MyThoughtWorld.com

I blog as a hobby. Those who read what I write probably already know that I am a Christian by faith. Just so my readers know, I expect there will be plenty who disagree with my point of view, and you are always welcome. Wherever your faith lies, whether you are Christian or not, even if you are an atheist, I still welcome you to come and read what I write.

Today, I am inclined to write about matters of faith. While I do not generally share a lot about myself while blogging, I ought to share my motivations and some of my credentials here. I am motivated by a sincere belief in Jesus Christ, who I call both my Savior and my God. I have had an extensive education, having completed undergraduate training at a public institution of learning. There I studied history. Having completed that course, I went through a four year course of seminary training. There I studied Hebrew, Greek, church history, theology and the other aspects of seminary training. I relate these things not to hold them over anyone’s head, but to demonstrate my credibility and qualifications in faith-related matters.

Seeing that this is the Lent season, important to billions of Christians worldwide, Christians can expect that there will be many efforts to cast a shadow on our faith through sensational documentaries, books, and the like. In light of this, I would like to share a story. In 1996 I spent an entire summer in Europe. I was in Germany. I was in college at the time, and happened to be with a tour group composed mainly of other college students. Gathered around our tour guide were two or three students (other than me), listening to him about a book that he�d just read recently.

The book he�d read claimed to chronicle the �real� story of Jesus, the one that you don�t hear about in the Bible. The claim was made that existing up to recent times there were biological children of Jesus that could be traced all the way back to that time. All along, this had been a �well-kept secret� until some journalists uncovered this story�delivered to them by someone who only wanted the �truth� to be known�and wrote their book about it.

The other students around me were fascinated by the story. The tour guide who was of a British background then mentioned that although he had read the book he didn�t actually for religious reasons believe the story. The title of this book that he had mentioned was called �Holy Blood, Holy Grail.� And, if you think the story sounds a little bit too familiar then maybe you�ve read another recent book called �The Da Vinci Code.�
Whereas one book was touted as true�HBHG will be used to abbreviate the first�the second called itself fiction, but the author claimed that the essential facts it was based on were not. Seeing that the writers of HBHG sued the author of �The Da Vinci Code� we might speculate as to where his �fact� gathering may have occurred.

Is there anything that Christians need to worry about concerning their faith in light of either the Da Vinci Code�s being a huge bestseller a few years ago, or even HBHG which claims to be nonfiction? Not at all. The treatment that such explosive �thrillers� and sensational �hard-hitting� journalism get is the royal carpet treatment in the media sphere.

What is so irresponsible about it is that much attention is paid to that which is hugely speculative and outright false, though sometimes trumpeted as �fact� and �truth�, while often people don’t learn about the real faith of Christianity which is centuries and centuries old�older than Islam. Western Civilization and culture is indelibly linked with Christianity. Billions of people have believed in Christ, thousands upon thousands of books on Him and related topics have been written, universities worldwide were founded upon Christian ideals, and some of the greatest leaders of Western Civilization have had faith in Christ. Need I continue about the influence of Christian faith on our culture and the world? I certainly could. However, it seems that many TV journalists�and those who write preposterous �Jesus� books�who talk about Christ in a light of doubt and skepticism (like any �good� journalist should do) expect their �hard-hitting� journalism to erase all of Christendom�s influence, that the most dubious and speculative of claims about an illegitimate origin, a hush-hush marriage to Mary Magdelene, a rare survival of the cross (and therefore no such thing as a resurrection), or claims of the Apostle Paul being the �real� founder of Christianity are supposed to stir believers to say, �Well, I never thought about it that way; I guess my faith is just based on a total sham.�

I have read some critiques of the Da Vinci Code, a novel which I eventually plan to read, but I have actually read much of Holy Blood, Holy Grail and can say with honesty that any evidence it has for its major premises about major historical personalities is based on a huge amount of speculation, arguing from silence, and much false evidence. Rather than make this into a critique of either of those books, I prefer to point you to a well-written, easy to read, and inexpensive critique that can be easily purchased via the internet called �The Da Vinci Code: Fact or Fiction?� by Hank Hanegraaff and Paul Maier.

