Mythra

What's interesting to note is how rapidly the opposition is responding.

They say that this cannot be Jesus of Nazareth. And the proof: their Jesus rose bodily up to heaven in the ascension. Case closed.

This whole thing is an interesting story. But proof or disproof will never be anything more than speculation.

But - IF it could be proved somehow that this was indeed the final resting place of Jesus of Nazareth, it's a no-brainer what would happen to the christ-mythicists (myself included).

We'd have to change our minds. Just like the biblical literalists.

Somehow, I would think the about-face would be less traumatic for us, though.

Malachi151

If they recover the bones, do more DNA tests to determine if the Jesus is the son of the Mary, and if the bones show that the person was crucified, then that would be pretty much a lock.

However, if this is "the Jesus", he may still not even have been crucified, but if these bones show crucifixion, then that would surely close the book on this case IMO.

If it were a crucified son of Mary and Joseph, husband of Mary Magdalene, who died in the early 1st century at middle age (all stuff we could figure out with the bones) then that would pretty much seal the deal.

Obviously, however, it could still be "the Jesus" without him having been crucified at all, but in that case it would probably never be settled for sure.

We need to put on pressure the recover the bones and continue to examination.

Rick Sumner

I'm highly skeptical of the idea that they suggested that no one ever put credence into position 3. Even the great Rudolf Bultmann had his moments:

". . .we can now know almost nothing concerning the life and personality of Jesus, the early Christian sources show no interest in either, are moreover fragmentary and often legendary; and other sources about Jesus do not exist."

To speak nothing of more contemporary scholars like Burton Mack and William Arnal who hold, well, more or less exactly position 3.

Regards,
Rick Sumner

No Robots

These are to be contrasted with Birger Gerhardsson.