Response to The Lost Tomb of Jesus

Guest: Darrell L. Bock, Ph.D.

Description: These programs examine and respond to the conclusions reached in the Discovery Channel's special The Lost Tomb of Jesus. It answers questions like:

• Why does the Talpiot tomb not contain the bones of Jesus of Nazareth?

• Why the statistics used in the special to calculate whether this is the family tomb of Jesus or not, are worthless, since they are based on assumptions that have not been proven to be true.

• Why the DNA evidence proves almost nothing, and could be used to show that many people in this tomb were not part of the same family.

• Why archaeologists think that there were 35 bodies, not just 10, that were put in this tomb.

• Why the missing 10th ossuary was never really missing, and why it certainly could not be the James ossuary.

• Why scholars say there is a problem with attributing any of the six names to Jesus family, and why there is not a shred of historical evidence that proves Mariamne e Mara is Mary Magdalene, or that Jesus and Mary Magdalene were ever married, or that Jesus ever had a son named Judas.

• And finally learn why Jesus' resurrection was not a spiritual resurrection, but a literal, physical, bodily resurrection from the grave.

In this series we also examine the new fictional novel -- The Gospel According to Judas, written by Jeffrey Archer, along with the assistance of Catholic theologian Francis J. Moloney. In this fictional story, they claim Judas did not betray Jesus for 30 pieces of silver, and never committed suicide. Further they claim Jesus never walked on water, turned water into wine. Judas also believes Jesus wasn't God's Messiah and never rose from the dead. What historical evidence shows most of the claims about Judas and Jesus are wrong? We also examine Elaine Pagels and Karen King's new book entitled Reading Judas. Why is this popular alternative view of Jesus historically wrong?

Copyright: 2007, Number of Programs: 4, Cat. No. RLTOJ