Jesus Family Tomb In the News

Read the latest news about the Jesus family tomb discovery, including what the critics are saying and reactions from religious communities.

Jacobovici Welcomes Continued Debate on Tomb Find
05/30/2007

Filmmaker Simcha Jacobovici is thrilled that his documentary The Lost Tomb of Jesus is continuing to spark heated debate months after it drew millions of television viewers around the world.

"[A]ll in all, the reaction has been positive," the Emmy Award winning writer and director said. "Millions of people have seen the film now and you always have people who say negative things. That’s to be expected."

Jacobovici continues to dismiss one main thread of criticism put forth by some archeologists, namely that the names inscribed in the ossuaries discovered in the East Talpiot tomb were common names during the time that Jesus lived. "My point is, it’s useless to say names are common," Jacobovici stated, emphasizing instead the exceptionality of the names appearing together as a single cluster.

The director is also stressing the importance of unraveling assumptions that he believes has clouded some individuals' ability to consider the tomb findings in an objective light. "[W]e have to re-examine historical assumptions. I use my skills to reconnect the dots.”

Jacobovici has also directed such documentaries as The Exodus Decoded and Falasha: Exile of the Black Jews. He is currently preparing 26 new episodes of his hit televsion series, The Naked Archeologist.
Source: The Canadian Jewish News

Experts Dig for the Truth
05/23/2007

Three months after the Jesus tomb discovery was made public, archaeologists continue to dig for the truth surrounding a hotly contested debate: what historical value does the Bible have?

Spanning the two extreme ends of this argument are individuals who identify themselves as biblical minimalists – who believe that the Bible is a text made up of narrative that does not have a historical basis – and maximalists, who, like creationists, believe that the Bible is based on historical fact.

Most archaeologists, however, identify themselves as falling in between this spectrum of thought, a view shared by even archaeologists that use the Bible as a historical starting point for their excavations. This standpoint is one that is espoused, for example, by Amnon Ben-Tor, considered to be one of Israel’s leading archaeologists. “The two claims of the biblical minimalists, that ‘there is no way of knowing' and that the Bible represents an agenda, do not explain anything,” says Ben-Tor.

"Records were kept, which were studied by historians of their time, which often paralleled the biblical narrative,” continues Ben-Tor, who holds the chair of renowned Israeli archaeologist Yigael Yadin at Hebrew University in Jerusalem.

The discussion of the role of the Bible in archaeology is ever more pertinent as more tombs connected to central biblical figures are uncovered. In addition to the discovery of the Jesus family tomb – a finding that was the basis for The Lost Tomb of Jesus documentary which drew over 4 million viewers – a tomb believed to be that of King Herod was recently discovered in Israel. Herod the Great is best known in Christian theology as the king who ordered the massacre of male newborns shortly after the birth of Jesus of Nazareth.
Source: NewsMax

Tabor to Host Jesus Tomb Seminar
05/07/2007

James Tabor, chair of the department of religious studies at the University of North Carolina Charlotte, is set to host a seminar on the Jesus family tomb tomorrow evening at 7 pm at the Piedmont Unitarian Universalist Church in Charlotte.

The seminar, entitled “The Jesus Family Tomb: A Rational Look at the Evidence”, will be held in a question-and-answer format and will allow guests to participate in the ongoing discussion surrounding the discovery of the East Talpiot tomb believed to be that of Jesus and his family.

Tabor was featured in the Discovery Channel documentary The Lost Tomb of Jesus made by Simcha Jacobovici, which traced the archeological findings of his team. Tabor was also co-discoverer of the famous 2005 discovery of an ancient cave linked to John the Baptist.
Source: Charlotte.com

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