Claims about Jesus’ ‘lost tomb’ stir up tempest

[ctay]

I was just wondering if y'al been hearing about this on the news

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17345429/?GT1=9033

[Jim47]

I just saw it on TV. It was a good laugh,

but sadly, there will be many that will believe it. :sigh:

[Flipper]

I seriously thought about majoring in archiology in college. It's so fascinating!!

I hope that a thorough study, by reputable archiologists is done. That will probably disprove the claims - as have most similar claims of stuff our faith tells us is false.

[DaRev]

The names Y'shua, Maria, and Judah are all very common names in first century Palestine. These boxes with these names on them prove nothing.

[maycontainnuts]

http://www.christianforums.com/showthread.php?p=32240312#post32240312

[porterross]

You know what I find ironic that these people who are so intent on disproving God and Christ's sacrifice for our salvation claim to be non-believers. If they truly believe God doesn't exist, what is there for them to disprove? :scratch: It lacks logic.

Why don't they just go about the short term existence they believe they'll have and leave us be like we do them? http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k101/pocolocogal/dunno.gif

[Jim47]

You know what I find ironic that these people who are so intent on disproving God and Christ's sacrifice for our salvation claim to be non-believers. If they truly believe God doesn't exist, what is there for them to disprove? :scratch: It lacks logic.

Why don't they just go about the short term existence they believe they'll have and leave us be like we do them? http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k101/pocolocogal/dunno.gif


Ya think thats possible? ;)

[porterross]

Ya think thats possible? ;)

Nope! Apparently, our unwavering faith gets under their skin and unnerves 'em. I LOVE when the Holy Spirit does that!!! :clap:

Ain't I a stinker? ^_^

[Studeclunker]

The reputable Archiologists have already discredited this 'find' as nonsense. The historical society that owns these boxes has stated publicly that the names on the ossuraies are the most common of thier age. There are however, people who hate Christianity and will go to extreme lengths to undermine and discredit it. This foolish man is apparently one of those people. Fortuneately for us and unfortuneately for him, this ' find has already been discredited before he even had his 'documentary' underway. What bothers me is that a major network was snookered into backing this.

It's a tempest in a teapot. Kind of like the idiot artist that photographed a crucifix in urine and the moronic director who made that movie about Christ's supposed last temptation. Stupidity knows no season or even when to quit.

Porteross, you're no more of a stinker than I am. Especially when I tell the Eco-Nazis that there's no good reason to get so upset about the ecology when it's all going to burn anyway. That usually get's em spinning.;)

[Zecryphon]

You know what I find ironic that these people who are so intent on disproving God and Christ's sacrifice for our salvation claim to be non-believers. If they truly believe God doesn't exist, what is there for them to disprove? :scratch: It lacks logic.

Why don't they just go about the short term existence they believe they'll have and leave us be like we do them? http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k101/pocolocogal/dunno.gif
Porter,

Since non-believers and others believe that theists are the ones making the claim that God and Christ are real, the burden of proof falls to us to prove our case. In their minds this is just a way of them disproving what we have already said. They refuse to accept that when they state that "Christ does not exist" or "God is not real" that they are making a claim. When asked to prove it they fall back on "oh well, you can't prove a negative claim". I've seen it time and time again on another forum. Basically, they can't prove their own statement. Even if you do shift the burden of proof back onto them, they will deny this has happened.

[Zecryphon]

The reputable Archiologists have already discredited this 'find' as nonsense. The historical society that owns these boxes has stated publicly that the names on the ossuraies are the most common of thier age. There are however, people who hate Christianity and will go to extreme lengths to undermine and discredit it. This foolish man is apparently one of those people. Fortuneately for us and unfortuneately for him, this ' find has already been discredited before he even had his 'documentary' underway. What bothers me is that a major network was snookered into backing this.

It's a tempest in a teapot. Kind of like the idiot artist that photographed a crucifix in urine and the moronic director who made that movie about Christ's supposed last temptation. Stupidity knows no season or even when to quit.

Porteross, you're no more of a stinker than I am. Especially when I tell the Eco-Nazis that there's no good reason to get so upset about the ecology when it's all going to burn anyway. That usually get's em spinning.;)
Studeclunker,

I read somehwere that back in the 70's the Eco-Nazis as you call them were saying the planet was getting cooler and we were headed for another ice age. So just ask them if they've made up their minds yet. Are we cooling down or getting hotter, cuz I'd like to know if I need a coat or sunscreen before I die.

