the parishioner's doctor later confirmed that he had been healed of his heart ailment."

or

"I was praying to the God of the Holy Bible and in the name of Jesus Christ, when it was revealed to me that a colleague was going to attack my credibility. Two days later, I discovered that he had lied to our supervisor about such and such..."


or


"I prayed to the God of the Holy Bible and in the name of Jesus Christ, concerning the health and location of a long-lost friend who hadn't been heard from for months. Within a couple of days, she contacted a friend who had been worried sick about her."


I have dozens of such testimonies that speak to the Bible's application in prayer and wisdom yielding empirical results. So often, Christianity is treated as a belief system that is built upon nothing, when the truth is that the majority of the Christians I know build their faith upon the works they have seen God perform.

All of that is built upon the Bible's central claim that God chose to redeem humanity unto Himself through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, God in the flesh, and His ultimate resurrection back to the throne of God, where He intercedes on our behalf.

The campaign to discredit that is nothing new. I've been interested in how the lack of real details and proof is being disregarded in an effort to discredit the Bible.

But, like I said, Christians (should) have numerous examples to pull from our own lives that show the Bible's claims to be true.

I'm shocked there isn't all that much debate over this. The documentary claims to have DNA proof and the tomb's writing, etc and I just wonder if Christians have any real way of debating this or are just stuborn. It's hard for people to believe these things, even if just about everything was there to back it up...you can't have people just throw away their fate...yet some Christians expect this, nay, demand this of others in order to accept Jesus. Pretty interesting. I have to say my favorite comment out of all this is Howard Stern who said "Now everybody is Jewish!". How do you like that?

VinnyM27 said:

I'm shocked there isn't all that much debate over this. The documentary claims to have DNA proof and the tomb's writing, etc and I just wonder if Christians have any real way of debating this or are just stuborn. It's hard for people to believe these things, even if just about everything was there to back it up...you can't have people just throw away their fate...yet some Christians expect this, nay, demand this of others in order to accept Jesus. Pretty interesting. I have to say my favorite comment out of all this is Howard Stern who said "Now everybody is Jewish!". How do you like that?

ehuffnsd said:

VinnyM27 said:

I'm shocked there isn't all that much debate over this. The documentary claims to have DNA proof and the tomb's writing, etc and I just wonder if Christians have any real way of debating this or are just stuborn. It's hard for people to believe these things, even if just about everything was there to back it up...you can't have people just throw away their fate...yet some Christians expect this, nay, demand this of others in order to accept Jesus. Pretty interesting. I have to say my favorite comment out of all this is Howard Stern who said "Now everybody is Jewish!". How do you like that?

the only DNA proof is the box that says Mary isn't related by blood to the box that says Jesus. we have no idea if either one is the same from the Bible.

FunkshaII said:

Go to the source: www.watchtower.org

Thanks!

Uhope said:

FunkshaII said:

So what are the odds this sequence of names would appear on tombs at the time and in the place these tombs were buried?

Actually pretty high. "Jesus" or Yehoshua was a very common name in those days, as well as Mary. Any number of people could be buried under such a name. Jewish historian Josephus of the first century C.E. mentions some 12 persons, other than those in the Bible record (at least three), bearing that name. It also appears in the Apocryphal writings of the last centuries of the B.C.E. period. Even one of Mary's (Jesus' mother) ancestors was named Jesus (Luke 3:29). Shucks, go to any cemetary in Mexico -- plenty of Jesus' and Maria's there.

How on EARTH would anyone be able to prove THE Jesus' DNA? Don't you need to have a completely verified source to compare it to? You can't even prove paternity to get child support without DNA from the father, mother and child.

I don't see how this program could do anything to negatively affect the faith of one who knows what the Bible really teaches about Jesus' life, death and burial.

FunkshaII said:

Uhope said:

Actually pretty high. "Jesus" or Yehoshua was a very common name in those days, as well as Mary. Any number of people could be buried under such a name. Jewish historian Josephus of the first century C.E. mentions some 12 persons, other than those in the Bible record (at least three), bearing that name. It also appears in the Apocryphal writings of the last centuries of the B.C.E. period. Even one of Mary's (Jesus' mother) ancestors was named Jesus (Luke 3:29). Shucks, go to any cemetary in Mexico -- plenty of Jesus' and Maria's there.

How on EARTH would anyone be able to prove THE Jesus' DNA? Don't you need to have a completely verified source to compare it to? You can't even prove paternity to get child support without DNA from the father, mother and child.

I don't see how this program could do anything to negatively affect the faith of one who knows what the Bible really teaches about Jesus' life, death and burial.

So basically your saying there is not way to prove or disprove whether this is the tomb of Jesus and Mary's family, thereby of no consequence to the validity of the Christian faith?

ThreadBare said:

ThreadBare said:

lazycrockett said:

FunkshaII said:

babynoz said:

babynoz said:

FunkshaII said:

FunkshaII said:

babynoz said:

FunkshaII said:

FunkshaII said:

"I am the way, the truth and the life; No man cometh unto the father, but by me." - Jesus of Nazareth (John 14:6)

Nevertheless I'll be watching...should be amusing.

I had a kid ask me about this during the children's sermon today. I told him that I would have to see the documentary first.

But on a personal note, I could care less whether Jesus was married. It doesn't change what His life was, or is, in my faith. All He taught and the way He lived is what is important.

i just find it ironic that it wasn't an Atheist that made this discovery
but actually christians,
They believe that jesus being found is irrelevent to the religion

wow...

Eternaldragon said:

babynoz said:

FunkshaII said:

Well sort of. If Jesus had a wife and family, would that not call into question his divinity and emphasize his more human attributes? At least that is what one coworker who reads his bible daily told me. How could Jesus be the manifestation of God in human form if he was more human and god?

Oh, I think I get what you're saying now. The key word is manifestation in "human" form. Just as we are told that he ate, drank, and bled like humans, I think we can assume that the rest of him functioned as a human also. Whether he chose to avail himself of these functions is another question altogether.

IMO it doesn't call into question any of his divine attributes because I don't see the two as being mutually exclusive.

Eternaldragon said:

babynoz said:

my grandma appeared to me after she died
















...

I didn't watch the whole thing. Something else had my attention at the time. But from what I've gathered, only the tombs or ossiaries or whatever they are found in this place were only those who have been named in the scriptures, correct? No sisters were found with names, though the scripture does mention sisters? And the only DNA available was that of the supposed Jesus & Mary, but none of the supposed son of Jesus, so no maternity or paternity test could be done, And the brothers' tombs, did they have wives buried with them, since none of that is ever mentioned in the scriptures about them having wives or anything. Just some thoughts.

morningsong said:

So only Jesus' "wife" is buried in the tomb, but the other 5 brothers must have pulled a "Thornbird" and sat home twiddling their thumbs till they died, and the sisters just fell off the face of the earth? Sounds so selective.