Speaking to experts about the 'Jesus Tomb'

By now, many people have heard about film director James Cameron’s bombshell delivered Monday in promotion of the Discovery Channel documentary “The Lost Tomb of Jesus.” Actually, terming it a documentary may be a stretch, as a Discovery Channel press release calls it “Part archaeological adventure, part Biblical history, part forensic science, part theological controversy. . . .”

The basic premise that Cameron and the Discovery Channel put forth is that Jesus Christ did not ascend to heaven, as stated in the Gospels. Rather, they claim to have discovered the tomb of Jesus with 10 ossuaries (bone boxes) in Jerusalem, containing the remains of Christ, the Virgin Mary, Matthew, Joseph and Mary Magdalene.

The Cameron team (which includes filmmaker Simcha Jacobovici) also claims to have unearthed evidence that Jesus Christ was married to Mary Magdalene and fathered children. The Discovery Channel release claims there is another coffin with the name “Judah, son of Jesus” inscribed on it.

Catholic News Service interviewed an archaeologist who debunks the documentary.

I spoke Tuesday morning with Rebecca and Dr. John Jackson, directors of the Turin Shroud Center in Colorado Springs.



The center is devoted to studying the shroud, its authenticity and its historical significance. The Jacksons have interesting backgrounds. Dr. John Jackson (pictured above) comes from a mathematics and science background and teaches physics at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs. Rebecca Jackson, who was raised as an Orthodox Jew, is an expert on ethnology and early Judaism.

They plan on watching the program this Sunday, and I’ll have a better chance to discuss it with them on Monday. While Rebecca Jackson said they will approach the documentary with an open mind, their preliminary thoughts are to remain skeptical.

“This smells of a real agenda,” said Dr. Jackson. “The name Mary, the name Joseph – these are names that were quite prevalent at the time. At the crucifixion, there were three Maries there.”

Rebecca Jackson said there usually seems to be some kind of program on the part of agnostics and atheists to disprove Jesus Christ’s existence and divinity.

“I think they’re jealous of Christians. They’re jealous of the peace and serenity Christians have,” she said. “They are so threatened by Easter.”

The convert to Catholicism also hopes people don’t fall into a knee-jerk reaction of blaming Jews for stirring up controversy. Instead, she pins it more on atheists.

“People are first going to blame the Jews, but I don’t think they’re behind this,” said Rebecca. “I think what they would say is, ‘You have your faith; we have our faith. Let’s live in peace.’”

Rebecca saw photos of the bone boxes and immediately found inconsistencies with claims from Cameron’s team.

“First of all, look at the sarcophagus. It’s covered in rose petals,” she said. “No Jews would be buried like that. That’s Hellenic -- it’s very Gentile.”

As curators of the Turin Shroud Center, the Jacksons have experience fending off various skeptics and those with an agenda to disprove Christianity.

“The Shroud over the years has been a lightning rod for a lot of cornball theories,” said Dr. Jackson. “We have real data to back up our claims. People don’t care about that when they have an agenda.”