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February 23, 2007We must be getting close to Easter - UPDATED:::Please scroll down for Updates::: ‘Round this time of year, the stories begin - last year, for Lent we were treated to The Gospel of Judas, and I think the DaVinci Code was opening, or something. Now, supposedly The Tomb of Jesus has been found in a cave, oh, and guess what? He had a son named Judah! Yeah, because he and Mary Magdeline had a kid! For some reason, these “caskets” (! caskets?) use the name “Maria” for Mary…wouldn’t Mary have been “Miryam,” not “Maria” ‘way back then? Oh, what do I know, I’m just one of those silly deluded Christian creeps who is clinging to her superstitions and is not interested in the bleak “truth” that there is nothing out there greater than herself. I’m such a baaaaad babyboomer. These little things do chip away, it’s true - they do cause people who might be considering a toe-dip into the lake of faith to draw back. They might turn one whose faith is shallow back toward the world - for approval and acceptance - but one must not fret over DaVinci Codes, and “new gospels” and “found tombs,” for they will never defeat. Easter Sunday will still dawn. Even if the church finds herself oppressed and forced underground, Easter Sunday will always dawn. And we are an Easter people. Those who do not understand it simply cannot. Although sometimes, as men and women from St. Paul to Oscar Wilde, Thomas Merton to Dorothy Day have discovered, understanding comes whether you want it or not. Meanwhile, Captain Ed asks a very sensible question: Jesus was a well-known agitator whose crucifixion creates a cult following, in the eyes of the Romans and the leading Jews of the time. The basis of that cult formed around the notion that Jesus rose from the dead. If the Romans knew where his body was buried, why then did they not produce it as proof of his immutable death? UPDATE: (My own updated thoughts here.) When I posted this on the 23rd, I didn’t think the story would go anywhere. Clearly, I was wrong. In 1996, when the BBC aired a short documentary on the same subject, archaeologists challenged the claims. Amos Kloner, the first archaeologist to examine the site, said the idea fails to hold up by archaeological standards but makes for profitable television. But as we all know, scholarly objections will be useless here - those that are reported will be minimized, while “King of the World” (hey, he said, it not me) James Cameron, who has a vast deal of credibility here - apparently because he has an Oscar - will be all over the news, and on Oprah, etc, for the next few weeks. Much of the public never looks beyond headlines, and for some of them these stories will - as I noted earlier - be taken “on faith,” particularly by those who have no faith or distrust faith. And the irony that the same people who deride faith will take a story like this “on faith,” will be lost to them. The truth has ever been thus: people will believe what they want to believe. Always. Some Christians are having some fun with this, which I think is smart. Laura Lee writes When Cameron was in Egypt Land while Ed Driscoll wonders if Cameron will become John Edwards’ blogger Jules Crittenden sighs and says, ah well, faith will have to remain mysterious and Kobayashi Maru is in full “take no prisoners” mode, with blade between teeth! Classical Values notes that it’s safer to do this to Christians than to, say, Islamists. Slightly O/T but fun: More links: http://theanchoressonline.com/2007/02/23/we-must-be-getting-close-to-easter/trackback/ 29 Responses to “We must be getting close to Easter - UPDATED” |
February 23rd, 2007 at 11:12 pm
I doubt he actually lived, so I tend to think it’s a fraud myself, or it could simply be somebody else’s grave.
On the other hand, if he did live, and he did live amongst the Diaspora Jews of Alexandria as I have heard, it’s entirely possible that his name could turn out to have been Jesus (not Yeshua) and Mary’s name could have been Maria, the Greek version of Miriam. These Jews were knowledgeable in Greek, and may have been more Hellenized than the Jews of Judaea. Especially if Greek was their every day language.
As far as any possible children goes, well, the Bible is quite silent about that, so who is to legitimately say one way or another?That is to say, with any true authority that would be recognized in a practical way today, as what the Pope or Church says is to most of us just another opinion.
February 24th, 2007 at 3:46 am
Of course, there were all those Jewish men, eyewitnesses to his life and death and resurrection, who endured torture and exile for his sake and never recanted. But…what did they know?
