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Christian Orthodox worshippers passing candles around the tomb where Jesus Christ is traditionally believed to be buried in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem, in April 2005. (AP / Archives)
Last update - 20:12 26/02/2007
Scholars and clergymen in Jerusalem slam new Jesus documentary
By The Associated Press

Archaeologists and clergymen in Israel have derided claims made in a new documentary produced by the Oscar-winning director James Cameron that
contradict major Christian tenets.

The Lost Tomb of Christ, which the Discovery Channel will run on March 4 in the United States, argues that 10 ancient ossuaries - small caskets used to store bones - discovered in a suburb of Jerusalem in 1980 may have contained the bones of Jesus and his family, according to a press release issued by the Discovery Channel.
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One of the caskets even bears the title, Judah, son of Jesus, hinting that Jesus may have had a son. And the very fact that Jesus had an ossuary would contradict the Christian belief that he was resurrected and ascended to heaven.

Most Christians believe Jesus' body spent three days at the site of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem's Old City. The burial site identified in Cameron's documentary is in a southern Jerusalem neighborhood nowhere near the church. The documentary is directed by Toronto filmmaker Simcha Jacobovici.

Although the documentary makers claim to have found the tomb of Jesus, the British Broadcasting Corporation beat them to the punch by 11 years.

In 1996, when the BBC aired a short documentary on the same subject,
archaeologists challenged the claims. Amos Kloner, the first archaeologist to examine the site, said the idea fails to hold up by archaeological standards but makes for profitable television.

"They just want to get money for it," Kloner said.

Osnat Goaz, a spokeswoman for the government agency responsible for
archaeology, declined to comment before the documentary was aired. She said the Antiquities Authority agreed to send two ossuaries to New York, but they did not contain human remains. "We agreed to send the ossuaries, but it doesn't mean that we agree with [the filmmakers]," she said.

The claims have also raised the ire of Christian leaders. "The historical, religious and archaeological evidence show that the place where Christ was buried is the Church of the Resurrection," said Attallah Hana, a Greek Orthodox clergyman in Jerusalem. "The documentary," he said, "contradicts the religious principles and the historic and spiritual principles that we hold tightly to."

Stephen Pfann, a biblical scholar at the University of the Holy Land in
Jerusalem who was interviewed in the documentary, said the film's hypothesis holds little weight.

"I don't think that Christians are going to buy into this, Pfann said. "But skeptics, in general, would like to see something that pokes holes into the story that so many people hold dear."

"How possible is it?" Pfann said. "On a scale of one through 10 - 10 being completely possible - it's probably a one, maybe a one and a half."

Pfann is even unsure that the name Jesus on the caskets was read correctly. He thinks it is more likely the name Hanun. Ancient Semitic script is notoriously difficult to decipher.

Kloner also said the filmmakers' assertions are false.

"It was an ordinary middle-class Jerusalem burial cave," Kloner said. "The names on the caskets are the most common names found among Jews at the time."

Archaeologists also balk at the filmmaker's claim that the James Ossuary - the center of a famous antiquities fraud in Israel - might have originated from the same cave. In 2005, Israel charged five suspects with forgery in connection with the infamous bone box.

"I don't think the James Ossuary came from the same cave," said Dan Bahat, an archaeologist at Bar-Ilan University. "If it were found there, the man who made the forgery would have taken something better. He would have taken Jesus."

