The James Ossuary- originally posted 4/17/2008

Back in 2002, an ossuary (bone box) dating back to the 1st Century A.D. was made public for the first time. The ossuary featured an engraving in Aramaic noting that the remains in it were those of "James Son of Joseph Brother of Jesus." According to both the prestigious Biblical Archaeology Review (Nov/Dec 2002-Vol 28,No 6) and a fascinating video produced by the Discovery Channel titled James Brother of Jesus: Holy Relic or Hoax?, there's a fairly good chance that the Jesus referred to on the ossuary is the Jesus Christ of Nazareth. If it were so, the James Ossuary, as it is commonly referred as, would be the first physical evidence of Jesus's existence. The implications of this would be enormous. So, WHY HAS HARDLY ANYONE HEARD ABOUT THIS DISCOVERY?!

This ossuary would certainly seem to be a newsworthy, shall we say, revelation, far more important in magnitude than any secular issue, such as war, the economy, or even Britney, for if there was conclusive proof of Jesus's existence, history would be rewritten from legend and speculation to fact, and debate would shift from whether Jesus existed to an analysis of the historical accuracy of the Gospels. However, the discovery of the ossuary, after a snippet of publicity (I only found out about it because I ordered BAR to help my stepdaughter with a fund-raiser), faded into obscurity.

As a student of history, and a Christian who has read the Gospels and cherishes the Christmas and Easter narratives (even typing this, my mind harkens back to setting up the Nativity scene under the Christmas tree, or hearing Linus telling Charlie Brown the true meaning of Christmas), this discovery boggles my mind. I do not need a box to believe in Jesus, but the ossuary, if legitimate, would be a far more important historical relic than an original draft of the Constitution or Magna Carta or anything else you can counter with. The fact that the James Ossuary has received so little attention from the media and is unfamiliar to most Christians shows how mislaid our priorities are today, and what little historical or Biblical perspective people have. With regards to people who call themselves Christians, I believe it is symbolic of the minimal influence Jesus's teachings have as a guiding factor in their lives. As Jesus said in Matthew 24:43-44, "But know this, that if the householder had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have watched and would not have let his house be broken into. Therefore, you also must be ready; for the Son of man is coming at an hour you do not expect." Do people who call themselves Christians (myself included) really conduct their lives with that brief, yet poignant, parable in mind? Would people be so nonchalant about the bombing of innocent civilians, indifferent to suffering in places such as Darfur, unmotivated about saving the environment, or would CEO's who claim to be Judeo-Christians still be so ambivalent about laying off workers and holding salaries down to fill up their own coffers, if they truly believed that Christ would be coming one day?

(As of the time of this writing, there is still debate among experts as to the authenticity of the James Ossuary.)