Here we go again!
"The Lost Tomb of Jesus" a made-for-television flight of fancy
by David Krueger

Around the world, news headlines blared, "The Tomb of Jesus Found!" Startling news to say the least. Could it be true? And if so, what would be the ramification for the world’s largest faith family? Some newsmen were purporting the death of Christianity as we know it. "If the discovery proves true," writes Ariella Ringel-Hoffman "it could shake up the Christian world as one of the most significant archeological finds in history." Aside from the sensationalism of such stories, newsmen like Ringel-Hoffman are correct. In 1 Corinthians 15:14-15 the apostle Paul says, “And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. 15 We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ.”

The bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ is the central pillar of proof put forward by the New Testament authors to substantiate Jesus’ claims to deity and the forgiveness of sins offered to humanity through Jesus shed blood on the cross. The Apostle Paul argues that If Jesus didn’t bodily rise from the dead then Christianity is a FALSE religion and should not be followed or observed.
The important question that needs to be answered is “Did Cameron and Simcha indeed find Jesus’ remains, or is their case as ‘unsinkable’ as the Titanic?” (Cameron, if you remember, is the producer of the Hollywood block-buster movie, 'Titanic').

The documentary titled "The Lost Tomb of Jesus," aired the evening of March 4th on the Discovery Channel. The show sought to present archaeological, statistical and genetic science evidence that demonstrate a tomb unearthed in 1980 contains the remains of Jesus and his family -- including his wife, Mary Magdalene, and their son Judah.

The story begins in 1980 just south of Jerusalem, with the discovery of a 2,000 year old burial cave containing ten coffins (ossuaries). Six of the ten coffins were carved with inscriptions reading the names: Jesua son of Joseph, Mary, Mary, Matthew, Jofa (Joseph, identified as Jesus’ brother in the documentary), Judah son of Jesua (Jesus’ son according to the film makers).

The findings in the cave, including the decipherment of the inscriptions, were first revealed about ten years ago by Israeli archeologist Professor Amos Kloner. Since their discovery, the caskets were kept in the Israeli Antiquities Authority (IAA) archive in Beit Shemesh. Although the cave was discovered twenty-six years ago and the casket inscriptions decoded ten years ago, the filmmakers claim to be the first to contend that the cave is actually the burial site of Jesus and his family.Executive producer James Cameron and director Simcha Jacobovici tell viewers that the DNA evidence from the tomb makes a compelling case that the ossuaries contained the remains of Jesus and his family.
Cameron and Jacobovici also used statistical analysis to prove their case. They say the statistical improbability of having Jesus, Mary Magdalene and Judah, “Jesus’ son,” in the same tomb, give significant credibility to the documentary’s thesis. Jacobovici said the documentary aims “to report the news and not to engage in theology” and argues that DNA technology not available in 1980 has helped to identify the tomb’s occupants.

Why concern ourselves with what have become traditional holy-season attacks of one kind or another on the Christian faith? Why not just ignore “The Lost Tomb of Jesus” as the bunkum it is? Because the Apostle Jude reminds us "Beloved, while I was making every effort to write you about our common salvation, I felt the necessity to write to you appealing that you contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints." (Jude 3, NASB95). As Christians, we must passionately defend the truth of the Christian faith.

While it is impossible to go into great length to show the fallacies of the show's claims let me offer a few rebuttals.

