A Husband and a Father..Maybe

"The Da Vinci Code" surfaced rumors that Jesus Christ was married to Mary Magdalene and possibly had children, an issue that caused much controversy. Now, a documentary by directors James Cameron and Simcha Jacobovici may add further proof to the claims. They are stating that their research has led them to suggest that Jesus was not only married to Mary Magdalene but also had a son named Judah and a 2,000-year-old Jerusalem tomb held his and his family's remains.

A tomb dubbed the Talpiot Tomb was located in Talpiot, Jerusalem, March 28, 1980 by a construction crew developing an apartment complex. Scholar L.Y. Rahmani described 10 ossuaries, or limestone bone boxes five of which is said to be inscribed with names believed to be associated with key figures in the New Testament: Jesus, Mary, Matthew, Joseph and Mary Magdalene. A sixth inscription translates to "Judah, Son of Jesus". n addition to the "Judah son of Jesus" inscription, which is written in Aramaic on one of the ossuaries, another limestone burial box is labeled in Aramaic with "Jesus Son of Joseph." Another bears the Hebrew inscription "Maria," a Latin version of "Miriam," or, in English, "Mary."

A scientist at the Paleo-DNA Laboratory at Lakehead University in Ontario, Canada, Carney Matheson analyzed the human remains by doing a Mitochondrial DNA examination and has determined that the individual in the Jesus ossuary and the person in the ossuary linked to Mary Magdalene were not related. Since tombs normally contain either blood relations or spouses, Jacobovici and his team suggest Jesus and Mary Magdalene could have been a couple. "Judah," whom they indicate may have been their son, could have been the "lad" described in the Gospel of John as sleeping in Jesus' lap at the Last Supper. Is it possible that Jesus was really married and had a son?

An Israeli archaeologist and professor disagrees. Amos Kloner documented 10 years ago the tomb was a burial tomb for a well-off Jewish family. He stated that he was adamant that there is no evidence to support claims that it was the burial site of Jesus and that the names were nothing but a mere coincidence. "I'm a scholar. I do scholarly work which has nothing to do with documentary film-making. There's no way to take a religious story and to turn it into something scientific," he told AFP in a telephone interview. "I still insist that it is a regular burial chamber from the 1st century BC."

The academic at Israel's Bar Ilan University supports Kloner on the theory of the names, stating that "Maria" and "Judah" were very popular and common names in the 1st century BC.

Until answers are found about the tomb, the debate will continue. "The Lost Tomb of Jesus" premiered March 4th on the Discovery Channel. I'm not sure when or if it will run again.


Source: Yahoo News/AFP

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