February 24th, 2007 at 8:05 am
How would they know it was Jesus’ tomb? He rose from the dead, after all, and the Shroud of Turin is elsewhere. What evidence could they possibly have? (The link in the article above doesn’t take you to an article; just to a Google e-mail ad page.)
February 24th, 2007 at 8:35 am
Names such as Mary were not uncommon in that time so even if they find a tomb with a name on it, what does that mean?
I think it is interesting that people on one hand say there is no proof that Jesus was ever born and yet they are always looking for evidence that he died and buried like a mortal man.
One think is for sure, Christians will not react to this news with riots and mayhem. I wonder what would happen if some scholar came forward and said Mohammed was a myth?
February 24th, 2007 at 10:36 am
But all of those Jewish men (and women and Gentiles) were all fictional creations as well. And the very bones of those Jewish men (and women and Gentiles) who endured torture and death which have been found and revered, as well as the nearly 2,000-year-old paintings and graffiti throughout the city of Rome and the empire depicting Christian images, are all inventions.
It is rather curious, however, why they would have their fraudulent invention be disgraced by crucifixion? To create a fictional god-hero that you could use to encourage people to follow you, but to make him a criminal who was executed by the state, and thus not someone who is to be admired, hardly seems the best way to do that.
February 24th, 2007 at 1:00 pm
It was not uncommon for a deity to die a horrific death. Tammuz was one example. Donysius was another example of a god that died what might be even a worse death than Jesus-he was torn to pieces. None of those old cults suffered from lack of adherents, that hardly proves they actually lived, or the stories of their lives, deaths, and resurrections really transpired.
The only reason they didn’t last had nothing to do with the lack of belief of their followers. They were quite simply legislated out of existence by the newly Christianized Roman Empire. If you wanted to survive, or at least wanted your family to prosper, you played along and kept your beliefs to yourself. In that kind of environment, it’s no wonder the old religions failed to attract new adherents.
The only other reason Christianity thrived was quite simply because it was the only major cult of it’s time to allow membership to slaves and freedmen, who were former slaves, and actually controlled the day to day business of the empire. A pagan slave or freedman could take part in the old pagan festivals, but they couldn’t be actual initiated members of most pagan sects. There were few if any exceptions to this rule.
February 24th, 2007 at 1:49 pm
Who can dispute “science” like this? Too bad global warming will destroy all the “evidence!” Hollywood better make a movie quick!
I saw the grave of George Washington in a cemetery near my home in Chicago. A few feet away, Martha was buried. People are keeping the ‘truth’ from us! Thank goodness we have ‘thruthiseekers’ that never rest!
And btw, just whose DNA are they using for comparison? No matter. It looks good on the list of experts.
February 24th, 2007 at 10:21 pm
If Christianity is a 2000 year old delusion, it is one that has rocked the world and wrought much.
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Cynicism, doubt and intellectualism have wrought…what?
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For all it’s imperfections (too many human beings in the mix for the church to ever be perfect) the has fed the hungry, clothed the naked, visited the imprisoned, seen to the welfare of women and orphans, built hospitals, schools, missions, clinics, etc. etc. She does it, still, today, because no matter how much “the government” does, there will always be more need. That she does it while riddled with imperfections is more than proof - for many - that the church continues to exist and thrive by the divine grace of the Holy Spirit, alone, and not by the machinations of men.
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Not bad for a 2000 year-old work of fiction.
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440-100 years of cynicism, doubt and intellectualism has built on that, improved on it or superceded it in a postive and humanitarian way…just how, exactly?
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My computer is on the fritz and I’m using a friend’s but will likely not be around for the rest of the weekend.
February 25th, 2007 at 9:15 am
As much as I love historical novels and documentaries, a hysterical docudrama of the Son of God in bed with a woman he saved from the streets, content in wedded bliss, and fathering a child with her is not my idea of a Saturday afternoon film with popcorn and “good n plenty.” Somehow modern man rolling back the stone and finding all those bodies just waiting for them does not even make good film.
As for the DNA, I have never met anyone who has stated, “I am Jesus Christ’s fourth cousin’s descendent removed by Cain’s son’s fifth wife’s brother’s line.” Have you? I am not even sure if the House of David’s DNA would be much use, after all it was a miracle birth. Perhaps that is the route to take in these troubled times. Use DNA evidence and prove that the Son of God was really Joseph’s of the House of David after all. After all, the God is a myth crowd hasn’t been around and about much lately.
