Comments on: Breaking Easter News at 11… http://kairosblog.com/blog/2006/04/13/breaking-easter-news-at-11/ Along for the Journey...On God's Time Tue, 20 Mar 2012 03:22:38 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1 By: James Tabor http://kairosblog.com/blog/2006/04/13/breaking-easter-news-at-11/comment-page-1/#comment-28 James Tabor Sat, 22 Apr 2006 10:02:58 +0000 http://kairosblog.wordpress.com/2006/04/13/breaking-easter-news-at-11/#comment-28 I regret that Prof. Mitchell has categorized my work as one more episode in the round of Easter time 2006 sensationalism and that she apparently bases her comments on press releases and edited media clips. My book is a serious attempt to summarize the results of my own research on the historical Jesus after 30 years of work in the field. It is indeed written for the trade market, and is accessible to the non-specialist, but its underpinnings and methods are academic and historical. It is the case that I begin my book with a discussion of a 1st century tomb, and yes, I think even the most dispassionate scholar might be a bit "breathless" to be hiking with students in Jerusalem and to come upon a freshly robbed Jewish tomb from the late 2nd Temple period, unopened for 1900 years, that happened to contain the remains of a burial shroud from the 1st century--the only one of its kind ever found. And yes, I am convinced, as are others who have examined the evidence beyond the press reports and the very flawed IAA study, that the so-called "James ossuary" inscription is authentic--even the Israelis say "James son of Jospeh" was original. If it did indeed come from the "Shroud tomb" then we will be in a better position to understand both it and the tomb from which it came. DNA tests have been done on all the other remains, and a full academic study of the tomb and its contents will be published by the Israel Exploration Society that goes to press later this Fall. But my book is not about that. It is my take on the historical Jesus at the end of a long and fruitful career of wrestling with these issues. It may be true that there is nothing "new" in it, in that I position myself with many that interpret Jesus as a Jewish apocalyptic figure (a la Schweitzer) in the late 2nd Temple period, however, I do think many of my insights offer additional connections and contributions to the discussion. Much of what I say is new to the public and deserves to be dissiminated more widely, especially when not one in a dozen has even "heard" of James the brother of Jesus, who in his day was the most influential leader in the movement. Dr. James D. Tabor Chair, Dept. of Religious Studies UNC Charlotte Charlotte, NC 28223 I regret that Prof. Mitchell has categorized my work as one more episode in the round of Easter time 2006 sensationalism and that she apparently bases her comments on press releases and edited media clips. My book is a serious attempt to summarize the results of my own research on the historical Jesus after 30 years of work in the field. It is indeed written for the trade market, and is accessible to the non-specialist, but its underpinnings and methods are academic and historical. It is the case that I begin my book with a discussion of a 1st century tomb, and yes, I think even the most dispassionate scholar might be a bit “breathless” to be hiking with students in Jerusalem and to come upon a freshly robbed Jewish tomb from the late 2nd Temple period, unopened for 1900 years, that happened to contain the remains of a burial shroud from the 1st century–the only one of its kind ever found. And yes, I am convinced, as are others who have examined the evidence beyond the press reports and the very flawed IAA study, that the so-called “James ossuary” inscription is authentic–even the Israelis say “James son of Jospeh” was original. If it did indeed come from the “Shroud tomb” then we will be in a better position to understand both it and the tomb from which it came. DNA tests have been done on all the other remains, and a full academic study of the tomb and its contents will be published by the Israel Exploration Society that goes to press later this Fall.

But my book is not about that. It is my take on the historical Jesus at the end of a long and fruitful career of wrestling with these issues. It may be true that there is nothing “new” in it, in that I position myself with many that interpret Jesus as a Jewish apocalyptic figure (a la Schweitzer) in the late 2nd Temple period, however, I do think many of my insights offer additional connections and contributions to the discussion. Much of what I say is new to the public and deserves to be dissiminated more widely, especially when not one in a dozen has even “heard” of James the brother of Jesus, who in his day was the most influential leader in the movement.

Dr. James D. Tabor
Chair, Dept. of Religious Studies
UNC Charlotte
Charlotte, NC 28223

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