• Regarding a Jesus family tomb found in Jerusalem. If Jesus had indeed been wealthy enough to afford a rock-cut tomb, it most likely would have been in Nazareth, not Jerusalem. Nazareth is where the family was from. It seems unlikely that Jesus’ family would have had the wealth necessary to afford such an extravagance. The Scriptures indicate that Jesus had no residence he could truly call home (Matt. 8:20). When he died, he was placed in a borrowed tomb, not a family tomb (Matt 27:57-60).
• Regarding the "Christian tradition" that Mary, the mother of Jesus, was buried in Jerusalem. First, the biblical accounts provide no information whatsoever about the end of Mary's life or the place of her burial. All we have is church tradition. Cameron and Jacobovici assertion that this is the Jesus family tomb depends partly upon the tradition that Mary was buried in Jerusalem. This tradition is an early tradition (2nd or 3rd century), and firmly believed by many. What Cameron and Jacobovici fail to tell viewers is that there is another, equally strong tradition, that Mary died in Ephesus and is buried there. This tradition comes from the 4th and 5th century). This second tradition is based on the assumption that Mary spent the last years of her earthly pilgrimage in the company of the Apostle John -- to whom she was entrusted by Jesus at his crucifixion (John 19:26-27) – and that she spent that time in Ephesus where John pastored. Neither tradition can be historically verified.
• Regarding the names found in the tomb. All the names found inscribed on the tomb's ossuaries were common in 1st-century Palestine. Yeshua, Joseph, Maria, Mariamene, Matia, Judah, and Jose – are extremely frequent Jewish names for that time and place, and thus most scholars consider this merely coincidental. Over the years at least three ossuaries have turned up in and around Jerusalem with the inscription "Jesus, son of Joseph." In the first half of the first century, one in four women were named "Mary." Dr. Charles L. Quarles, Chair of Christian Studies, Louisiana University estimates that in 1st-centuary Palestine approximately 1 out of every 442 families had a Jesus, son of Joseph combination. When you consider that one-quarter of the women in that day were named Mary, it would not be unusual to find a tomb with those combination of names.
• Regarding the ossuary containing the supposed remains of Mary Magdalene. The ossuary in question contains the names Mariamene and Mara (short for Martha). Cameron and Jacobovici, in a convoluted logic, deduce that these duel names must refer to Mary Magdalene. They assert that Mariamene refers is a proper name and interpret the other name appearing on the ossuary – Mara – as meaning “master.” Thus the two names taken together, they believe, refers to “Mary the master” and must obviously mean Mary from Magdala or Mary Magdalene. That this combination of names must refer to the Mary Magdalene of the New Testament is a dubious association to say the least. Mary Magdalene is never referred to in the bible as Mariamene.
• Regarding the DNA testing. Cameron and Jacobovici did not have the actual bones from the ossuaries. By Israeli law, the bones were removed and reburied by Orthodox Jews. What were found in the ossuaries were very small bone fragments. Even the Canadian laboratory that performed the tests admitted that the DNA was very difficult (their word) to extract and very fragmented (their words). What did the DNA testing prove? That bone fragments in the supposed ossuary of Mary Magdalene, and the bone fragments in the suppose ossuary of Jesus were not maternally related. From this bit of non-evidence, Cameron and Jacobovici conclude that the occupants of these two ossuaries must have been married! The program does not report on other possible relationships that DNA cannot establish such as, father and daughter, paternal cousins, half brother and sister (sharing the same father) or simply unrelated individuals. The DNA tests prove nothing.

Taken at face value Simcha and Cameron seem to have built a rock solid case against Christianity. However, if you spend even a little time critically analyzing their claims -- as I've tried to do -- then you realize that Cameron and Simcha have done nothing more than – in the words of Albert Mohler, president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary -- build a Da Vinci Code like house of cards that crumbles as soon as you blow on it.

When you consider their “facts” you’re left with only one conclusion: There is more truth in Dan Brown’s fiction than in James Cameron and Simcha Jacobovichi’s fact.

Authority in the Believer's Life
by David Krueger

Perhaps you've heard the story of the ship's captain who was sailing late at night and he saw a distant light on a collision course with his ship. He told the signal officer to send the message, "Alter your course ten degrees south." The message came back, "Alter your course ten degrees north." The captain became angry with the impertinence and signaled back, "Alter your course ten degrees south; I'm a commander." The response was, "Alter your course ten degrees north; I'm a seaman third-class." By then the captain was furious, and signaled back, "Alter your course; I'm a battleship." The response was, "Alter your course; I'm a lighthouse."

