Knowing how much everyone had been wanting a good James Ossuary post, we find that the debate continues. Recently a noted Jesuit scholar has endorsed the artifact:
An ancient Holy Land burial box with the controversial inscription "James, son of Joseph, brother of Jesus" may be authentic, according to Fr Joseph Fitzmyer, a noted Jesuit Scripture scholar.
Delivering a lecture at the University of Dallas, Fr Fitzmyer questioned a finding by the Israel Antiquities Authority, a government agency, that the inscription is fake. The Israeli agency known as the IAA has failed to settle the issue.
Fr Fitzmyer sided with Andre Lemaire, a Scripture scholar at the Sorbonne University in Paris, in disputing a conclusion by the antiquities authority that the inscription on the burial box, called an ossuary, is a fake.
Of course Fitzmeyer has baggage just as the Israel Antiquities Authority does. As I've said before, we don't want unquestioning acceptance of the James Ossuary. But at the same time, neither do we desire unwarranted skepticism.
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