THE JESUS DISCOVERY, PRESENTED BY ARCHAEOLOGIST AND PROFESSOR JAMES TABOR WITH DOCUMENTARY FILMMAKER SIMCHA JACOBOVICI, CLAIMED

TO HAVE FOUND THE TOMB OF JESUS AND HIS FAMILY IN JERUSALEM IN 2010. "As usual, the arrival of the Easter season this year is heralded by a sensational archaeological claim relating to Jesus." Dr. Jodi Magness, Department of Religious Studies, University of North Carolina, Charlotte. She continues, "In March 2007, we learned from a TV documentary and accompanying book that the tomb of Jesus and his family had been discovered in Jerusalems Talpiyot neighborhood. The producer was undeterred by the fact that not a single archaeologist including the tombs excavator supported this claim (for my comments see http://www.archaeological.org/news/279; also see Eric Meyers response to the current claim). Now the same producer has identified remains of early Christian followers of Jesus in a tomb nearby. What is the basis for this new claim? Photos taken by a robotic arm that was inserted into the tomb supposedly show a graffito depicting a whale incised on an ossuary, and an inscription containing the Tetragrammaton and the word arise or resurrection. "In my assessment, there's zero percent chance that their theory is correct," Andrew Vaughn, executive director of the American Schools of Oriental Research, told MSNBC of the findings. For him, the second tomb does not strengthen the case that the first one is authentic. Dr. Chuck Missler states "The Talpiot tomb was originally discovered in 1980. It is a large tomb that contained ten ossuaries (an ossuary is a chest that holds skeletal remains). Archaeologists say there is nothing extraordinary about the tomb, but filmmakers believe they have made a discovery that will shake the very foundations of Christianity. They believe the tomb contained the remains of Jesus of Nazareth, as well as his mother Mary, his father Joseph, and other family members. They also speculate that one of the ossuaries found in the tomb is that of Mary Magdalene. According to the filmmakers, their discovery supports claims that Jesus and Mary Magdalene were married and may have had children." The writer, producer, and director of the Discovery Channel documentary is Simcha Jacobovici and its executive producer is James Cameron, the man who brought us the film Titanic. Jacobovici was the driving force behind the documentary, however he is not an archaeologist and his speculations leave many questions unanswered. In fact, most of the scholars who have reviewed his claims-even those who are not Christianshave raised objections to the validity of his assertions. Jacobovici lays out an impressive array of data, including the results of DNA-testing and statistical analysis. However, while Jacobovici does a good job of selling his speculations, he cant actually prove any of them. Scientists and scholars around the world have been quick to point out the many holes in his theory. When the Talpiot tomb was originally excavated more than 32 years ago, the ossuaries were taken to the Rockefeller Archaeological Museum outside the Old City of Jerusalem. Joe Zias, who was the curator for anthropology and archaeology at the museum from 1972 to 1997, personally numbered the Talpiot ossuaries. Zias has criticized the Discovery Channel saying, Projects like these make a mockery of the archaeological profession. He further stated that the shows producers have no credibility whatsoever and that the documentary is a hyped up film which is intellectually and scientifically dishonest. It appears that those involved with this "discovery" are not scientist, and are only engaging in sensationalism that does not more than create doubt. The author of doubt and all lies is none other than Lucifer, a fallen angel, who is the god of this age. The Jesus Discovery is nothing but an attempt to discredit the diety of the Lord Jesus Christ. Don't buy the book, and when there is a movie, boycott it. This falsified discovery which attempts to destroy all we hold sacred is nothing but a lie. We know who the author of all lies is; Satan had been attempting to destroy the blood line of Jesus Christ right on up to his birth. And now that same enmity is attempting to discredit the sanctifying work that Jesus Christ did with new attacks by individuals motivated

by Satan, with money from appearances, books, and movies. Jesus Christ is who He and God said He is, and there is nothing James Tabor, Smicha Jacobovici, or Dan Brown can do about that.