[Studeclunker]

Yeah, the 'Global Warming' thing confuses me almost as much as the government dietary recommendations. Take eggs for instance; first they tell us that they're one step away from pure poison. Now they are saying (again) that eggs are practically perfect in every way.

As to Global Warming though... the place I currently live in used to get five to six feet of snow every year. Now it barely gets it at all. Makes one think.:scratch: Have we really been in drought conditions for over twenty years here?:scratch:

[Flipper]

I believe in global warming. Just because it isn't happening where you are, doesn't mean it isn't happening anywhere else. We have been taking advantage of the resources God has given us, and our air quality suffers for it, along with our soil quality and our water supply. I know they say everything we eat causes cancer at some point, but we are directly causing pollution, which has been proven to cause cancer beyond any reasonable doubt.

I'm no eco-nazi - I don't even recycle my aluminum cans (though as many as we go through, we could make a fair amount of money from it), but if our trash service started offering recycling, we would be separating that out. I fully support anything that will get us alternative fuel sources that is better for our air quality, and we try to only buy electronics with the energy star.

I read somewhere that if everyone in the US replaced one (1) regular lightbulb with an LED bulb our energy consumption would drop dramatically, which would drop the burning of coal, and help our environment that much more.

Of course we aren't going to live on this Earth forever, but God did give it to us, what's so wrong with taking care of it a bit more than we have been?

[KagomeShuko]

Hearing that claim for the first time shook me for just a bit, but all this stuff disproving the claim, and like they said, such common names!

How are they doing DNA testing? they have all THREE ossuaries? I didn't understand that. Still, it could easily be a family. Anybody can claim Jesus had a wife and a son while having it really be another family.

[DaRev]

Why don't they just go about the short term existence they believe they'll have and leave us be like we do them? http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k101/pocolocogal/dunno.gif

Maybe that's why. Maybe we shouldn't just "leave them be" but rather preach the Gospel to them. Perhaps they've not yet heard it preached in its purity.

I believe in global warming. Just because it isn't happening where you are, doesn't mean it isn't happening anywhere else. We have been taking advantage of the resources God has given us, and our air quality suffers for it, along with our soil quality and our water supply. I know they say everything we eat causes cancer at some point, but we are directly causing pollution, which has been proven to cause cancer beyond any reasonable doubt.

I'm no eco-nazi - I don't even recycle my aluminum cans (though as many as we go through, we could make a fair amount of money from it), but if our trash service started offering recycling, we would be separating that out. I fully support anything that will get us alternative fuel sources that is better for our air quality, and we try to only buy electronics with the energy star.

I read somewhere that if everyone in the US replaced one (1) regular lightbulb with an LED bulb our energy consumption would drop dramatically, which would drop the burning of coal, and help our environment that much more.

Of course we aren't going to live on this Earth forever, but God did give it to us, what's so wrong with taking care of it a bit more than we have been?

A few thousand years ago there was an ice age. Then the climate warmed dramatically to melt the ice. What caused that "global warming"? Perhaps those mastadons weren't using environmentally friendly gasoline in their cars? :scratch: :doh:

[Edial]

The names Y'shua, Maria, and Judah are all very common names in first century Palestine. These boxes with these names on them prove nothing.
Absolutely.

Look at how many different women by a name Mary appear in a relatively short story of the NT.

http://www.scripturessay.com/article.php?cat=&id=601
How many Mary's there are in the Bible?
Author: Lavelle Layfield (http://www.scripturessay.com/bio.php?authorid=25)
Type: E-Mail Question
http://www.scripturessay.com/img/talk-back.gif (http://www.scripturessay.com/newthread.php?id=601&type=1)

