Freethought & Rationalism Archive

Toto · 10-30-2008, 12:31 PM

Quote:

The high-profile trial of two Israeli antiquities experts accused of faking a burial box containing the remains of Jesus' brother and other priceless artifacts faced a humiliating collapse Wednesday after a Jerusalem judge advised the prosecution to consider dropping the proceedings after more than three years in court.

...

The often explosive testimony has given a rare insight into the shadowy world behind the apparently cultured facade of priceless antiquities. Witnesses have described furtive encounters with Arab grave robbers, international smuggling and transactions involving hundreds of thousands of dollars based on a handshake.

...

"This was fraud of a sophistication and expertise which was previously unknown," said Police Comdt. Shaul Naim, who headed a two-year police investigation. "They took authentic items and added inscriptions to make them worth millions."

But it sounds like Golan's lawyers managed to raise some doubts.

Foregery trial nears collapse

Quote:

Jerusalem judge Aharon Farkash told prosecutors trying Israeli collector Oded Golan: 'Have you really proved beyond a reasonable doubt that these artefacts are fakes as charged in the indictment?

'The experts disagree among themselves.

'Where is the evidence to show that Oded Golan faked them?"

andrewcriddle · 10-30-2008, 02:24 PM

From the judge's reported comments the problem may be that the prosecution has to establish beyond reasonable doubt, for at least one specific artifact, both a/ this specific artifact is a fake and b/ Golan must have been involved in the forgery.

Andrew Criddle

Toto · 11-03-2008, 01:11 PM

The Justice Ministry has been given six months to decide how to proceed in the trial...

Quote:

The ministry has been forced to reevaluate the case after the Jerusalem District Court judge in the case advised the prosecution to reassess its position in the three-year-old trial because it failed to prove that the key suspect, Tel Aviv antiquities collector Oded Golan, had indeed faked the biblical-era artifacts.

The Justice Ministry would not say whether it plans to drop or amend the charge sheet against Golan and another suspect.

Hershel Shanks crows in triumph

Quote:

The government's principal witness was Professor Yuval Goren, a former chair of Tel Aviv University's archaeology department, who testified that the forger had used a fake covering to conceal evidence of his forgery. But other witnesses suggested other ways this covering could have formed.

More importantly, on cross-examination Goren was forced to admit that after the police had removed this covering, he could see original ancient patina in the critical word "Jesus." With that, the case blew up.

. . . . . In short, the committee, which included no non-Israeli, not even Professor Lemaire who had originally published the inscription in Biblical Archaeology Review and vouched for its authenticity, was bum-rushed into a supposedly unanimous decision.

andrewcriddle · 11-04-2008, 10:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Toto

Hershel Shanks crows in triumph

Quote:

The government's principal witness was Professor Yuval Goren, a former chair of Tel Aviv University's archaeology department, who testified that the forger had used a fake covering to conceal evidence of his forgery. But other witnesses suggested other ways this covering could have formed.

More importantly, on cross-examination Goren was forced to admit that after the police had removed this covering, he could see original ancient patina in the critical word "Jesus." With that, the case blew up.

. . . . . In short, the committee, which included no non-Israeli, not even Professor Lemaire who had originally published the inscription in Biblical Archaeology Review and vouched for its authenticity, was bum-rushed into a supposedly unanimous decision.

The James Ossuary report in 2003 has Orna Cohen suggesting something similar

Quote:

Orna Cohen
Ossuary: The first part of the inscription is new, cuts through the original patina and is coated with a granular patina that appears to have been produced from chalk dust mixed with water and spread on the inscription. The end of the inscription “brother of Jesus” appears authentic, in some places there seems to be remains of old patina, but in order to produce a uniform effect, this too was spread with the same granular substance.

ie brother of Jesus may be authentic it is the earlier part of the inscription James the son of Joseph which is particularly problematic.

Andrew Criddle

Steven Carr · 11-04-2008, 10:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by andrewcriddle

The end of the inscription “brother of Jesus” appears authentic, in some places there seems to be remains of old patina, but in order to produce a uniform effect, this too was spread with the same granular substance.
....ie brother of Jesus may be authentic it is the earlier part of the inscription James the son of Joseph which is particularly problematic....

Andrew Criddle

We already now Jesus had a twin brother, from the Gospel of Thomas :-)

Why else would brothers be mentioned on a tomb, unless they had been twins?

mountainman · 11-05-2008, 03:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steven Carr

Quote:

Originally Posted by andrewcriddle

The end of the inscription “brother of Jesus” appears authentic, in some places there seems to be remains of old patina, but in order to produce a uniform effect, this too was spread with the same granular substance.
....ie brother of Jesus may be authentic it is the earlier part of the inscription James the son of Joseph which is particularly problematic....

We already know Jesus had a twin brother, from the Gospel of Thomas :-)

Dear Steven,

Good point, and what is more, this Jesus Twin demonstrated (in India) a very good bedside manner in keeping with the Hippocratic Oath. This is to my perception more obvious satire laid on thick and hard all the way through the entire very lengthy tractate, with the exception of course, of the ancient text grafted into the mouth of the slave Thomas, called "The Hymn of the Pearl", which was buried in the text by the gnostic satirist author for posterity of the Hellenic gnostic knowlege, perhaps related to the ascetic practice of the lineages of ascetic priests down in that "Little India" of Egypt, between 024 and 324 CE.

Best wishes,

Pete

aa5874 · 11-05-2008, 06:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steven Carr

Quote:

Originally Posted by andrewcriddle

The end of the inscription “brother of Jesus” appears authentic, in some places there seems to be remains of old patina, but in order to produce a uniform effect, this too was spread with the same granular substance.
....ie brother of Jesus may be authentic it is the earlier part of the inscription James the son of Joseph which is particularly problematic....

Andrew Criddle

We already now Jesus had a twin brother, from the Gospel of Thomas :-)

Why else would brothers be mentioned on a tomb, unless they had been twins?

And "brother of Jesus" is not a positive indentification of anyone in particular. In Josephus, there were many persons called Jesus.

Why do some believe only one person was called Jesus or had a brother in antiquity? This is most odd.

I guess they only read the NT.

And if this is the case, the inscription should be "Jesus the Son of the God of Jews, born of the virgin Mary, through the Holy Ghost and was transfigured".

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10-30-2008, 02:24 PM	#2
andrewcriddle Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Birmingham UK Posts: 4,876	From the judge's reported comments the problem may be that the prosecution has to establish beyond reasonable doubt, for at least one specific artifact, both a/ this specific artifact is a fake and b/ Golan must have been involved in the forgery. Andrew Criddle

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