<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />Raiders of the Empty TombDennis A. Wright, D. Min.

 
 
On Sunday evening, March 4, 2007, the Discovery Channel plans to broadcast the latest attack upon the veracity of the Resurrection of Jesus.  James Cameron, the man who brought us The Titanic and The Terminator is back with another documentary, The Lost Tomb of Jesus.  That title leaves little doubt as to his position in this respect.  It is quite obvious that if the bones of Jesus could be shown to exist, then the Resurrection would be a monstrous hoax foisted upon the gullible.
 
Such an attack is nothing new.  Just last year the popular novelist Steve Berry, in The Templar Legacy: A Novel, advocated the same thing, developing the scenario that the true secret of the Knights Templar was that they had recovered the bones of Jesus and that through the centuries they had used this knowledge to maintain their power.  <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />Berry even attributes to Pope Leo X the following statement: "This myth of Jesus has served us well."  The obvious implication---at least according to Berry---is that Leo X had been convinced by the Templars.  But did Leo X really say that?  Check out this answer!  Incidentally, among the many errors Berry makes concerning the Templars is the fact that Jacque DeMolay (1244-1314), the last Grand Master of the Knights Templar, was taken to an island on the Siene and burned at the stake along with Geoffrey de Charney the Preceptor of Normandy, on March 18, 1314, 161 years before Pope Leo X was even born!
 
I recall learning in Church History class during my seminary days that there was a monastery in Spain that during the Middle Ages claimed to have the skull of Jesus when he was eight years of age!  Think about that for a moment!  Furthermore, there were at least seven or eight monasteries that claimed to have the foreskin of Jesus, which had been removed when he was dedicated at the Temple.  One of the supposed "relics" that Martin Luther was shown was the severed skull of John the Baptist.
 
But what about the Raiders of the Empty Tomb?  How does one refute the errors that are likely to be broadcast by Cameron's latest "documentary"?  I suggest that you read Dr. Andreas Köstenberger's "Viewer's Guide to Jesus Tomb Special" here as well as "The Jesus Tomb" here.
 
See also Ben Witherington's excellent response as well as Darrell Bock's reaction to Cameron's newest work.  Charles Quarles' initial impressions can be found here.  And the New York Times has also released a story on the documentary.
 
Especially see Gary Habermas' brilliant Jesus' resurrection and contemporary criticism.
 
More Resources on The Resurrection:
Eight Reasons Why I Believe That Jesus Rose from the Dead - John Piper
Did the disciples steal Jesus' body and fake the resurrection?-CARM
Evidence for the resurrection of Jesus - Josh McDowell 
Is the resurrection of Jesus Christ true? - GotQuestions.org
Why is the resurrection of Jesus Christ important? - GotQuestions.org
 
More about the Tomb of Jesus:
Has the tomb of Jesus been found? - Matt Slick, CARM'Jesus tomb' documentary ignores biblical & scientific evidence, logic, experts say -Michael Foust, Baptist PressThe Jesus Tomb? Titanic Talpiot tomb theory sunk from the start - Ben WitheringtonThe Lost Tomb of Jesus - James White, Pros ApologianThe Lost Tomb of Jesus. Fact or Fiction? - Russ White
Oh brother. Here we go again - or do we? - James White, Pros Apologian