Jerusalem Archives - Page 123 of 199

The Resurrection Tomb Mystery on TV

If you want to capture the hearts and minds of the people, you won’t do it through blogs but through TV specials. Whether or not the movie producers really want to convince people to “believe” or just buy the DVD and book is not clear to me, but the The Resurrection Tomb Mystery (aka The Jesus Discovery) puts forth claims that very few scholars have found convincing.

Some of the latest discussion is reviewed by James McGrath, and Mark Goodacre provides a simple summary of the claim.

The claim at the heart of the new documentary is that this tomb belonged to some of Jesus’ disciples, his earliest followers, probably Joseph of Arimathea himself, the man who buried Jesus. The basis for the claim is twofold: (1) One of the ossuaries is said to feature a picture of a fish, pointing downwards, that is spitting out a stick man. They interpret this as depicting the Hebrew Bible’s story of Jonah and the fish, and they suggest that this is being used as a symbol of early Christian resurrection. (2) Another of the ossuaries features an inscription that they interpret as referring to resurrection.

Goodacre is unconvinced, saying that “the case that this tomb belonged to Jesus’ disciples is very weak.” He then provides his top ten problems with the proposed interpretation.

1. Weak circumstantial evidence alone.

2. Handles on a fish?

3. Layered patterns of geometric shapes.

4. The Composite Computer-Generated Image.

5. The original excavators did not see a fish.

6. Fish in the margins.

7. The handled half-fish.

8. The Inscription Does Not Clearly Refer to Resurrection.

9. The Tomb Does Not Clearly Date to the time of Jesus.

10. Witnessing to Resurrection Does Not Make the Tomb Christian.
Goodacre’s blog explains each point. James Tabor has responded here. The spiritual “mission” of the program is to convince viewers that Jesus rose spiritually but not bodily from the grave. Though the producers obscure this by claiming to have discovered an early “high Christology,” their view constitutes a direct attack on historic Christianity as taught by the apostles until today.

And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead (1 Cor 15:14-15).

Tagged Discoveries, Jerusalem

Wednesday Roundup

The first two volumes of Harley and Woodward’s History of Cartography can now be downloaded for free from the University of Chicago Press (a value of more than $1,000). The links to the volume contents and chapter pdfs are on the left sidebar.

I always tell my class that Ramah, Samuel’s hometown, sits at the crossroads. Though it is known today as A-Ram, the geographical dynamic has not changed.

Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary has unveiled its latest acquisition of a Dead Sea Scroll, a fragment from Leviticus.

In Jerusalem and throughout Israel this is Passover/Holy Week/Spring Break:

Nearly half of a million people visited Israel’s parks and nature reserves on Sunday.
Western Christians celebrated Easter in Jerusalem on Sunday.
Large crowds are visiting ancient Aphek/Antipatris but may be unaware of its significance.
The Holy Fire ceremony is on Saturday.

Those posing as Roman soldiers outside of the Colosseum have been thrown to the lions.

Wayne Stiles reveals what Jaffa’s greatest export is.

Two items of particular interest at Christianbook.com this week:

NIV Archaeological Study Bible, Bonded Leather Red 1984, from $85 down to $30.
The Holy Land for $.99.

HT: Bill Soper, A.D. Riddle

Tagged Israel's Coast, Italy, Jerusalem, Resources

Weekend Roundup

The theme of the month at the ASOR Blog is “Fakes, Looting, and Artifacts Lacking Context” and the first few posts are up:

Buyer Beware: Shopping for Artifacts in the Holy Land, by Morag M. Kersel
The Secondary Context Workshop: A Report

At Christianity Today, Gordon Govier reviews the recent Easter archaeology stories of the Talpiot Tomb and the James Ossuary verdict.

Joe Yudin provides a history of the temple as preparation for Passover.

Ferrell Jenkins remembers the Passion Week of Jesus with posts on the Via Dolorosa and Reclining in the Upper Room.

Lois Tverberg offers a free download of “A Taste of Passover” through the end of the month.

If you didn’t sacrifice an animal at the temple yesterday, even though such is commanded for Passover, it is very difficult to understand the price that must be paid for your redemption. The Sacrifice video ($10) by SourceFlix will help.

Sacrifice of lambs at Samaritan Passover

Tagged Forgery, Jerusalem, Weekend Roundup

Wednesday Roundup

Hundreds of pilgrims celebrated Palm Sunday in Jerusalem.

