By
Pastor Scott Denham of Harvest Fellowship,
Clarinda
Herald Journal Publication Date : 03/28/2007
“This
thing about archaeologists finding the bones of Jesus—do you believe it?”
Here are my
top 5 reasons I do not believe that archaeologists have uncovered the bones of
Jesus:
1. A history of
misinformation. Throughout every age there have been those who have
opposed the absolutist claims of the Scriptures and offered, in their place, fantastic
theories in an attempt to explain away the truth. These theories, long
disproved, keep turning up like an urban legend in your e-mail inbox, seemingly
with a life of their own. Every generation thinks this old rubbish has just come to light. It has not.
2. A money motive.
If you will "follow the money," on this "find," you will
discover the motive to be, not truth nor scientific scholarship, but box office
receipts. Filmmaker James Cameron and documentary director Simcha
Jacobovici,
have turned this into a documentary called THE LOST TOMB OF JESUS, and they
hope to make a lot of money.
3. A spirit of opposition. Like it our not, the Bible teaches that there is an oppositional spirit to Christ (1 John 2:18,22,4:3, 2 John 1:7) that builds consensus among those who are unwittingly puppets of the devil. Some so-called Biblical scholars have long ago apostatized, rejecting the basic tenets of Christian faith, and yet they are the “authorities” called upon by broadcast media to offer explanations that invariably discount those truths sacred to believers.
4. A biased
scholarship. Combine the three above reasons and you sometimes have
good, well-meaning people who are misinformed, biased by the money, and
influenced by the enemy. Archaeologists who were not
permitted to examine these artifacts themselves argue that this dig was
not subjected to scientific rigor. Instead, they have been
used as fodder for a sensational story cooked up by an opportunistic
filmmaker.
5. A biblical
historical error. The Bible teaches and secular history affirms much
concerning the life of Christ. Over 500 five hundred people saw the resurrected
Christ (1 Cor 15:6). Now, in a court of law, 500
witnesses are more than enough to close the case. Many historians of that period who were hostile to the Christians, wrote of Christ, yet
none refuted the claim of his resurrection—there were just too many witness
alive at that time, to make their case.
The DaVinci Code,
The Lost Tomb of Jesus, The Last Temptation of Christ, The Gnostic Gospels, and
the like, all keep passing around the same “urban legends,” comparing the same
notes, telling the same tedious lies. Nonetheless, they also
inadvertently provide opportunities for believers once again, to “give a reason
for the hope we have within us” (1 Pet 3:15). The tomb
is empty—He is risen!
--Pastor Scott (www.askpastorscott.com)