Hypothetical Question about "Tomb of Jesus"?

Question

This is completely hypothetical. I'm not asking for bible quotes or preaching here. Take this as HYPOTHETICAL. If it were absolutely proven with no doubt that this tomb contained the bones of Jesus Christ. Would it destory the christian faith? Since the bible says that jesus was ressurected on the 3rd day, I believe (I may be wrong about that) then would it open up the floodgates and prove the bible is false? Remember this is a hypothetical and just a question. It's not a question of if you think this is true or not. It's a question of what would happen to the christian faith if it was proven without a doubt that it was the bones of Jesus Christ in this tomb. Please don't answer with "IT'S NOT TRUE BECAUSE THE BIBLE TOLD ME SO. Thanks!

Thanks to J D and Doug for answering my question in exactly the way I asked people not too. Good example guys, thanks!

Once more HYPOTHETICAL. Please don't answer if your answer is "IT'S NOT TRUE!!!!" "OR IT CAN"T BE TRUE BECAUSE NO PROOF!!!!!"

Answer 1

In my opinion, Yes, it would cause serious doubts with the Christian religion. I looked at what the Discovery Channel has on it's website and it was very interesting how they have came to this conclusion. Another very strong doubt about the Christian religion is the fact that there were also a container of Mary Magdalene's bones and another container with the name "Judea, son of Jesus" It would prove that the Bible isn't even the real Bible but rewritten to suit the needs of what the Church and State WANTS you to believe. I can't see how it wouldn't be damning for the Christian religion. People will be angry and have to go through the stages of mourning at the loss of their religion and there will be a lot of doubt whether this discovery is true or not. I am looking forward to seeing what the Discovery channel has discovered on Sunday.

Answer 2

It cannot be proven without a doubt. Oh, they may be able to say whether the bones came from a male or female, but that's about it. We have no pictures of Jesus. The bones could belong to anybody. The tomb was found to be open and no one was inside. Only the cloth that covered Jesus was found. That's not just in the bible. Who is to argue that someone else was placed in that tomb at some point later? There are no dental records, this happened 2000 years ago. So, it is utterly impossible to say who the bones belonged to.

Answer 3

Speaking as a Christian, I can say comfortably that IF it was proven these were Jesus of Nazareth's bones, Christianity would be proven false. Either Jesus was resurrected or He wasn't.

There are two problems, though: the bones are missing AND there's no verifiable DNA from Jesus that could be compared with the bones (which is the only way to conclusively link the bones to Jesus). So any rational person will say the discovery of this tomb will not change Christianity.

Answer 4

Filmmaker James Cameron is claiming he and some archeologists found the tomb of Jesus’s family. All the casket-like things called ossuaries are empty. I wonder what the archeologists were thinking when they found an ossuary with Jesus’s name on it. I can imagine the moment they removed the lid and looked in. If it were me, I’d wonder if I was going to see one of the following:

1. Nothing
2. Decomposed stuff
3. Jesus sitting up and saying, “What in Dad’s name took you so long?”

If you put an ordinary guy in an ossuary for 2,000 years, he’d clearly be dead. But if I were opening that ossuary I’d be wondering if maybe someone put Jesus in there after he died but before he arose. And maybe it’s hard to get out once you get in. I’d be worried that Jesus arose inside the stone box, and he’d be totally pissed that no one let him out until now.

I realize that this would not be the most rational worry in the world. But I like to base my worries on an expected value calculation. So for example, a 90% chance of getting a sliver would worry me about the same as a .000001% chance of a nuclear bomb going off in the backyard. In this ossuary example, I’d be looking at maybe a 2% chance of waking up an angry Jesus. I say that’s worth a worry.

If Jesus was in there, and sat up when I took the lid off, I’d first try to judge how angry he looked. If he had that money-changers-in-the-temple look, I’d go with a joke, like “Ha ha! Turn the other cheek!” Or maybe I’d try to explain to him that the extra suffering was extra good for humanity, and after all, that’s his job. Then I’d say, “Hey, I don’t like my job either, but you don’t see me complaining all the time.”

I know that some of you will say that if Jesus could move that big rock that was allegedly in front of his tomb in the traditional telling of his life, he’d have no trouble removing an ossuary lid. But he wasn’t supposed to be in an ossuary in the first place, so obviously if this ossuary is genuine, some of the details of the story were wrong. And if God let Jesus be crucified, it’s not a huge stretch of the imagination to think he’d let him stay in a stone box for 2,000 years. It makes sense to save your coolest miracle for when it’s needed most. And I think you’ll agree that this would be a good time for a messiah. And if you were God, you’d want James Cameron attached to this production. So it makes sense to me.

That’s why I’d be a crappy archeologist. I’d be afraid to open anything.