The following are the ones listed in the New Testament.
One encyclopedia list the following:
1. Mary, the mother of Jesus (Luke 1-2).
2. Mary Magdalene, the woman from whom Jesus cast out seven demons. The name Magdalene indicates that she came from Magdala, a city on the southwest coast of the Sea of Galilee. After Jesus cast seven demons from her, she became one of His followers. Luke 7:37, Luke 8:23, Luke 87:36-50
3. Mary of Bethany, sister of Martha and Lazarus (Luke 10:38-42).
4. Mary, the mother of the disciple James and Joses (Matt 27:55-61).
5. Mary, the mother of John Mark (Acts 12:12).
6. Mary of Rome (Rom 16:6).
Another encyclopedia lists the following.
The Name Mary in the New Testament:
The name Mary occurs in 51 passages of the New Testament to which the following group of articles is confined. Collating all these references we have the following apparent notes of identification:
(a) Mary, the mother of Jesus;
(b) Mary Magdalene;
(c) Mary, the mother of James;
(d) Mary, the mother of Joses;
(e) Mary, the wife of Clopas;
(f) Mary of Bethany;
(g) Mary, the mother of Mark;
(h) Mary of Rome;
(i) the "other" Mary.
(from International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia, Electronic Database Copyright (c)1996 by Biblesoft)
MARY
The Mother of Jesus. Mary was the daughter of Eli or Heli, of the tribe of Judah and of the lineage of David, hence in the royal line (Luke 3:23).
(From The New Unger's Bible Dictionary. Originally published by Moody Press of Chicago, Illinois. Copyright (c) 1988.)
MARY
Mary Magdale'ne (mag-da-le'ne, or commonly mag'da-len; "of Magdala").
(From The New Unger's Bible Dictionary. Originally published by Moody Press of Chicago, Illinois. Copyright (c) 1988.)
MARY
Mary, Sister of Lazarus. The facts about her are few. She and her sister Martha appear in Luke 10:38-42 receiving Christ in their house.
(From The New Unger's Bible Dictionary. Originally published by Moody Press of Chicago, Illinois. Copyright (c) 1988.)
MARY
Mary, the Wife of Clopas (Grk. Maria he tou Klopa, KJV "of Cleophas"). In John's gospel we read that "there were standing by the cross of Jesus His mother, and His mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene" (John 19:25).
(From The New Unger's Bible Dictionary. Originally published by Moody Press of Chicago, Illinois. Copyright (c) 1988.)
MARY
Mary, Mother of Mark. Also sister to Barnabas (cf. Col 4:10). It would appear from Acts 4:37 and 12:12 that while the brother disposed of his property for the benefit of the church, the sister gave up her house as one of the places of meeting. (From The New Unger's Bible Dictionary. Originally published by Moody Press of Chicago, Illinois. Copyright (c) 1988.)

[Edial]

A Michael Moore of documentaries ...

[Edial]

Maybe that's why. Maybe we shouldn't just "leave them be" but rather preach the Gospel to them. Perhaps they've not yet heard it preached in its purity.



A few thousand years ago there was an ice age. Then the climate warmed dramatically to melt the ice. What caused that "global warming"? Perhaps those mastadons weren't using environmentally friendly gasoline in their cars? :scratch: :doh:
Actually it is quiet possible that the mastadons' digestive systems were producing a similar type of, let's say "fumes", that today's cows produce.
I would not be surprised if Al Gore would embrace such a theory, since his Internet inventing glory seems to wear off.

[maycontainnuts]

Hearing that claim for the first time shook me for just a bit, but all this stuff disproving the claim, and like they said, such common names!

How are they doing DNA testing? they have all THREE ossuaries? I didn't understand that. Still, it could easily be a family. Anybody can claim Jesus had a wife and a son while having it really be another family.

I have to admit that they made some interesting points with regards to statistics on Larry King last night. They gave an example of if you had a football field full of people with the common names of that time period, and you asked all the men named Jesus to stand up -- there would be a lot. But when you said for all the men named Jesus with a mother named Mary, a father named Joseph, etc to stand up, a whole lot less would be standing.

Still, although they make a good point, I've found that, in researching my own family history, it can be quite likely to find a person with a family who has the same names you're looking for but is not the right person. I had a guy who was my ancestor named Wilkins J., and I found that there were two Wilkins living in the same area and county at the same time with people in their families that had the same names AND they both served in the civil war. Trying to figure out who was who was hard for me and for other people who've I've contacted that were doing family history research a lot longer than me. Some people have actually made the mistake of thinking these two Wilkins were the same person because they claimed he got married twice -- but, looking at the timeline of his marriages, children, and service in the war, it doesn't make sense and is not possible. There were two Wilkins in that county.

