Wednesday 19 August 2009

PTLLS (Day 6)

Oh I am so tired! So not too much to say today. Day 6 of my PTLLS course and we had lots more micro-teaches today, mine is tomorrow and I am making sure I have got everything completed and ready for tomorrow. I have written my session (lesson) plan, got my handouts ready, made some sample button holes and gathered all the resources together that I need to take with me and there are a lot. So it's a big fingers crossed that all goes well.

Book Review - The Jesus Family Tomb Controversy: How the Evidence Falls Short by Dillon Burroughs



About 2 1/2 years ago I read the original book 'The Jesus Family Tomb' and found it interesting if not convincing but thought it may be interesting to read a critique of the work involved in that book so I found this one, which you can read online at the above link. Anyway for me this book was pushing on a door already open but this book takes you through the main arguments in the original book and examines how valid the evidence really is and offers alternative arguments where appropriate.

Are the names so significant (Mary, Joseph, even Jesus were all very common names 2000 years ago in The Holy Land, so the collection of these names found together really is not as significant as the original books makes out, roughly 1 in 4 women at that time was called Mary or some derivative of it); DNA evidence (the bones in the Jesus ossuary and the bones in the Mariamene ossuary have no DNA link fact - but you cannot then assume that those two people were married, nor that they were the Biblical Jesus and Mary Magdelene. The James Ossuary - is that really the missing Talpiot Tomb ossuary, well no as that missing one is well documented and described and it in no way matches the one known as The James Ossuary.

I found most of the arguments pretty convincing, but perhaps the basic fact that this tomb, collection of named ossuaries had been known about since 1980 and had not raised a flicker of interest especially amongst the relevant experts in biblical history, theology, and biblical archeology until the film director James Cameron became involved says an awful lot too. The BBC made a TV programme about this matter too several years ago and again that didn't raise much interest. Yes it is an interesting story and worthy of telling but it has to be even handed and I feel that reading both books has given me some of that balance.

Saying that, this is a readable book but not a riveting read, in the way the original book was a super and riveting read. But I have to agree with Dillon Burroughs in there are so many faults with the premises in the first book, what would be good would be to read a totally unbiased scientifically sound analysis of the whole issue. But if you are interested both books are worth a read.
Next for me is a Jackie Collins, I feel the need for some light relief.

Ciao

Sue

XX

Reading challenge 8/16 - currently reading Lovers and Players by Jackie Collins
Jamie's Reading challenge 4/12 - currently reading Rotten Roman by Terry Deary
SLYMI - 1/52

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