Wednesday, January 12, 2005

A SKEPTICAL LOOK AT THE JAMES OSSUARY

One expects this gang would be skeptical of anything Biblical, still it's healthy to see what they have to say about the James Ossuary and the recent indictment of its owner:
A responsible approach to the James Ossuary would have been to start with skepticism and wait for a consensus of several independent experts. Instead, Shanks, BAR, and the ROM jumped at their opportunity for publicity before giving science its opportunity to arrive at the truth.

To use the hackneyed phrase, there was something of a "rush to judgment" although we still don't know if it is, in fact, a forgery. The Antiquities Authority has its own agenda, too. But I've always urged caution in relation to the ossuary while admitting my own desire that it be genuine. Time will tell.

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