[Zecryphon]

Yeah, the 'Global Warming' thing confuses me almost as much as the government dietary recommendations. Take eggs for instance; first they tell us that they're one step away from pure poison. Now they are saying (again) that eggs are practically perfect in every way.

As to Global Warming though... the place I currently live in used to get five to six feet of snow every year. Now it barely gets it at all. Makes one think.:scratch: Have we really been in drought conditions for over twenty years here?:scratch:
Here in Arizona, we're supposedly in a drought too. But how can this be when all the golf courses are green? It's said, that when the golf courses are brown, then we will be in a drought. LOL

[C.F.W. Walther]

THink of this. Farmers Almanac has been reporting weather for the last 100+ years and is usually 90% correct. How do they predict so accuratly? They had an article in their mag about 10 years ago and they say that they predict according to weather cycles reacurring every so many years like the 50 and 100 year flood plain cycles. Cycles is the answer.

That would make anyone pause before they start promoting global warming.

[synger]

...Now they are saying (again) that eggs are practically perfect in every way.

Hey! That means that Mary Poppins was an egg!

Mary Poppins = practically perfect in every way

*has been reading the book to her 5-year-old lately*

[Flipper]

A few thousand years ago there was an ice age. Then the climate warmed dramatically to melt the ice. What caused that "global warming"? Perhaps those mastadons weren't using environmentally friendly gasoline in their cars? :scratch: :doh:

Ha ha - so funny (funny coincidence, I'm going to see my niece's artwork in an exhibit tonight at Mastadon State Park).

Of course our Earth goes through cycles. There are a lot of geologists who say we are overdue for another ice age. However, the proof is insurmountable that what we are doing is either going to delay whatever is supposed to happen further, or speed things up. It's not just fumes from cars, it's everything else we do.

When I was little, I could run outside all day, without sunscreen, and never get a sunburn. Now, I'm out 10 minutes, and I'm burning. I think the ozone thing is a reality.

I have asthma that's exacerbated by second hand smoke. One can only do so much to avoid it.

I wonder what causes smog.

Pollution, and it's effects, whether you believe in global warming or not, is affecting us all quite negatively. We are no longer in the industrial age, we know better now.

Again, God gave you this planet, did He not? Don't you want to take care of what God gives you?

[Flipper]

THink of this. Farmers Almanac has been reporting weather for the last 100+ years and is usually 90% correct. How do they predict so accuratly? They had an article in their mag about 10 years ago and they say that they predict according to weather cycles reacurring every so many years like the 50 and 100 year flood plain cycles. Cycles is the answer.

That would make anyone pause before they start promoting global warming.


I have yet to see the FA predict St. Louis weather correctly 2 years in a row.

[DaRev]

I have yet to see the FA predict St. Louis weather correctly 2 years in a row.

In my three years there, I never heard the TV weather guys get it right two days in a row!! ;) ^_^

[DaSeminarian]

The names Y'shua, Maria, and Judah are all very common names in first century Palestine. These boxes with these names on them prove nothing.

Yet another attempt by Satan to fool people into believing that Christ is dead and not resurrected.

I would like to know how would they ever prove God's DNA? Forensic medicine would be virtually incapable of coming up with any verifiable proof that it is Christ.

[Flipper]

In my three years there, I never heard the TV weather guys get it right two days in a row!! ;) ^_^

Amen to that! :clap:

[Flipper]

Yet another attempt by Satan to fool people into believing that Christ is dead and not resurrected.

I would like to know how would they ever prove God's DNA? Forensic medicine would be virtually incapable of coming up with any verifiable proof that it is Christ.

If it could be linked to Mary (mother, not Magdeline), maybe with Jesus... But then you have to find Mary, and how can you prove what you find is Mary?

[Edial]

... Again, God gave you this planet, did He not? Don't you want to take care of what God gives you?
Good point.
REV 11:18 The nations were angry;
and your wrath has come.
The time has come for judging the dead,
and for rewarding your servants the prophets
and your saints and those who reverence your name,
both small and great--
and for destroying those who destroy the earth."

[Edial]

THink of this. Farmers Almanac has been reporting weather for the last 100+ years and is usually 90% correct. How do they predict so accuratly? They had an article in their mag about 10 years ago and they say that they predict according to weather cycles reacurring every so many years like the 50 and 100 year flood plain cycles. Cycles is the answer.

That would make anyone pause before they start promoting global warming.
I respect the Farmers Almanac.

