The Grave and Bones of Jesus and family?

Could James Cameron and crew really have found the lost tomb of Jesus?

Firstly, this idea is not a new idea. People have been trying to find the tomb of Jesus for a long time. The movie called "The Body" explored this concept before (with Antonio Banderas). But let's consider what has been claimed:

1. A tomb with names of Jesus, Mary, Joesph, (and a son of Jesus) has been found. This is true. I don't doubt this.
2. They have claimed to do statistical and DNA analysis to back up their claims.

That's basically all that has been claimed. In the BBC news article @ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/6397373.stm?ls it mentions that both archeologists (non-Christians) and theologians discredit their view. The Israeli archaeologist Amos Kloner, who was one of the first to find the tomb (and isn't a Christian) is quoted as saying that he doesn't buy the idea that it was used by Jesus and family.

So the experts don't buy into this. But James Cameron and crew claim they have a case and "the debate" is to begin. Well, let's examine this debate (trust me, it will be short):

1. They claim DNA evidence, but any reasonable person can realize that there is no DNA evidence that can provide any information either for or against this claim. We have no DNA records of Jesus of Nazareth or anyone else from that time. DNA may show them to be a family, but that is what you'd expect from this tomb and the names on it. It may even be able to prove that the DNA is truly Jewish. It doesn't matter. This claim of DNA evidence to prove this is Jesus is nonsense because there is nothing to compare it against. Get a DNA sample of the original Jesus of Nazareth (which you cannot) and then make claims about DNA. Without that, it is all "bluster".
2. As the archeologist mentioned above, the names on that tomb are all very common. The movie makers claim that statistically having them all together is virtually impossible. The names on there are very generic, not specific, first of all. And, yes, they were very common at that time. Yes, they coincide with the names of Jesus and people around Him as provided in the Bible, but that means nothing. You couldn't convict someone of petty theft on such thin evidence. The claim it is like finding "Ringo" next to John, Paul and George. This is nonsense. They only have the name Mariamene, and they claim it is Mary of Magdelene. Are they so desparate? Mariamene says nothing of Magdelene, and that name was a common Jewish name. It is the form of Moses' sister's name, it was the name of Mary (Mariamene) and Marth, the sisters of Lazarus, etc. There is no reason to connect Magdelene except to build trumped-up evidence and to try to make a claim where no claim exists for the sake of making a movie. When it comes to such common names, coincidences are easy to find. My real first and last name are common. I've worked in two places where there was another person with my first and last name (and we often got each other's email). I once had a class with 3 of us with the same first name sitting in the same corner of the class. And that is just in my little world. There is no evidence here in this collection of names.

The movie "The Body" actually showed well how this can happen. In this case, the movie had a tomb with Jesus' name and the bones of one clearly crucified. Much conflict happens in the film, but in the filmmakers reveal that it was some other Jesus crucified at a later time. In their fictional version, there was far more real evidence, and yet it still ended up not being true. In this situation, there is no evidence besides a combination of names. That isn't enough evidence to convict someone of petty theft.

But let James Cameron have his day, just like The Da Vinci Code before and everyone else who has tried to attack the Christian faith. If the body of Jesus was to have been found, it would have been found and brought to light in the 1st century when the Christian faith was flourishing and all the powers at the time (Roman and Jewish) wanted nothing but to destroy it. The burial place was known to Roman and Jewish and producing the body of Jesus would have been a simple thing, and there would have been on Christian faith to speak of today. But that never happened because there was no body to find. Those who lived then knew it, and it is because of this fact, that Jesus truly rose, that His church sprung to life and continues to live today!

Praise God!