Tuesday, February 27, 2007

the jesus tomb debate

Have you kept current on the new debate surrounding the supposed discovery of the tomb of Jesus? The Discovery Channel has this highly marketed program scheduled for Sunday night.

Last year it was the scandal surrounding the questionable legitimacy of a text called the Gospel of Judas. This year it is a tomb filled with bone boxes inscribed with names like Mary, Joseph and Jesus. Is it just a coincidence that this stuff is always released around Easter time?

But here's the point.

Your friends, family and co-workers are hearing about this stuff. And as a follower of Jesus Christ, I think it is worth our time to be able to engage in intelligent conversation about these issues.

I would suggest that you start by reading Dr. Witherington's blog (a world renown New Testament scholar). Then spend some time looking into other sources.

There are a lot of reasons to question the motives and methods of this documentary. And I'm pretty sure (based on their current data) there is no way they can ever prove that this tomb is in fact tied to Jesus Christ. It is a game based on probability. And probability is very different than being able to prove something based on certainty.

But this is still a conversation worth having, simply because seekers are exploring these issues. And if seekers are asking these questions, so should I.