The Bones of Jesus

It is Easter in just a few weeks. Naturally, we will be treated to the unbelieving world's freshest attacks on the Christian faith. They are presented as new and TRUE!

A 1980 discovery of ossuaries (bone boxes) from the time of Jesus. The names on the boxes are among the most common names of that time. Add a touch of Hollywood and you have the discovery of the bones of Jesus in his grave just in time for Easter 2007.

Never mind that the discoveries were so unremarkable that NO ONE has tried to suggest that this is actually Jesus Christ's tomb for over twenty-five years (well, there was that one poorly received documentary in England in the 1990's). This is news because the new, slipshod documentary is due out soon. At least it gave a small pause from the wall-to-wall coverage of the Anna Nichole Smith saga.

The answer is very simple. We walk by faith, not by sight. Our authority is Scripture: the very Word of God. If we were going to allow the vacant musings of those known to be hostile to the Christian faith to confirm or deny our faith. there would be no faith left.

Besides, doesn't it make sense that if Jesus were alive after the crucifixion, and lived long enough to marry and raise a son, that someone would have recorded it somewhere? We know the objections the Jews raised to the resurrection both from secular sources and Scripture - and they substantially agree about what the Jews said! If they had Jesus in Jerusalem for years, the Christian faith would not have survived because the Jewish authorities would have been very vocal about His presence.

Give an event the 'patina' of time and you can pretend anything is possible. The medieval church had relics (Luther said that there were enough pieces of the true cross around to build a chapel). The modern "church" of antichristian unbelief has James Cameron - - this year, at least!