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I was working in the hospital until about midnight last night, so I had to watch the Jesus Family Tomb program on DVR this morning. The production was slick, the dramatizations of their view of the events of Christ’s life was effective, but overall the case was extremely weak. Jonathan, in comments on my previous post on the subject linked to a review here found on Stand to Reason by Melinda Penner. Selected comments from Penner’s post:

There are no bones left they were buried 27 years ago when the ossuaries were found. They scraped biological residue from the inside of two of the boxes Jesus and Mara - and sent it for DNA testing. The only kind they could get was mitochondrial DNA, which demonstrates maternal relationships, not paternal. The test came back negative for the two samples so the investigators say the tests “suggest” they were married. Now that is a huge leap of reasoning. It doesn’t suggest any such thing, it only disqualifies them as brother and sister via the same mother.

They only did one DNA test according to the program and the book. James Cameron said on Larry King that the tests are expensive and their resources aren’t unlimited. As it turns out, they chose to compare the two DNA samples that presented the least risk for their story. If they tested Jesus and Mary, his mother, and found no match, the story is over. If they test Jesus and Judah without a match, it’s over. Jesus and Mara was the safest comparison because a negative leaves open the possibility for them to suggest the marriage, which is necessary for their story to work. Yet there are any number of reasons they aren’t related via the same mother. The only reason to “suggest” Jesus and Mara were married is their weak speculation that this Mara is Mary Magdalene.

I would also recommend Ben Witherington’s review seen here. Ben comments:

… the makers of this film and book were told that the tenth ossuary found in the Talpiot tomb was not missing. It was a blank, having neither ornamentation nor inscription, and so it was not catalogued with the other nine. However, on the show, mystery is concocted when the list of the nine catalogued ossuaries is presented and it is concluded one is missing, which is false.

Blank ossuaries are a dime a dozen. You can buy one in the market in Jerusalem for a very reasonable price. There never was a mystery about the 10th ossuary. One was concocted for this show. It is also the case that the makers of this film were told clearly that the tenth ossuary had no inscription and in addition did not match up with the dimensions of the James ossuary.

Also:

The claim is made in the debate follow up show that Oded Golan said that somewhere around 1980 he bought the James ossuary. This is false. Golan has consistently maintained that he bought this ossuary before the Israeli law changed in 1978. In fact he claims to have bought it in the mid-70s and at the trial that continues in Jerusalem a 1970s era picture of him with the inscribed James ossuary was produced. The reason that the date is important is because after 1978 all such important artifacts found in Israel belong to the state of Israel.

Other important objections are also found in both reviews if one cares to read them in their entirety.

Love as distinct from “being in love” is not merely a feeling. It is a deep unity, maintained by the will and deliberately strengthened by habit; reinforced by (in Christian marriages) the grace which both partners ask, and receive, from God. They can have this love for each other even at those moments when they do not like each other; as you love yourself even when you do not like yourself. they can retain this love even when each would easily, if they allowed themselves, be “in love” with someone else. “Being in love” first moved them to promise fedelity: this quieter love enables them to keep the promise. It is on this love that the engine of marriage is run: being in love was the explosion that started it.

- C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity, bk. III, chap. 6, para. 9, p. 99

I came across an article by Michael J. Vlach at TheologicalStudies.org on the 5 most influential theologians in church history. I think most people somewhat familiar with the history of the Church would have correctly guessed at least 3 of the 5, while those quite familiar may have guessed all 5. According to Vlach:

Although differing at times on significant points of doctrine, these five theologians share certain things in common. Each has written a massive number of volumes revealing their views on the major areas of doctrine. Second, each has significantly shaped how people view theology, not only in their era, but in the centuries after they lived. Third, each theologian has made such a significant contribution to theology that no serious discussion of Christian doctrine can safely ignore them or their teachings.

They are:

1. AUGUSTINE (354–430), the most important patristic theologian.

2. THOMAS AQUINAS (1225–1274), the most important midievel theologian.

3. MARTIN LUTHER (1483–1546), considered by many to be the father of the reformation.

4. JOHN CALVIN (1509–64), the main theologian of the reformation.

5. KARL BARTH (1886–1968), who ushered in the era of neo-orthodoxy in response to protestant liberalism.

The brief article has other interesting facts about these individuals. I would agree with Vlach’s assessment regarding their status as the 5 most influential theologians. This does not imply their theology was always correct, but certainly they have had enormous influence on Christian theology today.