Letter: Documentary defies historical evidence

Sunday, March 4, 2007 | 7:32 a.m.

Regarding Gabriel L. Grasso's March 1 letter, "Which is the harder story to believe?":

Belief in the supernatural aspects of Jesus is irrelevant to the discussion of the so-called "Jesus family tomb." The assertions that film maker James Cameron and Simcha Jacobovici are making involve a very bad critical reading of history, regardless of your religious beliefs.

Bar-llan University Professor Amos Kloner, the Jerusalem District archeologist who officially oversaw the work at the tomb in 1980, dismissed these claims as nonsense. He said that the names found on the ossuaries were common and added that "Jesus Son Of Joseph" inscriptions had been found on several other ossuaries over the years.

Kloner also pointed out that Jesus and his relatives were from Galilee with no ties to Jerusalem, so it was highly unlikely that they would have a family tomb there. The DNA evidence, cited by Cameron, proves nothing except that some of the people were unrelated. So what?

Researchers need to resist the temptation to jump to conclusions when it comes to "historical finds." The owner of the "James the brother of Jesus" ossuary, Obed Golan, is currently on trial for fraud, charged with forging part of the inscription on the box. And former FBI agent Gerald Richard testified recently that a photo of the James ossuary in Golan's home was taken in the 1970s, based on tests done by the FBI photo lab. So how could it have been found in the Talpiot tomb in 1980?

But everyone loves a "conspiracy" approach to Christian history, even if it requires more faith to believe it than Jesus performing miracles.

Linda Caterine, Henderson