They are so quiet, yet deliver so consistently.

[Confess]

From what they say this discovery happened in 1980 and was dismissed right away. It wasn't until some famous person decided to use it to trump the faith did it gain any lime-light.

RE: DNA
The only DNA that they are able to take is that of the bodies. They found that the male and female bodies had different DNA which they feel makes them "married".

sigh

[porterross]

Maybe that's why. Maybe we shouldn't just "leave them be" but rather preach the Gospel to them. Perhaps they've not yet heard it preached in its purity.


Might you be suggesting that TBN is not delivering a pure message as you might like to put forth? Say it ain't so. ;)
Unfortunately, the fundamentalists and non-denoms are better at pushing their agendas in front of the camera which only fuels the fire of those who judge all Christians by their measure.

A few thousand years ago there was an ice age. Then the climate warmed dramatically to melt the ice. What caused that "global warming"? Perhaps those mastadons weren't using environmentally friendly gasoline in their cars? :scratch: :doh:

Uh huh. The Earth is quite dynamic and the last 10,000 years (not gonna argue age of the universe here) have been unusually stable by many standards, so we're due. We'll adjust where we can and migrate away from areas where we can't.

Why people think they can fight it is beyond me, but there is no need for our reliance on fossil fuel other than the energy lobbies in DC. Until those making $$$ from oil change their focus we have very little power over its use.

[TheCosmicGospel]

This will be a sign for Al Gore to run for President. He's been waiting for it. It finally happened.

Cheers,
Cosmic

[DaRev]

This will be a sign for Al Gore to run for President. He's been waiting for it. It finally happened.

:doh:
That's all we need!!
:eek: :sick: :help:

[Tetzel]

This is the silliest thing ever. There is no way to prove this to be Christ because we don't have a DNA sample to compare with it. Besides, does anyone really think that if the ECF's knew that the ressurection was false, that they'd have made sure to destroy any evidence. If I were a sceptic, I'd claim that the communion ritual was actually based on corpse disposal instructions so that they could point to the empty tomb after 3 days and say, "He's risen"

[Studeclunker]

I still say it's a tempest in a tea pot. The people who put out this documentary have already been discredited. As long as the Christian community ignores it and doesn't add to the controversy, it eliminates its influence.

[Zecryphon]

Ha ha - so funny (funny coincidence, I'm going to see my niece's artwork in an exhibit tonight at Mastadon State Park).

Of course our Earth goes through cycles. There are a lot of geologists who say we are overdue for another ice age. However, the proof is insurmountable that what we are doing is either going to delay whatever is supposed to happen further, or speed things up. It's not just fumes from cars, it's everything else we do.

When I was little, I could run outside all day, without sunscreen, and never get a sunburn. Now, I'm out 10 minutes, and I'm burning. I think the ozone thing is a reality.

I have asthma that's exacerbated by second hand smoke. One can only do so much to avoid it.

I wonder what causes smog.

Pollution, and it's effects, whether you believe in global warming or not, is affecting us all quite negatively. We are no longer in the industrial age, we know better now.

Again, God gave you this planet, did He not? Don't you want to take care of what God gives you?
I wonder why the problem and solution for global warming falls entirely on the United States. We're always enacting stricter EPA measures to combat this problem. But how about all those countries overseas that are newly industrial nations? What kind of environmental restrictions are being put upon them? Are any being put upon them?

[Zecryphon]

I still say it's a tempest in a tea pot. The people who put out this documentary have already been discredited. As long as the Christian community ignores it and doesn't add to the controversy, it eliminates its influence.
If the Christian community ignores it won't that just give people like this ammunition to say "See they can't even dispute it! They know it's true!" I've seen this happen before with other topics.

[TheCosmicGospel]

I want to suggest that the Christian community at large catch their breath. I am reminded of Joseph confronting his brothers. "You meant this for harm, but God used it for good."

If even one or two Christians approach Easter looking more at the evidence of the empty tomb because of this than their Easter hats, God has used it for our good as a Christian community.

We stand on solid ground here. To give any apprehension that we don't is just as misleading as to claims of finding the bones of Jesus.

