Recap

The Lost Tomb

Four guests reacted to the claim that Jesus' tomb may have been found. During the first 90 minutes, ancient language scholar Mike Heiser and theological researcher Darrell Bock shared their thoughts. The finding of ossuary boxes from a 1st century tomb is actually "old news," dating back to a 1980 discovery, Heiser pointed out. Bock concurred, calling it old evidence being given a fresh spin. The theory that the boxes once contained the bones of Jesus, Mary and Joseph is "a lot of hype," he said, and though their names were inscribed on the boxes, those names were very common in the population of that era. If it was truly Jesus' family tomb wouldn't it be found in Galilee, he asked. Heiser noted that even the archeologist who made the original discovery was skeptical of the current claims.

In the second 90 minutes, Glenn Kimball, an expert on ancient manuscripts, and investigative mythologist William Henry appeared. Such tomb claims are prolific, Kimball declared, citing Japan, Kashmir, Africa, and Western Europe as other places where Jesus has been said to be buried. Henry mentioned FDR's interest in finding Christ's casket in China (view related images). He commended James Cameron and his crew for putting together an interesting investigation, but he believes the real issue worth exploring is the resurrection, the bodily transformation/ascension that is within us all. Kimball noted the story of resurrection dates back much earlier than Jesus, and was, for example, described in the ancient Sumerian records.

The last hour of the show was devoted to Open Lines

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Jesus' Lost Tomb?

Director James Cameron displayed artifacts on Monday which he said may have held the bones of Jesus, Mary Magdalene and possibly their son. The stone caskets (one is pictured) came from a 1980 tomb discovery in Jerusalem. A new Discovery Channel documentary (airing on March 4th), The Lost Tomb of Jesus, which Cameron produced, will explore the findings. For more, view a slide show, video report, and interview.