God's authority is like that lighthouse it doesn't move. No matter how much authority we have in life, God's authority trumps our authority. Either we alter our course, getting our lives in line with God's authority, or we crash onto the rocks of life. This means that no government, no family member, no nation, no court, and no church can trump God's authority.

Now please understand we all have to live under proper authority in our lives. Children need to respect their parents. Citizens need to respect the law of their land. Athletes need to respect referees. Employees need to respect bosses, and so forth. Authority is an important part of our lives, and without it total anarchy would break out in our communities. But our ultimate allegiance is always to God first.

Sometimes we're faced with circumstances where a person in authority over us demands that we do something that goes against God's authority in our lives. Not too long ago, my brother-in-law was asked to use some "creative accounting" with the books he had oversight of. As a Christian man, he made the decision that it was something he could not and would not do, and he quit that position. He still has a job with the same company, but he is making significantly less money then he was making previously. God's authority in his life was more precious to him than man's authority. His decision to remain faithful to Godly principles of honesty was not a difficult decision for him, but it was a costly -- in worldly terms -- for him.

Have your placed yourself under God's authority in your life?

Remembering a life of courage and sacrifice
by David Krueger

One of the realities of our day is a growing absence of “denominational loyalty” among church goers. There was a time in American life when, if your grandparents were Presbyterian, it was understood that you would also be Presbyterian and so too your children. Generations of families often grew up in the same church. Times have changed. For a whole host of reasons I’ll not go into here, many Americans no longer feel obligated to remain in the same faith group as did their parents or grandparents. One of the results of this influx of other faith traditions into our churches is that many congregants in Southern Baptist churches have no knowledge of our history or traditions. Consequently, when I refer to Lottie Moon, and our annual Christmas Offering for International Missions, a growing number of worshipers have no idea who I’m referring to. It’s actually a wonderful opportunity to re-tell the story of a remarkable woman.

No one would think twice in today’s culture of Lottie Moon doing what she did. But in mid-nineteenth century America , her decision and her accomplishments were truly extraordinary.

Lottie was born on December 12, 1840. She was educated at Virginia Female Seminary (later known as Hollins) and at Albermarle Female Institute, Charlottesville . Lottie rebelled against Christianity until she was in college. She was converted in the spring of 1859 in a meeting by John Albert Broadus, then pastor at Charlottesville . She taught at Danville , Ky. , and Cartersville , Ga.

She volunteered for missionary service in Feb., 1873, in response to a sermon on the text, "Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest," and she was appointed to China, July 7, 1873, by the Foreign Mission Board, Southern Baptist Convention. Lottie served 39 years as a missionary, mostly in China ’s Shantung province. She taught in a girls’ school and often made trips into China ’s interior to share the good news with women and girls. She was passionate about sharing Christ with the Chinese. In one letter home she wrote: “How many million more souls are to pass into eternity without having heard the name of Jesus?” That question compelled her to flee the safety of the Baptist missionary compound in order to live among those “heathen” to whom she felt called. In middle age, it gave her the strength to place her 4-foot-3-inch body in the path of an anti-Christian mob intent on harming believers and saying, “You will have to kill me first.” As an older woman, it compelled her to give away her food so others might live and have one more opportunity to find Jesus.

Lottie frequently wrote letters to the United States , detailing Chinese culture, missionary life and the great physical and spiritual needs of the Chinese people. Additionally, she challenged Southern Baptists to go to China or give so that others could go. By 1888, Southern Baptist women had organized and helped collect $3,315 to send workers needed in China . That first Christmas offering provided three additional missionaries. Lottie spent 14 years in China before taking her first regular furlough.