None of the experts interviewed by The Associated Press had seen the whole documentary. Repeated attempts to contact Cameron and Jacobovici were unsuccessful
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  1.   An Interesting Find 18:34  |  Scrolls 26/02/07
  2.   How possible is it? 18:49  |  naftaly k 26/02/07
  3.   stolen cultural property 19:16  |  mary (magdalen) 26/02/07
  4.   Naftaly is right 19:18  |  Tim 26/02/07
  5.   Jesus 19:29  |  AK 26/02/07
  6.   2 , 4 possible 19:34  |  j 26/02/07
  7.   new Jesus documentary - to 3 Mary Magdalen 19:42  |  Meyer 26/02/07
  8.   Many will claim to be Jesus... 20:05  |  Cheryl 26/02/07
  9.   Who cares? what next? Moses never parted the sea? 20:07  |  Sam 26/02/07
  10.   all knowing Sam 20:31  |  j 26/02/07
  11.   Here`s How Many Jesuses I Know! 20:35  |  Yosemite 26/02/07
  12.   #9 Sam 20:44  |  Cheryl 26/02/07
  13.   The fact is 20:55  |  Mark Lincoln 26/02/07
  14.   #1 an interesting fiction 21:10  |  Kate 26/02/07
  15.   How Many Jesuses - to Nr11 21:16  |  Meyer 26/02/07
  16.   j - yeah yeah 21:27  |  Sam 26/02/07
  17.   Objectivity 21:36  |  Skeptical 26/02/07
  18.   Irrelevant: Truth is irrelevant to True Believers 21:41  |  Yacov 26/02/07
  19.   #3 Mary: Proof Pals stole Jewish land 21:44  |  Yacov 26/02/07
  20.   2 questions 21:48  |  Philippe 26/02/07
  21.   j - The Roman Empire was pagan 22:22  |  F. 26/02/07
  22.   open mind 22:25  |  carlos 26/02/07
  23.   "Jesus, Shmejus" 22:38  |  My friend Flicka 26/02/07
  24.   Why should you care? 23:02  |  Todd 26/02/07
  25.   Jesus Documentary 23:05  |  Jessie 26/02/07
  26.   # 2 naftalyk 23:20  |  Lynn 26/02/07
  27.   # 3 mary, sorry can`t do it 23:22  |  Lynn 26/02/07
  28.   caption with photograph is wrong 23:27  |  a reader 26/02/07
  29.   # 9 Good opinion 23:29  |  Lynn 26/02/07
  30.   I died 23:31  |  Lynn 26/02/07
  31.   Look You Guys! The Way I See Things! 23:43  |  Yosemite 26/02/07
  32.   Millions of people believe... 00:05  |  Edith 27/02/07
  33.   After Dan Brown 00:08  |  Edith 27/02/07
  34.   Like Ishmael for Isaac? 00:14  |  John 27/02/07
  35.   An Israeli national hobby? 00:21  |  Christian 27/02/07
  36.   Mary from Migdal 00:23  |  Realistic 27/02/07
  37.   Hasmonean or Herodian ossuaries 00:33  |  Dr. Kirk Kilpatrick 27/02/07
  38.   Gee, what a surprise 00:50  |  Pete 27/02/07
  39.   Sam the Sham and the Pharoahs 00:59  |  B`Galil 27/02/07
  40.   Pete - Totally agree! 01:04  |  john 27/02/07
  41.   There`s A Sucker Born Every Minute 01:09  |  Tony Anthony 27/02/07
  42.   #15 01:26  |  Todd 27/02/07
  43.   New Passion Of The Christ Movie Script 01:51  |  Yosemite 27/02/07
  44.   What If This Happened To The Muslims?? 02:28  |  Boyd 27/02/07
  45.   Christians WON`T ABANDON Faith/Principles/Values Because Of This. 02:28  |  Proud Pal Defender 27/02/07
  46.   # 9 Sam Is Defending "His" Religion - Atheism 02:38  |  Tony Anthony 27/02/07
  47.   Proof That Jesus WAs A Jew 03:42  |  Harry D 27/02/07
  48.   palestinians property? 05:58  |  Avigail 27/02/07
  49.   Re: #12 Meyer Of France! 08:18  |  Yosemite 27/02/07
  50.   WOW!!! forget the politics 09:23  |  FOX 27/02/07
  51.   reality bites 09:27  |  john-paul 27/02/07
  52.   #8 Cheryl and John and Mary in Ephesus 09:30  |  hala 27/02/07
  53.   #8 Cheryl and John and Mary in Ephesus 09:35  |  hala 27/02/07
  54.   Yosemite #11 09:55  |  FOX 27/02/07
  55.   Why so worried? 10:06  |  Deborah 27/02/07
  56.   #19 Yakov and "squatters" 10:07  |  hala 27/02/07
  57.   More proof of Jewish presence prior to Muslim invasion 10:07  |  Yacov 27/02/07
  58.   #11 Yosemite. what about Joshua? 10:10  |  hala 27/02/07
  59.   @ Mark Lincoln -- "The fact is... 10:13  |  René Fries 27/02/07
  60.   #27 Palestinian Jews, Lynn 10:15  |  hala 27/02/07
  61.   Shepherd and sheeps 10:18  |  Cornelia 27/02/07
  62.   #36 No, Realistic, really, Mary of Magdala was not a prostitute 10:19  |  hala 27/02/07
  63.   to 13# Mark Lincolin. 10:19  |  Akram Zekaria 27/02/07
  64.   Hooray! A ship without a bottom is launched!! 10:33  |  Clickfool 27/02/07
  65.   @ Boyd - "those who claim Christ as the Savior of the world... 10:37  |  René Fries 27/02/07
  66.   roman fables and myths revisited , THE JESUS STORY 10:44  |  paul harris 27/02/07
  67.   THANK GOD WE GOT ISLAM 10:50  |  indrajaya 27/02/07
  68.   @ Edith - "Millions of people believe that Jesus resurrected... 11:03  |  René Fries 27/02/07
  69.   Hala Sweetie, It`s No Big Thing! 11:07  |  Yosemite 27/02/07
  70.   squating in palestine 11:18  |  zeke 27/02/07
  71.   Yacov a vicious liar #57 11:29  |  Arab 27/02/07
  72.   To Sam: Miracles of Prophets