Answer 5

>>If it were absolutely proven with no doubt that this tomb contained the bones of Jesus Christ. Would it destory the christian faith?<<

Yes. I know you said you didn't want any Bible quotes, but there is one that addresses this very issue: "If Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain." - 1 Corinthians 15:14

Answer 6

Of course Christians would have to rethink it all and probably demand an answer from the Church, the pope and historians about the secrets that they have been keeping. I doubt that this wuold disprove God but only that Jesus was only man and not divine. Do the bones have signs that this body was ever nailed to a cross? Any markings of a spear in it's left side?

One big question I have is that we can date the bones back to a time period and see that they are human, male or female, possibly how old they were when they died, maybe the cause of death. But we can't determine if they are Jesus and Mary. Because we don't have DNA or blood samples of Jesus and Mary from when they were alive. The shroud of Turin shows us that the blood is human and from a male and A postive and that it is about 2000 yrs old. How can we prove that it covered Jesus? So how can we determine if these bones are really Jesus'? We can't.

All signs point that they are not. Because of their location and the age of the bodies at time of death. The male body was about 20-25 when he died and the female body was about 18 when she died. According to historians, not just the Bible, that Jesus died when He was about 33 years old.

My next question is in accord with faith. Jesus, being the Son of God and God having sent here to teach the people and died and rise for our sins, what purpose would Jesus have in marrying someone, having sexual relations and having a child? Jesus having been man and divine, He wouldn't need to have a family. That would show that God Himself is a hypocrit, thus not even God. So I see no reason as to why Jesus would be with Mary. That wasn't His reason for coming to earth. And people can live their whole life without sex. I had a great aunt that never got married and died a virgin in her 80s. A friend of mine is 39 and still a virgin. I haven't had sex in 12 yrs, after my divorce. So please don't say that the human part of Jesus would desire to be with a woman.

Answer 7

The Scriptures tell us that Christ returned in His body (even showing the wounds in His hands to His disciples). He also said before He was crucified, "Destroy this temple and in three days I will build it up again." They thought He was referring to the physical Temple of Jerusalem, but the Bible then tells us He was speaking of His body. Therefore, it is a key aspect of Christianity that Christ's resurrection applied to His body and soul. Also, an important part of the Gospel account records the "empty tomb." If these things were all erroneous, it would undermine critical elements of Christianity (including the infallibility of Scripture)...and leave us even asking the question as to whether Christ truly died for our sins! So to answer your question, yes it would destroy the Christian faith. (Although those who have witnessed the power of His resurrection are not at risk of being deceived here, only those who have not been "born again")

Also, consider that an important premise of Christ's second coming, or perhaps THE premise, is that Christ is coming back for His bride, us! And so Satan would like more than anything to dampen the excitement we as Christ's fiance now have. And a great way to do that, in addition to puting doubt into our minds about the validity of the Gospel account, would be to convince us that He was already married to Mary Magdelene (as does the claim of this bone "discovery"). When you find out your fiance is already married, it can take some of the excitement out of things. Plus, if that were true, and the Gospel writers failed to mention that very important detail about Jesus, it would lead us to question the reliability of their accounts in general. But clearly this is Satan is at work. And the fact that he is turning up the heat (first by setting the stage with the Da Vinci Code - a work of "fiction", to prepare the environment...then an archealogical find to support that same premise alluded to in the prior work) tells me that Satan is thinking the same thing Christians are - Christ's return is soon coming....

Answer 8

don't worry, i'm not going to quote the bible here lol...

but you're absolutely correct! if jesus's remains were found in what researchers call the tomb of christ, it would prove the bible wrong and probably the whole religion. i was raised a christian, and continue to live the lifestyle, so the bible taught me he was resurrected and went to heavan, but on the other hand, science is science.

too bad there is no way to prove that those are jesus's bones, if any were found. so there's no way to prove the bible is false.

Answer 9

It will be proven for the lie that it is! Jesus was resurrected and Is at the right hand of the Most High! He never gave himself in marriage or of the flesh. Why is it so important to criticize and dispute the word of the Most High God? You say your question is hypothetical, but you seek to control the answer! Which will you have then? The free speech of a God fearing Christian or the lies of a movie director? The Bible, thanks To God for His Word, spoke about times like these when men would use every means of diposal to deny Christ His Glory! Thereby denying God His! The Lord Is Risen and the times is near when every eye shall see Him! His real Tomb has lain empty for over 2,000 years. The Christian Faith will only get stronger, as we get our strength from God and His Son Jesus! Our joy and peace is not of this world! You can glorify in this world and her sins. As for me and my house, we shall serve the Lord! Yes! Because the Bible Says so!

Answer 10

The resurrection is the basis of our faith.
Now,I know you said that this was a hypothetical question,but the tomb is not that of Jesus.They do not have a sample of Jesus to compare the DNA to,the names in the tomb were extremely common (21% of Jewish women,for example,were named Mary!) and the ones with Mary did not even mention 'Migdal'.The film also relies on the 'Gospel of Phillip' a book written by the Gnostics hundreds of years after Jesus.It is unreliable.
No,the film will not prove the Bible false,because the film is not true.