Toward the end of her days, she suffered with her Chinese people in the terrible famine. She gave away all she had. In the time of deepest trials she wrote, "I hope no missionary will be as lonely as I have been." Literally starving, she grew steadily weaker. Just before Christmas, 1912, Cynthia Miller, Lottie’s faithful nurse, started back to America with Lottie Moon. Death came to the frail missionary on Christmas Eve while her ship was at harbor in Kobe , Japan . The present Christmas offering for foreign missions, sponsored by the W.M.U., is named for Lottie Moon.

But her legacy lives on. And today, when gifts aren’t growing as quickly as the number of workers God is calling to the field, her call for sacrificial giving rings with more urgency than ever. Let me leave you with the following quote from Lottie herself:

“Why should we not … instead of the paltry offerings we make, do something that will prove that we are really in earnest in claiming to be followers of him who, though he was rich, for our sake became poor?”

— Lottie Moon
Tungchow , China
Sept. 15, 1887

A silent Protest
by David Krueger

On Wednesday (November 1) of the MBC annual meeting at Cape Girardeau, Missouri, Senator Jim Talent spoke to messengers. When Senator Talent walked to the podium, I silently slipped out of my seat and went to the vendor display area. It was my way of protesting the Senator's presence at the annual meeting.

The Senator spoke for about four minutes and then quickly left. When he left, I came back into the meeting. News accounts report that the Senator thanked the convention for its stand against Amendment 2, and for supporting the ‘Marriage Amendment’ that appeared on the 2004 state ballot. He also called on the messengers to resist "activist" judges who are openly trying to change the Constitution through the courts. The Senator received several standing ovations and numerous "Amen's" from messengers.

At the time of his address to the convention, Senator Talent was in an extremely close race with Clair McCaskill.

What was I protesting? It was not Senator Talent per-say. I had every intention of voting him, and on November 7th proudly cast my ballot for the Senator. What I was protesting was the increasing tendency of our convention to be ‘Republican friendly.’ I simply can not recall the last time a Democrat was invited to address the messengers at an MBC annual meeting -- and I've been attending the MBC annual meeting for nearly thirty years. There are approximately 600,000 Southern Baptists in Missouri. My guess is a significant number of them are Democrats. My protest – as silent and unobtrusive as it was – was on their behalf. If I were a dyed-in-the-wool Missouri Democrat, I would feel increasingly disenfranchised by my own state convention. It’s hard to believe that the invitation by convention leadership to Senator Talent to appear ever-so-briefly before the messengers was not intended to be a wink-and-a-nod toward his candidacy. Considering the closeness of the annual meeting to the election, it would have been appropriate to also invite Clair McCaskill to address the messengers as well.

Annual meetings must not become Republican Rallies – even if for only four minutes. The mere appearance of supporting one candidate over another ought to be avoided, if the convention is to maintain its prophetic voice at the state capitol.

While I believe that resurgent Evangelical interest in politics is to be welcomed and commended, I also fear that our involvement may eventually become as politically misguided as was the activism of liberal Christianity in the early 20th century. As I stated in my last article, "The price a nation pays when Godly people don’t vote," Christians need to exercise their civil stewardship by being involved in the political process. When Christian men and women do not vote, they allow history to be shaped by silence. The result is that wickedness flourishes. But conventions, like churches, ought to avoid the appearance of partisanship. History also demonstrates that the marriage of Christianity to partisan politics almost always produces discord and disillusionment among believers and frequently dishonors the name of God. Christ commanded His followers to be ‘salt and light’ in this world. In other words, Christians are to have a positive affect upon the culture in which they reside. I believe this command gives us a mandate for using every moral and ethical means available – including the political process – for influencing the culture for good. However, we should never be so naive as to think that the ballot box alone is the answer to the real problem – sin that is deeply rooted in the lives of citizens. The real answer, as all Baptists should know, is a life changed by the gospel of Jesus Christ.

