“Am I therefore become your enemy for telling you the truth?”
The Apostle Paul Galatians 4:16
James the Brother of Jesus
James' Burial Box Inscription a Fake
Once again, a supposed evidence that "proves the Bible" is itself proven to be a fraud- what else is new? More and more "proofs of Mormonism" and "proofs of Christianity" have something in common: deception. In fact, the word "fraud" and "Christianity" almost seem to go hand-in-hand, but that never slows down the Fundies! The burial box supposedly proved historically both the brother of Jesus (James) as well as Jesus. The inscription on the burial box which read "James, son of Joseph, brother of Jesus" has been proven to be a hoax. According to the Orange County Register (6/19/03 p. news 20) quoting The New York Times,
"Israel's Antiquities Authority said it had found over-whelming evidence that the inscription on the box was a fake produced in modern times. Every single scholar who examined this came to the same conclusion that the inscription was not authentic."
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JULY 2003 UPDATE: The dealer that "discovered" James' box has since been arrested in Jerusalem. In his home were found several more frauds in the process of being manufactured, and the tools to do so. Back to the drawing board, Christians!!!
According to the AP wire story:
Jerusalem-AP -- An Israeli antiquities dealer has been arrested on suspicion of forging artifacts linked to Jesus and the Biblical Jewish Temple.
The man (Oded Golan) was brought to a Jerusalem court, where police showed equipment for making forgeries they said was found in his home, including stencils, stones and partially completed forgeries.
The man was involved in the discovery of two items that shook the religious and archaeological world -- a burial box with the inscription "James, son of Joseph, brother of Jesus," and a tablet inscribed with instructions for caring for Solomon's temple that purported to date from the reign of King Joash.
The Israel Antiquities Authority declared last month that both were forgeries.
