David B

It's the ads.

the prog is called 'digging for jesus', and is a about archaeology and the bible stories.

So far, it's cming up with something which, if true, I didn't know.

That the Bethlehem where peple go to celebrate the birthplace of Christ in Judea was, according to most archaeologists, uninhabited at the time of christ, but, further, there was another Bethlehem in Galilee, where, sitting under a modern highway, was a very large and early church.

It had lines like - to paraphrase - No doubt the people are having a deep emotional expeience form being in the alleged birthplace of the Lord, but is their faith - literally - misplaced.

Back to prog.


I'd guess there are people on this forum who are familiar with these ideas, but I wasn't, and if I wasn't, then, realistically and without blowing my own trumpet too much, most people aren't.


Perhaps more later.

David B

David B

It's going downhill.

They talk about a rather interesting find that was hard to conserve - a 1st century boat. Which show there were people with boats on the Sea of Galilee at the time of Christ.

And then they've found a fisherman's cottage in the place where tradition says the fishermen came from. Except it's a long way from the Sea of Galilee now, which they convincingly put down to techtonic movement, on the grounds of finding fisherman's artifacts, but otherwise says nothing.

Back to prog - second lots of ads over.

David B

David B

Now they are talking about Caiaphas.

Apparently there is an ossuary of Caiaphas, and also remains of an opulent house where a high priest might have lived in the right sort of place.

which I suppose adds a bit of verisimilude to the natural, as opposed to supernatural claims, of the biblical accounts.

David B - now to Pilate

David B

Now they've presented evidence that people were crucified in Roman Palestine, and found a tomb which is consistent with biblical accounts of cntemporary tombs.

There really isn't a lot of evidence there for any sort of historical Christ presented, though there is evidence, I think, that the biblical accounts show genuine, natural, accounts of what life was like in 1st century Palestine.

There was a Jewish Archaeologist who had a snippet, saying that the biblical accounts are contemporary(ish) accounts of what lots of large pieces of pottery were used for. Water storage!! Or perhaps wine when there was a wedding. They showed pictures of those pots.

Duh!!! Of course they were water containers!!!! What else!!!!!!!

David B

David B

David B

The ending was quite good, though.

Showing people getting a big emotioonal fix out of kissing a 19th century artifact.

OTOH, he's gone further now

Said lots of things are consistent with biblical account, and archaeology does more to confirm than contradict the biblical accounts of Jesus.

Which I guess it does, as far as the natural biblical claims are concerned.

But says fuck all about the supernatural claims.

David B (is now pissed in both the Brit and US snses of the word)

Roland

I don't expect to ever see a truly critical documentary on Biblical archaeology; the makers will always hedge their bets because they know there may be too great a commercial price to pay for coming out and saying there is little real evidence to back up the Bible. They will always throw a few hopeful bones to the millions of people watching who have staked their lives on this book being accurate and true.

David B

That is very much the impression I got with this prog.

David B

fromdownunder

Isn't this simply another version of confirmation bias?

Norm

David B

There were certainly similarities. That there was a historical Jesus seemed to be a given. I tend to think that there was a historical Jesus myself, though - inductively, since loads of myths seem to have some sort of basis in fact.

But the presenter of the prog didn't seem to be a Christian.

So, no, not really.

David B

gstafleu

Tectonic movement over 2000 years? Say mayby a couple of meters tops? Not to mention that it is whole plates that are moving, so unless the Sea of Gallilee is a rift fault (could be, I suppose) the whole thing moves as one anyway? Yup, downhill seems to be the direction.