The Price a nation pays when Godly people don't vote
By David Krueger

"When it goes well with the righteous, the city rejoices, and when the wicked perish there are shouts of gladness. By the blessing of the upright a city is exalted, but by the mouth of the wicked it is overthrown." (Proverbs 11:10-11, ESV)

In his commentary on this passage, John Phillips in Exploring Proverbs writes:

In this passage, Solomon lays down two fundamental principles for strengthening a society. First: Extol the righteous and you extol society: When it goes well with the righteous, the city rejoices, and when the wicked perish there are shouts of gladness. Second, Exalt the righteous and you exalt society: By the blessing of the upright a city is exalted, but by the mouth of the wicked it is overthrown.

The health of a community is linked inevitably to the way in which those in power treat upright, law-abiding, God-fearing citizens and the way in which those in power treat the lewd, immoral, and criminal element. A wise government extols and exalts the righteous and vigorously suppresses and punishes criminals, immoral persons, and subversives. Such a government makes laws that protect the righteous and define and punish unacceptable behavior.

A nation often deserves the government it gets. President James Garfield understood this when he wrote:

Now, more than ever before, the people are responsible for the character of their Congress. If that body be ignorant, reckless, and corrupt, it is because the people tolerate ignorance, recklessness, and corruption. If it be intelligent, brave, and pure, it is because the people demand these high qualities to represent them in the national legislature. . . . If the next centennial does not find us a great nation . . . it will be because those who represent the enterprise, the culture, and the morality of the nation do not aid in controlling the political forces.

All too frequently I've heard Christian men and women proclaim their intentions to boycott the ballot booth. Their reasoning often goes like this, "How I vote doesn't make any difference." Yes it does! In the 2004 election, of the 94 freshmen elected to the House, 61 were pro-life, pro-faith, and pro-family (i.e., about two-thirds of the new members). Similarly, of the 19 freshmen elected to the Senate at that time, 15 were pro-life, pro-faith, and pro-family (about 79 percent of new members). These new Senators provided the margin of victory needed to confirm the appointment of two new strict-constructionist pro-life Justices to the Supreme Court; and the Court has already begun to change, including this year's decision reversing a pro-abortion policy implemented twenty-five years ago in 1981. In addition to these two Justices, those Senators have confirmed dozens of other strict-construction judges to the federal Courts of Appeal. When God's people elect godly, bible-believing, pro-life, pro-faith, pro-family congressmen, the righteous are extoled and exalted.

The "enterprise" Garfield spoke of is America. Those who represent that enterprise are the voters. If we, i.e. Christians, do not exercise our responsibility in representing the enterprise, then we deserve the government we get. It was Edmund Burke, a British member of Parliament who said, "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing." When Christian men and women do not vote, they allow history to be shaped by silence. The result is that wickedness flourishes.

As America becomes increasingly secularized, the biblical principles our founding fathers built into our controlling documents are being abandoned. No longer are the righteous extolled and exalted. They are increasingly ridiculed and marginalized. Some even see the righteous within society as the source of the nation’s problems rather than as a blessing to the nation. They are considered intolerant and even irrational.

There was a time in America when godly, bible-believing, church-going, Christ-honoring men and women were seen as the backbone of this nation, and the guaranteers of God’s blessings. Today, however, the Michael Moore crowd derisively refers to that great swath of middle America where the great majority of godly, bible-believing, church-going, Christ-honoring men and women live as "Jesus Land" and see us as the great enemies of the state. Nowhere is that animosity more clearly seen than in John Sperling’s book, "The Great Divide: Retro vs. Metro." In it, he presents Christian believers – Evangelical ones that is – as unintelligent, uninformed, unsophisticated, hate-filled, backward, and yes – dangerous! He writes sarcastically that we’re "God, Family, and Flag folks." Well, if godliness, filial loyalty, and patriotism make me hazardous to my county – just call me "Dangerous Dave!" The condescension in Sperling’s book is almost unbelievable. Yet he speaks for a great majority of the nation’s left-wing intelligentsia.

