Christian Scholars Poke Holes in Cable Documentary on Jesus Christ
by Staff
March 5, 2007
LOS ANGELES, CA (christiansunite.com) -- Scholars at Good News Communications, a Christian ministry based in Los Angeles and affiliated with the Graduate Theological Union at U.C. Berkeley, vigorously rebuked the Discovery Channel for broadcasting a "scurrilous" documentary by film director James Cameron ("The Terminator" and "Titanic") claiming that scholars found the bones of Jesus in an ancient tomb in 1980. "This documentary doesn't even pass the test of circumstantial evidence," said Ted Baehr, founder and president of Good News Communications, which began in 1978 and founded the Christian Film & television Commission and MOVIEGUIDE®: A Family Guide to Movies and Entertainment in 1985.
Baehr has a Juris Doctor degree from the New York University School of Law and is a graduate of the Institute of Theology at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine. He is also a member of the Theological Summit Conference, an inter-denominational group of theologians.
Baehr and his team of scholars cited several facts disproving the claims in Cameron's documentary.
First, no bones of anyone, including the historical Jesus Christ or the historical Mary Magdalene, were found in funeral boxes discovered in the ancient tomb. Instead, microscopic remains were found in a box simply labeled with a name that may be or may not be read as Jesus (not Jesus of Nazareth) and another labeled Mariamene (not Mary Magdalene). The remains had different DNA, but there is no suggestion in the tomb that the people were related.
Second, there is no historical record that Jesus Christ's family had a family tomb in Jerusalem.
Third, all the names found in the tomb - Jesus, Joseph, Mariamene or Mariamne, Jose, and Mary - were common names in the First Century A.D., the alleged date of the funeral boxes found in the tomb.
Fourth, the method used to date the funeral boxes in the ancient tomb is the same controversial method used to date a funeral box carrying the name of James, the brother of Jesus, a find that has been labeled a forgery.
Fifth, the New Testament documents are the best historical evidence for the death, burial and resurrection accounts of Jesus Christ and they contradict the allegations in Cameron's documentary for the Discovery Channel.
Finally, ads for the documentary cite the work and opinions of Bishop John Spong, a non-traditional theologian in the Episcopal Church whose radical religious views have been criticized by many Christian experts with higher levels of expertise.
"According to the New Testament," Baehr explained, "500 people saw the risen Jesus Christ on one occasion and up to 3,000 people on several occasions. Also, St. Paul argues in 1 Cor. 15 that if the rich man's tomb where they placed Christ's body was not empty and if these people did not see Jesus alive after that, then the Christian faith is not true at all.
"James Cameron and the Discovery Channel need a whole lot more evidence than this very questionable discovery, and more knowledgeable people than Bishop Spong, to disprove the New Testament documents and 2,000 years of Christian teachings."
Baehr concluded, "The fact remains, Jesus Christ's tomb was empty, he physically appeared to thousands of people and ate with and spoke to them, the Romans and Jews who opposed Jesus and His followers at the time could not find his bones, and cowards like Peter, skeptics like Thomas, and vicious persecutors like Paul became extraordinarily brave men who underwent painful torture and death rather than deny that they had witnessed the resurrected Jesus Christ."
Dr. Baehr and Good News Communications works regularly with the following groups: the National Religious Broadcasters, the Mission America Coalition of the Southern Baptist Convention, the Protestant Church of Germany, the Institute for Media Education, the U.S. Center for World Mission, the World Congress of Families, the Association of Christian Schools International, the Institute for Christian Renewal, Campus Crusade for Christ, Dr. D. James Kennedy's Coral Ridge Ministries, William Donohue's Catholic League, and Pat Robertson's Christian Broadcasting Network.