It becomes a bit disingenuous on our part as Christians to stand on our haunches about this and approach the Sunday after Easter as optional. But what pastor sees a surge in attendance the following Sunday? We must carry on with "He has risen" to being more than a motto to that of a lifechange and lifestyle. Is coming the next Sunday too much to ask. Those early martyrs of the faith died for one conviction only. "He has risen indeed." They must shake their heads at us at times.

Cheers,
Cosmic

[BigNorsk]

I wonder why the problem and solution for global warming falls entirely on the United States. We're always enacting stricter EPA measures to combat this problem. But how about all those countries overseas that are newly industrial nations? What kind of environmental restrictions are being put upon them? Are any being put upon them?

Much of the rest of the world is way ahead of us. You might not read it much in US papers nor see it on US tv but there is a lot being done. Even the Chinese have taken some significant steps which was really a surprise to me.

The big reason why the US is looked to so much is simply that we are the largest consumers of fossil fuels. The rest of the world could be a zero emitter and it wouldn't "fix" it without the US.

It's true there aren't a lot of restrictions in the third world countries, but due to lack of capital, their consumption of fossil fuels is really quite low. It is hoped in all this that new technologies allowe them to basically skip the fossil fuel industrialization stage.

Marv

[Jim47]

Much of the rest of the world is way ahead of us. You might not read it much in US papers nor see it on US tv but there is a lot being done. Even the Chinese have taken some significant steps which was really a surprise to me.

The big reason why the US is looked to so much is simply that we are the largest consumers of fossil fuels. The rest of the world could be a zero emitter and it wouldn't "fix" it without the US.

It's true there aren't a lot of restrictions in the third world countries, but due to lack of capital, their consumption of fossil fuels is really quite low. It is hoped in all this that new technologies allowe them to basically skip the fossil fuel industrialization stage.

Marv


There is a lot more to pollution then just burning fossil fuels. For instance water pollution. I know that many countries are decades behind the US in this. Plus with the advances we have made in air pollution things are much better then they were 30 years ago. I remember the day when you needed to hold your breath when driving in a big city.

[C.F.W. Walther]

There is a lot more to pollution then just burning fossil fuels. For instance water pollution. I know that many countries are decades behind the US in this. Plus with the advances we have made in air pollution things are much better then they were 30 years ago. I remember the day when you needed to hold your breath when driving in a big city. You still have to hold your breath in LA.

[Jim47]

You still have to hold your breath in LA.


I likely won't be going there any time soon. Was there once in 84 and that was enough for me. Its lucky they have the ocean nearby or they would croak.

[DaRev]

To get back on track here...

The negative influence of this so called "discovery" will effect the unChurched and the non-believer moreso than it would a Christian.

But if it does cause someone to ask questions, what an opportunity to share the Gospel. Probably now is a good time to be prepared to answer to the hope that we have.

[Studeclunker]

Well said Reverand. Perhaps the Lord will use this fellow's shakey facts to undermine his credibility so that people are more receptive to the truth. Or even better, so that people start asking what the truth really is here.

You know, some years back there was a novel about something like this. In the book it was a fraud. The senior archiologist staged it with all the necessary artifacts. He cleverly set it all up so that it was actually authenticated. In the book, the body was in a sarcophagus with a number of sealed clay urns containing documentation. Wish I could remember the name of the book. It was really well written.

[DaRev]

We have to remember that at the time the Christian movement in Palestine was contrary to the status quo that the Pharisees and the Romans desperately wanted to maintain. If there were in fact a body, they would have most certainly produced it at the time to show that Jesus had in fact not been resurrected. That certainly would have crushed the movement right then and there. And they most certainly would have known where Jesus' tomb was and where he was buried. In the 1st century it wasn't any big secret or big unknown.

The fact is, there was no body in the tomb to produce because He did in fact raise from the dead. It is clearly documented factual history.

[synger]

Well said Reverand. Perhaps the Lord will use this fellow's shakey facts to undermine his credibility so that people are more receptive to the truth. Or even better, so that people start asking what the truth really is here.

You know, some years back there was a novel about something like this. In the book it was a fraud. The senior archiologist staged it with all the necessary artifacts. He cleverly set it all up so that it was actually authenticated. In the book, the body was in a sarcophagus with a number of sealed clay urns containing documentation. Wish I could remember the name of the book. It was really well written.
A Skeleton in God's Closet (http://www.amazon.com/Skeleton-Gods-Closet-Paul-Maier/dp/0840734247)