Sperling reminds us that our nation is divide by a huge clash of worldviews. One is thoroughly secular, guided by humanist philosophy, and seeks to remove all mention of God from the public square. The other is thoroughly biblical, guided by Scriptural principles, and seeks to restore the nation to the Christian worldview held by the vast majority of our Founding Fathers.

Our nation was founded by men and women who understood Solomon’s principles and sought to build a nation based on those ideals. They wrote those ideals into the nation’s first great document – The Mayflower Compact. Later, these principles would find their way into the Declaration and our Constitution. Both voice the nation’s dependence upon God. Johnson continues:

They built their educational institutions on the Bible. They exalted righteousness and put curbs on wickedness. And they built a great country on freedom, equity, and justice. The society they built was essentially religious. The righteous fared well and the nation partook of the blessings of God. The wicked were punished.

Though America still retains a veneer of the Judeo/Christian faith, this is not our forefather’s nation. Secular humanism has penetrated all levels of society. Schools and universities, the media, the courts, and the halls of Congress have all been deeply affected by this godless philosophy. Prayer and Bible reading have been forbidden in the classroom. The cross and the Ten Commandments have been banished from the public square. Bible-based standards of morality and decency are sneered at. The consequences of forty-plus years of moral erosion is abortion-on-demand that has resulted in the deaths of thirty million babies, Pornography is protected free speech, sodomy has been legalized, hard work is penalized through confiscatory tax system while laziness is rewarded through abundant entitlement programs.

Solomon was correct, and we need to heed his wisdom. Happy is the nation whose God is the Lord and whose legislators believe the Bible, reward goodness, and punish evil. Woe to the nation that turns its back on the Word of God.

Calvin Akbar!

Since 9/11 Americans have become all too familiar with the shout Allah Akbar!. It is Arabic for “God is great,” and is often uttered shortly before an Islamic terrorist crashes an airplane into a building or pulls the fuse on a bomb-vest killing himself and dozens of innocent victims. While the phrase is regularly uttered during a faithful Muslim’s daily prayers, the exclamation of praise to their god has taken on an evil infamy. Sadly, most Westerners have only become familiar with the term as a battle-cry of Muslim terrorists.

According to Ergun Caner, however, there are some new and more terrifying Jihadists among us. Their battle-cry is Calvin Akbar – “Calvin is great!” Ergun, President of Liberty Theological Seminary, and himself a former Muslim who converted to Christianity at the age of 13, has recently engaged in a war-of-words with James White over the Doctrines of Grace, more commonly known as Calvinism. James White is the founder of Alpha and Omega Ministries and a Christian apologist. The two, including Ergun’s brother Emil and Tom Ascol, Executive Director of the Founder’s Ministry (a ministry devoted to teaching and promoting the Doctrines of Grace among Southern Baptists), were scheduled to deliberate the topic on October 16, 2006 at Thomas Road Baptist Church in Lynchburg , VA. in a long-anticipated and what was sure to be a closely-watched debate. The debate never took place. Rather than go into all the reasons here, I’ll leave it to the reader to Google for answers and drawn their own conclusions.

In response to the ‘great debate that wasn’t’ Caner wrote on his blog that “Calvinists are worse than Muslims,” and referred to Southern Baptist Calvinists as “Calvinist Jihadists.” In the on-gong debate concerning Calvinism in the Southern Baptist Convention, Dr. Caner has now – very openly and very publicly -- accused the Calvinists within the convention of spiritual terrorism. This kind of vitriolic diatribe is uncalled for does little to foster honest intellectual and theological debate among Southern Baptists. Frankly, I resent such outlandish accusations!

Convention leaders need to just as openly and just as publicly distance themselves from Dr. Caner’s remarks.

Does Ergun really mean to imply that pastors and laymen in the Southern Baptist Convention would actually resort to a violent take-over of the SBC? Isn’t that what Jihadists do? Does he really mean to imply that our loyalty is to our theology and not our Theos? I can only hope that Dr. Caner is being his typical bombastic self when he makes these kinds of statements.