Christ's Burial Place Exposed for First Time in Centuries

[Eugene]

Source: National Geographic

Exclusive: Christ's Burial Place Exposed for First Time in Centuries

Restorers working in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre
in Israel uncover stone slab venerated as the resting place
of Jesus Christ.

By Kristin Romey
PUBLISHED OCTOBER 26, 2016

JERUSALEM - For the first time in centuries, scientists have exposed the original surface of what is traditionally considered the tomb of Jesus Christ. Located in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in the Old City of Jerusalem, the tomb has been covered by marble cladding since at least 1555 A.D., and most likely centuries earlier.

"The marble covering of the tomb has been pulled back, and we were surprised by the amount of fill material beneath it,” said Fredrik Hiebert, archaeologist-in-residence at the National Geographic Society, a partner in the restoration project. “It will be a long scientific analysis, but we will finally be able to see the original rock surface on which, according to tradition, the body of Christ was laid."

According to Christian tradition, the body of Jesus Christ was laid on a shelf or “burial bed” hewn from the side of a limestone cave following his crucifixion by the Romans in A.D. 30 or possibly 33. Christian belief says Christ was resurrected after death, and women who came to anoint his body three days after the burial reported that no remains were present.

This burial shelf is now enclosed by a small structure known as the Edicule (from the Latin aedicule, or "little house&quot , which was last reconstructed in 1808-1810 after being destroyed in a fire. The Edicule and the interior tomb are currently undergoing restoration by a team of scientists from the National Technical University of Athens, under the direction of Chief Scientific Supervisor Professor Antonia Moropoulou.

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Read more: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/10/jesus-tomb-opened-church-holy-sepulchre/


[font size=1]The shrine that houses the traditional burial place of Jesus Christ is undergoing restoration inside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem.
PHOTOGRAPH BY ODED BALILTY, AP FOR NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC[/font]

[trotsky]

1. Wow, so Christianity is right and all other religions are wrong? n/t

[leftyladyfrommo]

2. Oh, stop. They aren't saying that at all.

These are archaeologists working a site. It will be interesting to find out what they find there.

My degree is in Anthropology and I have to say that most archaeologists aren't religious at all.

[trotsky]

8. The claim has been made that this is the burial place of Christ.

If true, then Christianity is correct, and other religions that don't acknowledge the crucifixion are wrong, aren't they?

[rug]

9. No.

[Brettongarcia]

12. The "ascention" of Jesus to heaven would be wrong

If the body of Jesus is found on earth.

[trotsky]

13. Damn good point. n/t

[Iggo]

42. Oh, that's funny!

[Soxfan58]

3. Thats right!

Just ask one.

[pipoman]

39. Or a Buddhist, or a Muslim, or a Hindu, or a Confucianist, or aTaoist, or an atheist

They all swear their religion is the one true religion on no evidence....

[Goblinmonger]

4. So we just skip past the proving there really was a historical Jesus?

[DetlefK]

5. What kind of proof are you thinking about?

Let's see... There is this whacky jewish cult-leader... his cult is about 20 people strong... and he gets crucified for disturbing the peace...

Who would actually bother with preserving evidence for that? Apart from these 20 people, he was a nobody. Just another criminal.

[cleanhippie]

16. Allegedly there is this Jewish cult leader....

Fixed it for you.

[DetlefK]

19. Well, what kind of evidence would be good enough for you?

It's funny. The atheists always ask the theists: "What more evidence do you need?"

Well, what possible evidence about a random nobody who lived 2000 years ago might still be available today?

[Act_of_Reparation]

44. Jesus Christ was a "random nobody"?

[DetlefK]

45. Jesus Christ was a random nobody in 30 AD.

Do you think the Israelis kept files on their citizens?
Do you think Romans kept files about the troublemakers they crucified?

What reason could there possibly be for anybody in 30 AD to use precious papyrus to write something down about Jesus Christ? Especially if he was a mortal, real-life person, as opposed to a godly being.

[Act_of_Reparation]

46. Do you think Romans kept files about the troublemakers they crucified?

Yes.

Next question.