Wayne Stiles visits the Jerusalem of Hezekiah’s time and writes, “I have a faith rooted in history—not mystery. The words on the pages of Scripture are supported by simple elements we can dig out of the ground. They prove nothing, but they support it all.”

The Israel Museum has joined the Google Art Project and “online users will be able to view high-resolution images of 520 pieces from the museum’s collection.” That future tense should be changed to present, as you can see the images here. Beautiful.

A restaurant in Capernaum has been accused of dumping raw sewage into the Sea of Galilee. “This is one of the most serious cases of coastal environmental damage that the Kinneret has encountered thus far,” said a prosecutor.

Cyprus and Israel are collaborating to form a database for archaeology. There is more in common between the pasts of the two countries than many people know. The article does not explain the reason for why this cooperation is occurring only now: a downturn in the relations between Israel and Turkey.

The Mughrabi Bridge saga continues with Israel’s Supreme Court ruling that planning committees have to consider the women’s prayer area as well as security issues in their decisions. An Islamic petitioner claims that the Western Wall plaza falls under the authority of the Waqf. Jordan’s crown prince made a surprise visit to the Temple Mount today to see the Mughrabi Gate.

Turkey is asking for the return of artifacts from the J. Paul Getty Museum, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, the Cleveland Museum of Art and Harvard University’s Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection. “‘Turkey is not trying to start a fight,’ said Murat Suslu, Turkey’s director general for cultural heritage and museums. ‘We are trying to develop…cooperation.’”

The Israel Antiquities Authority recently recovered the covers of two sarcophagi smuggled out of Egypt.

For one week, the Teaching Company is offering a free video lecture by John R. Hale, “Central Turkey—Ankara, Konya, Cappadocia.”

HT: Joseph Lauer, Jack Sasson

Theater of Kourion, Cyprus

Tagged Egypt, Galilee, Holidays, Jerusalem, Mediterranean Islands, Museums, Turkey, Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup

Haaretz has a lengthy profile of Ronny Reich and his 15-year excavation of the City of David. The article is partly based on Reich’s book and deals with the archaeological highlights and the political controversies.

Walk the Land: A Journey on Foot through Israel is available as a free Kindle ebook for a limited time.

A FoxNews story about the Chinese Christian version of the Noah’s Ark discovery interviews Randall Price and John Morris.

The Oklahoma exhibit with the seals of Jeremiah’s captors is previewed in a four-minute video.

Joe Yudin takes his readers on a tour of the City of David. He writes that one may walk underground to the Western Wall, suggesting that the tunnel collapse from late December has been cleared and the passage re-opened.

An Asclepium has been discovered in central Greece.

Christianbook.com’s Fabulous Friday sale includes a couple of great deals: Zondervan Atlas of the Bible, by Carl Rasmussen, and the audio NKJV Word of Promise New Testament, each for $14.99 for the weekend.

HT: Craig Dunning, BibleX, Jack Sasson

City of David aerial from the east

Tagged Greece, Jerusalem, Museums, Pseudo-Archaeology, Resources

Wednesday Roundup

Shmuel Browns shares some photos from his recent hike of Nahal Darga, which he calls “Israel’s most extreme and challenging” hike.

BAS: “Named by The Sunday Times as one of the world’s top ten walks, the Lycian Way hiking trail weaves along 300 miles of Turkey’s southern coastline through hundreds of archaeological sites.”

Leen Ritmeyer has word of an expansion to the Davidson Center in the excavations south of the Temple Mount.

The audio files are now online for Bryant Wood’s recent lecture series on “Archaeology and the Conquest: New Evidence on an Old Problem.”

Wayne Stiles: “Passover and Easter bring to mind pictures of the Messiah—both for Jews and for Christians. The Mount of Olives echoes these hopes from its slopes.”

The Washington Post reports on a battle in Israel to save the ancient Canaan dog.

Israel’s Supreme Court rejected a left-wing petition against the City of David Archaeological Park.

The article notes that “the City of David site receives around 450,000 visitors a year, up from 2,000 in 2001.”

Craig Evans writes about the Archaeological Evidence for Jesus. The accompanying photos are disappointing.

The Elvis Presley® Holy Land Tour is now taking sign-ups. In addition to stops at the Sea of Galilee and Western Wall, the tour will stop at the “infamous Elvis Inn Restaurant in Abu Ghosh – an Elvis-
themed diner and souvenir shop popular with tourists from around the world.”

HT: Joseph Lauer

Tagged Jerusalem, Tourism, Turkey