Jesus Family Tomb In the News

Tomb An Opportunity to Discuss the Life of Jesus, Pastor Says
03/30/2007

While most opinions of the Jesus tomb theory have been critical, not all believe that the tomb has to have a negative effect on Christians' faith; in fact, some religious leaders are emphasizing the positive effect of the tomb discovery on the convictions of their followers.

Reverend Dennis Harrell, pastor of Hyde Park Baptist Church in Lumberton, North Carolina, sees the tomb as a welcome opportunity to discuss the life and religious significance of Jesus. “For me, it heightens interest in Easter,” he stated. “We as a church can take it and make a positive out of it.”

According to the Reverend, the tomb has sparked interest among his parishioners in theological considerations of events sacred to Christianity, such as the resurrection and the ascension, which would not have been as strong without the rediscovery of the East Talpiot tomb.

The rediscovery of the Jesus tomb is also being seen as a chance also to foster a more comprehensive understanding of Christianity, particularly of early Christianity.

“People need to understand that early Christianity was remarkably diverse,” Bart Ehrman, a best-selling author and religious-studies professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, stated during a National Geographic special on the Gospel of Judas. “There were different groups of people saying radically different things. It wasn’t simply a monolith in which everybody had the truth. In fact, there were lots of versions of truth floating around. It would be a mistake to think Christianity is only one thing, when in fact Christianity is a wide range of things.”
The Fayetteville Observer

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