Scientific American further discussion
Scientific American: Special Report: Has James Cameron Found Jesus's Tomb or Is It Just a Statistical Error?
Should You Accept the 600-to-One Odds That the Talpiot Tomb Belonged to Jesus?
I was interested to read this background piece on the underpinnings of the statistical statments in the Jesus' Tomb television show. It had never crossed my mind before I read this article that the fact that the name of the Christian Messiah and his mother were probably the most common and ordinary male and female Jewish names at that time. If asked I probably would have said that they were less common, based on assumptions rooted in our own culture. If someone were to make up the Gospel story, they would have been entirely safe choosing those names. However, I'm also inclined to think that if someone were to make up such a story, they'd be tempted to use a more unique name. By contrast, I am mystified by the part of the story inserting Mary Magdalene into the tomb. My understanding is that her name derives from the town she is supposed to have come from, Magdala. The woman in the ossuary in the show has a name described as Mariemene a Mara. How the two have been interposed hasn't been clearly discussed in anything I've seen.
Should You Accept the 600-to-One Odds That the Talpiot Tomb Belonged to Jesus?
I was interested to read this background piece on the underpinnings of the statistical statments in the Jesus' Tomb television show. It had never crossed my mind before I read this article that the fact that the name of the Christian Messiah and his mother were probably the most common and ordinary male and female Jewish names at that time. If asked I probably would have said that they were less common, based on assumptions rooted in our own culture. If someone were to make up the Gospel story, they would have been entirely safe choosing those names. However, I'm also inclined to think that if someone were to make up such a story, they'd be tempted to use a more unique name. By contrast, I am mystified by the part of the story inserting Mary Magdalene into the tomb. My understanding is that her name derives from the town she is supposed to have come from, Magdala. The woman in the ossuary in the show has a name described as Mariemene a Mara. How the two have been interposed hasn't been clearly discussed in anything I've seen.
Comments