However, I still believe in Santa Claus so I don’t think this new “scientific claim” made by the man who “found” the Titanic right where it was supposed to be is going to be able to convince me he is smarter than I am. In fact, I am not even sure of much about this except it has given me one more thing to laugh about. The world can never have enough people to create laughter.
February 25th, 2007 at 2:13 pm
Sunday Links
T.E. Lawrence was one of the most fascinating people in recent history, and his Seven Pillars of Wisdom remains a masterpiece - and a page-turner. His role in the present-day Middle East is not overlooked by Moderate Voice. I doubt that Gen. Petraeus is
February 25th, 2007 at 2:56 pm
[...] along the same lines, the Anchoress remarked on Friday: ‘Round this time of year, the stories begin - last year, for Lent we were [...]
February 25th, 2007 at 5:38 pm
Will James Cameron Be John Edwards’ Official Blogger?
Gee, what a shock–Tim McGirk, the Jerusalem bureau chief for Time magazine writes:Brace yourself. James Cameron, the man who brought you The Titanic is back with another blockbuster. This time, the ship hes sinking is Christianity.As the Anchoress …
February 25th, 2007 at 11:53 pm
[...] as always, The Anchoress has the last [...]
February 26th, 2007 at 8:06 am
Jesus Buried In Plain Sight?
Many people have discussed the supposed discovery of the family tomb of Jesus in a section of Jerusalem. The finding, which forms the basis of a Discovery Channel special next Sunday, purports to show that Jesus married Mary Magdalene and…
February 26th, 2007 at 8:08 am
What ever happened to simply not believing and going on with your life?
February 26th, 2007 at 9:15 am
[...] The Anchoress, my favorite Catholic blogger, has [...]
February 26th, 2007 at 9:27 am
From an earlier comment:
“so who is to legitimately say one way or another?”
Exactly what I say about global warming.
When you hear someone use this tired slogan “who’s to say what’s real or not” to bash your religion, remember, these folks are very good at recognizing absolute standards of belief when it comes to their pet dogmas; they have their little inquisitions and crusades, and they call out their heretics too.
As for me, I find St. Maximilian Kolbe - who offered his life in exchange for a Jewish dad’s life in Auschwitz - I find him a credible witness to the truth; I find St. Edith Stein, renowned student of Husserl and another concentration camp martyr, a credible witness to truth.
I do not find hollywood stars in limousines credible witnesses to truth. I think they are the frauds.
Take the fraud of thy own eye, brother.
February 26th, 2007 at 10:00 am
“We Must Be Getting Closer to Easter,”
says The Anchoress. She thinks that Discovery’s “We found Jesus’ Tomb” story is little more than last year’s “We found Judas Gospel:” pure hype….
February 26th, 2007 at 11:32 am
[...] the most rudimentary logic test. As The Anchoress points out, this is explained by the fact that it’s nearly Easter. The weeks just before Easter are, of course, the time of year when the ritual attack on [...]
February 26th, 2007 at 12:39 pm
If this shakes your Faith, you never had it to begin with.
You mean that’s not Mary Magdalene buried beneath the pyramid at the Louvre? I want my money back, Hollywood.
February 26th, 2007 at 1:28 pm
[...] ABC has a piece that shows the level of scholarly skepticism over the claims that the tomb found in 1980 was actually the tomb of Jesus Christ and his family. On a more religious note, The Anchoress also finds the story less than plausible. [...]
February 26th, 2007 at 2:43 pm
If, two millennia from now, someone came out with a case for having discovered the bones of ‘John’ and ‘George’, with no sample against which to compare their DNA, would you assume that we were talking about Lennon and Harrison, about Kerry and Bush, or about two other random guys with those ultra-common names? Yes, sadly, this does chip away… Sigh.
February 26th, 2007 at 3:13 pm
PatrickKelly: I understood Maria to be the _Latin_ name for Mary, not the Greek, and not “Hellenized” in any particular way, shape or form.
And, reading my Bible, I understood only Luke and Paul, of all the Gospel writers, to have had anything like a Graeco-Roman education. Do you see evidence otherwise, elsewhere in the biblical texts (the canonical ones)?
