Cameron Claims Jesus’s Body Found
As I’m sure virtually everyone has heard by now, popular movie producer James Cameron’s latest creation is a documentary on the alleged finding of the body of Jesus of Nazareth and his family (including a son and wife, Mary Magdalene) in a Jerusalem tomb. If this were to turn out to be true it would clearly be devastating to the Christian faith, as it would knock down one of its most fundamental tenets - that Jesus, being sinless deity incarnate, overcame death after sacrificing himself for all of humanity’s sins. Although one could argue that the important part of the gospels was His death on our behalf and not the Easter Story, the resurrection takes up such a large portion of the New Testament that if it were proven to be false the legitimacy of the entirety of the Scriptures would be severely damaged. However, before anyone gloomily (or perhaps exuberantly) throws away the Bible, it’s important to note a few vital things about the evidence publicized thus far.
First, the findings from DNA analyzation are not nearly as astounding as might be inferred from Mr. Cameron’s “600 to one” odds. The only thing that can be shown from the DNA collected from the bodies are their general familial relations to each other. They have no data to show the body’s previous lineage or to otherwise give any hints to its identity, as they have no outside DNA to compare it with.
Secondly, the names listed on the ossuaries were all among the 16 most commonly found in Israeli graves, out 72 personal names found in total - and, in fact, the inscription “Jesus, son of Joseph” has been found multiple times before (see page two of linked article).
This documentary strikes me as nothing more than a moneymaking sham - albeit a brilliant one - and certainly not science, at least based on what has been made public so far. The finding isn’t even the new discovery that the filmmakers seem to imply it is, as it was originally unearthed in the 1980s and published in both 1994 and 1996. Furthermore, Amos Kloner of Bar Ilan University - the man who led the first exploration of the tomb - doesn’t even buy the story, stating that “It’s nonsense.” If the original archaeologist himself doesn’t even buy this, why should we? Its just one more Hollywood spin.
The Ticket
A story that I found on the internet that was too funny to pass up:
Working people frequently ask retired people what they do to make their days interesting. Well, for example, the other day I went downtown and went into a store. I was only in there for about 5 minutes and when I came out there was a cop writing out a parking ticket. I went up to him and said, “Come on, man. How about giving a retired person a break”? He ignored me and continued writing the ticket.
I called him a “Nazi.” He glared at me and started writing another ticket for “having worn tires”. So I called him a “member of the doughnut eating Gestapo.” He finished the second ticket and put it on the windshield with the first. Then he started writing a third ticket. This went on for about 20 minutes. The more I abused him, the more tickets he wrote.
Personally, I didn’t care. I came downtown on the bus and the car that he was putting the tickets on had a bumper sticker that said “Hillary in ‘08.”
I try to have a little fun each day now that I’m retired.
Dr. Suess’s Birthday
In honor the Dr. Suess, born on this day, March 2nd, 1904: A YouTube video.
Interestingly enough, Dr. Seuss never earned a doctorate, was actually named Theodor Seuss Geisel, and pronounced the “Seuss” as “Zoise” - such that it rhymed with “voice.”