However, where such books as the Da Vinci Code, HBHG, or the journalistic �expos�s� of Jesus that inevitably follow in their wake, are problematic is that there are some Christians who have a very meager knowledge of their own faith who might take these inch shallow evaluations of Christ and elevate them to the level of actual historical accounts or see them as what �really� happened. Rather than turning to orthodox lifetime scholars of Scripture and the historical world surrounding it for real knowledge�I point my finger at some journalists now�such journalists find all the �expert� crazies they can to fill up their documentaries with fluffy nonsense.

Well, here we go again. I read an article earlier in the week about a Discovery Channel documentary coming up on a supposed secret Jesus tomb. We are supposed to be convinced that this is the real deal, when world-renowned archaeologists and scholars have already come out and denounced it as bunk.

I won’t comment on the author�Karen Matthews of the the Associated Press�of the article, seeing that she may have been assigned to this particular �story.�

Let me relate some of the details surrounding the �find� with some of my own comments (in brackets) added for hyperbole to demonstrate how ridiculous the claims are:
-There were two stone boxes they claim may have once contained the �remains of Jesus and Mary Magdalene.� [I suppose I could claim any old casket contains the bones of Genghis Khan.]
-statisticians put odds at a million to one this was a true authentification. [In the sophomoric movie Dumb and Dumber the love interest of Jim Carey gave him those odds of her loving him and so he said she was saying he had a chance.]
-several scholars have heavily protested the claim.
-the traditional (completely empty) tomb of Jesus is located in an entirely different part of Jerusalem. This site is nowhere near it. [I wonder why.]
-Amos Kloner was the first archaeologist who examined the site, and said it did not hold up by archaeological standards. [there are plenty of archaeologists who DON'T BELIEVE the teachings of Christianity who would not stake their reputations on something like this; whether or not Kloner was a believer, he has already dismissed it.]
-A biblical scholar (Stephen Pfann) interviewed said that the find holds little weight. [Who knows his stance on faith, but he gave it a 1 or 1 � on a scale of one to ten for possibility�which might mislead some into thinking that there was actually a 15% chance�still not very good.]
-The archaeologist Kloner said the names on the caskets were very common for the day. [Just so you know, the name Jesus for that time is very common; by the standards of James Cameron, maker of the documentary, don't be surprised if a rash of �Jesus� tombs are discovered in Mexico.]
-Biblical scholar Pfann said the names on the caskets were practically indecipherable!
-William Dever, another noted archaeologist and anthropologist said experts have known of this find for years. He says it had been dismissed long ago. [So in matters of archaeology, let's see. Do you prefer to take the word of many archaeologists who say it's a sham, or listen to filmmaker James Cameron, who the article says is pinching himself over the years-old find?]
-The EMPTY boxes are being sent by Israel authorities to New York [The antiquities authorities in Israel even dismiss the claim. Granted, valuable exhibits�this find not so valuable�are sent around all the time, if the find was really so earth-shaking that it could overturn the foundations of the Western world, would they so readily be sending such precious cargo off?]

The charlatans who come up with this stuff, while ready to benefit from the quick dollar generated by this kind of sensationalism aren�t held accountable. A pastor is held accountable by his congregation. Christians believe that every man will be held accountable to God for his actions. Conscientious pastors ever keep this in mind as they tend to their daily duties. Promoters of The Da Vinci Code, HBHG, and other �products� may make the quick buck now, but they will ultimately have to account for their actions before their Maker. I can only hope they see the error of their ways before it�s too late.
As for this spurious tomb of Jesus, obviously, there can only be one tomb of Jesus �the Christ� and it is . . . empty. �Cal Samuel August

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