As for Jesus/Yeshua, the reports I have read say that the inscription is “Yeshua,” (the aramaic ver. of Jesus) yet your original post seems to indicate you are building a case for “Jesus” instead. Why?
Also, what the Pope or Church says (about Christ having, or not having children) is theoretically based upon a long tradition stemming from Jesus’ own time, in which case what the Church says is testimony based on what has been transmitted from the earliest followers of Christ — people who walked with him, and would have known whether or not he had children of his own. If such children existed, either they bore no import for the religious movement, or the Church should have celebrated them in some way, and there’s no reliable record of either occurance.
Now, if you’d like to talk about the similarities between Mithras and Christ, that might be fine, but Dionysus? You say that a god dying is no special thing, in mythology, which is true enough, but how many gods died for the sins of humanity? Not Dionysus… Prometheus might’ve been an archetype, but I don’t recall him dying…
Christianity’s claim to fame isn’t that God died, but that God was incarnated as a man, voluntarily died for mankind’s sins (I don’t read Dionysus’ death as voluntary, or propitiatory), was resurrected, etc.
Look, I realize that your point is that myths have been around a long time, and they’re all the same and they’re all nonsense, so why believe this one?
Why? Because the documentation is pretty good, the historical transmission of the theology, etc., has been pretty good, though not without problems, and, perhaps most of all, the Christian myth seems to portray God and the universe accurately, so far as we can tell by the evidence of our senses and the evidence of history and authority. That’s why we believe. And, dare I say, Christianity has a level of accuracy so good, that it can be said to be in drastically better than the pagan myths.
Start with the question, does God exist? Then ask, if he does exist, is he one, or many? Blah, blah, and so on. Well, many of us find a kind of historical cohesion in Judeo-Christian religion, and a good explanation of the character of God–as best we can descry it from our position as human beings. We find a myth here that answers the above questions, and answers them very well, and even (arguably) consistently. What’s more, believers who’ve researched mythology have interpreted the pattern of ‘dying gods’ to be a sort of foreshadowing or prefiguring of the true myth, which is Christianity. Who’s to say they are wrong? (To echo your “who is to legitimately say one way or another?”)
No doubt Christianity didn’t suffer, in part, by Rome’s adopting it in law (speaking of “legitimate”). But your argument is that it therefore flourished, as if law was what converted hearts and minds to a certain religion. I don’t buy it. Who has ever taken state religion that seriously? I have heard people argue that Christianity only grew and spread because Romans didn’t really believe in the preceding, state-approved pagan religions and holy days. Can we have it both ways?
February 26th, 2007 at 4:29 pm
This has the potential of stirring up the cartoon riot gang. According to the Qur’an (4:157,158) Jesus was not crucified but was taken bodily to Allah’s abode after his natural death. To attack this core belief by claiming to have found his remains is to insult Islam and Allah.
The Da Vinci Code fiction did not have this problem since it only postulated a relationship between Christ and Mary Magdalene. The crucifixion and ascension were not the main thrust of the story.
February 26th, 2007 at 4:43 pm
[...] for Lent No, I didn’t watch the Oscars, but STAY rocked. ‘Puter on the fritz… We must be getting close to Easter - UPDATED “Take it back!! Take it back!” Religion & haters, abortion, Jamil and more Britney [...]
February 26th, 2007 at 7:02 pm
Eastertide Approaches
Hey Jimbo when youre done with that tomb business, Ive got a bridge in Brooklyn to sell ya! Or how bout some swamp in Florida? Or perhaps Geraldo can recycle his documentary on Al Capones vaults?
February 27th, 2007 at 1:00 am
[...] Make sure to read Captain Ed’s whole piece as well as what The Anchoress has to say. [...]
February 27th, 2007 at 10:24 am
[...] Pundit, Achievable Ends, My Dog’s Nose, I Can’t Believe It, Captain’s Quarters, The Anchoress, Texas [...]
March 2nd, 2007 at 1:56 pm
The Tomb of Jesus
What to make of the claim by moviemaker James Cameron that he found the lost tomb of Jesus and his provocative claims that Jesus married Mary Magdalene and together they had a child named Judah - DNA testing proves it…. — Any good scientific …