[DetlefK]

47. For example?

[Act_of_Reparation]

48. One might pick up any of the Roman histories...

...and find no shortage troublemakers, explicitly named, and varying accounts of their fates. Are the records "official"? No. But let's not pretend the Romans didn't write important shit down.

If the real Jesus was crucified because the Romans were concerned he could create a Maccabean-type uprising in Judea, you'd think that's something Josephus would want to talk about. And yet he didn't.

[Gore1FL]

50. How about one of the historians in Jerusalem documenting Matthew 27:51-53?

Dead people roaming the streets seems worthy of writing down.

[DetlefK]

52. We are talking historical Jesus, not magical Jesus.

[trotsky]

53. For most Christians, those are the same thing. n/t

[leftyladyfrommo]

6. I don't know of any experts on the early church that believe he didn't exist.

There is just too much evidence in the early documents of historians and the writings of the early church leaders that he existed. The question they disagree on is just what he was. I think most agree that he was a rabbi and a sayings teacher. There was a long tradition of such teachers in the area at the time.

[Goblinmonger]

7. "too much evidence"

Like what. And don't even try the Josephus forgeries.

[leftyladyfrommo]

14. You need to read the works of the

Religious scholars that are experts on the first 3 centuries of the early church. These are people who speak many languages and who have spent their entire lives studying the early writings and documents of those first centuries. They are scholars not religious. Bart D. Ehrman, Elaine PagelS, Marvin Meyer. There are many.

There are many Gospels that were not included in the Canon we have now. There are letters. There are documents written by historians. There is a bunch of stuff out there.

James, Christ'S brother, was head of the church in Jerusalem. He was well known and respected. He is mentioned by historians.

It really interesting

[cleanhippie]

17. Can you point me to even a single extra-biblical historical document

That would show that the Jesus of the Bible actually existed?

[leftyladyfrommo]

20. There is a massive amount of literature from the first 3 centuries.

If you are really interested read this book:

Lost Scriptures: Books that did not make it into the New Testament

By Bart D. Ehrman. The Oxford University Press

There is just book after book after book that goes on and on about Jesus, his followers, his teachings. I think the most interesting of them is the Gospel of Thomas which a lot of Biblical Scholars feel is probably the closest thing we have to the original teachings of Christ. It is a sayings list and does not include any history.

And this is just the tip of the iceberg. There is the whole Nag Hammadi Library.

I got interested in studying this material because I wanted to know what the early early church was like before the centuries and layers and layers of additional input by hundreds of people got added. I had no idea where to start so I started with the Dead Sea Scrolls which are not Christian but detail the lives and beliefs of the group at Qumran. They were Jewish and pretty fanatical but they were extremely influential at the time. And that lead me to the Nag Hammadi Library. And to all the lost books of the Bible.

[TheDebbieDee]

10. Things must be really dire in the publishing

industry if the National Geographic is printing fantasy on consignment...

[trotsky]

11. Recall that Rupert Murdoch purchased them a while back.

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/nov/14/how-fox-ate-national-geographic

[TheDebbieDee]

15. Well, that explains things!

[Buckeye_Democrat]

18. OMG! I didn't know! No wonder I haven't seen anything that I like on NatGeo TV...

... for awhile!

The science programs have diminished, and a recent episode of National Geographic Explorer had Bill O'Reilly and Glenn Beck speaking as historical experts!!

[PJMcK]

28. This is a fascinating article

Thanks for the link, Eugene.

This thread has been interesting, too. There are very strong opinions expressed vehemently. On DU, that's quite rare these days. (wink)

Seriously, this is an archeological site with historical importance. The scientists and technicians are not approaching this important work with an agenda. Rather, like all good scientists, they will observe and report their findings. The tomb is ancient and therefore should be preserved and studied. That's how they'll determine what is there and what was there.

[Kittycow]

51. Thank you; very well said.

[3catwoman3]

35. Looks like a missile launching site...

...at first glance.

[edhopper]

36. Wasn't this another one of

Helena's "discoveries".

Where is the pieces of the true cross?

[Angry Dragon]

49. Calling Dan Brown