The latest from the Extreme Faith Ministry, Saint Louis...
Wednesday night – November 21 11:30 PM. Homeless ministry notes
My feet are still frozen. Tonight was cold and windy with light sleet. My hands ached with the cold. I thought I dressed for the weather. I layered a long sleeve tee shirt, windbreaker, sweatshirt and a winter coat. I wore a pair of tights under my jeans; good socks and athletic shoes. A scarf, hat and knit gloves topped off the Alaska style ensemble. My body was warm enough, but the cold penetrated my feet and hands. I truly appreciate the warm air currently blowing from my furnace.
We served seventy-six meals at three stops. Some of the regulars obviously found a place to burrow. Even a hot Thanksgiving style meal did not entice them to brave the 34 degree night. Spirits for the most part, is surprisingly high. Laughter and prayer are the two most common sounds. We were even entertained with a little spontaneous street rap and dance. But the desperate need is revealed in the anxious request for socks, sweatshirts, coats and blankets. They clutch the blankets around their shoulders. No warm furnace will greet them tonight. The only heat they will have is their own body heat.
The menu was a very traditional Thanksgiving feast. Turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes, gravy, sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, cranberry sauce, a roll, a slice of Pumpkin pie with a dollop of Cool Whip. Quite a feat considering it is served from the rear of a van. The food is kept hot in Styrofoam coolers (12" x 12" x 18" tall). The kind used to store fishing bait. These are lined with oven bags for better clean up. The only time my hands felt warmth was when I scooped food into a plate. Those we serve do not sit at a table to eat, but are grateful for what they have received and that someone came to see them on Thanksgiving Eve.
Joy and blessings,
Linda
Sunday, November 25, 2007
Saturday, November 03, 2007
Come Ye Thankful People Come...
This is an open invitation. Y'all are invited to my cyber-establishment for Thanksgiving cyber-dinner. We're going to have cyber-turkey (both cyber-white and cyber-dark meat) and cyber-mashed potatoes (fresh--not out of a cyber-packet) and, of course, the traditional cyber-pumpkin pie. Yum, yum! The best thing about a cyber-banquet is the that cyber-calories do not go to your hips, midriff or thighs--in fact, they go nowhere at all. So feel free to pig out at my cyber-party. You can never feel guilty--even when taking that last slice of cyber-pie since your cyber-hostess can easily click on "edit" and hit "copy" at any time...
Well, by now I'm sure you've guess I'm being plain silly here. What else is new? You haven't taken my dinner offer seriously I suspect, but I am serious--Why not throw a cyber-Thanksgiving celebration?
All right let's start with who's bringing what... How about you in the Fort Worth/Dallas Metroplex bring the potatoes and the rolls, you guys up in the northern section of the country can bring the stuffing--make it cornbread for me if you can, but if you can't, we'll ask our neighbors from Dixie to do the honors. I figured my Southern guests could bring the sweet potato pie and that my Western guests could bring some rattlesnake meat for a little variety. Cranberries? Oh, sure--some of my Massachusetts readers can provides those--right, guys? Pumpkin pie... who's going to bring that? How about we give that particular honor to the Midwesterners. The St. Louisans can bring toasted raviolis and Ted Drewes' frozen custard so others can sample some of the regional cuisine.
The best thing about a cyber-celebration is that there's simply no need for advance preparation. Can you tell that my home isn't completely spotless online? Of course not! Can you tell I'm passing out cheap paper plates and not the good china? Not really! Can I tell that you just spilled your iced tea and cranberry sauce onto the light beige carpeting? No way! Entertainment? Heck, the Internet is entertainment enough already, so who needs charades and sing-alongs? You don't even have to worry about us pulling out our family photo albums and boring you for hours with our girls' baby pictures. It's a totally stress-free party. I don't even have to worry about kicking you out before midnight--I'll simply "switch off" and let you wander the worldwide web by yourselves...
Stop and think here a minute about how fortunate we are even to be considering throwing a party, cyber or otherwise. Think about how many individuals are eating a warmed-over turkey dinner courtesy of their local Salvation Army or other non-profit organization. We worry about getting our holiday shopping done--others worry about having a roof over their heads come winter. We worry over whether or not to buy a bigger, faster hard drive for our computer--others worry whether or not they should eat or pay on their mounting medical bills. We citizens of cyberspace have a great deal to be thankful for.
Let's be honest: As Americans, the idea of giving thanks to our Heavenly Father for the blessings He has bestowed upon us this past year is usually the last thing on our "to-do list." Whenever we hear the phrase "Happy Thanksgiving" we drool thinking about the succulent turkey and spicy dressing we're about to consume. We crave the sheer joy of being able to sleep in on a weekday. We make big plans to head out to the mall to walk off those extra pounds we gained in our gluttony and start our Christmas shopping in earnest. Prayer and thankfulness are the furthermost things from our minds the last weekend in November.
The modern manifestation of the holiday really wasn't what George Washington had in mind when he declared the first official Thanksgiving Day celebration in 1789. Neither was it for the Pilgrims. William Bradford and the survivors of the Plymouth Colony were just plain grateful to be standing after a harsh first year which killed half of them off. I doubt there were any slugs snoozing late at that original Thanksgiving celebration. Our ancestors may have not known what a "Butterball" was in the 17th or 18th century, but one thing they did know: They knew whom to thank for the blessings of liberty, home and family.
Don't let the glitter and gloss of the Brave New CyberWorld and the new millennium blind you to whom your prayers should be directed to on this national day of giving thanks. God isn't "virtual reality"--He's the real thing. And you don't need a modem to "chat" with Him, either.
Well, by now I'm sure you've guess I'm being plain silly here. What else is new? You haven't taken my dinner offer seriously I suspect, but I am serious--Why not throw a cyber-Thanksgiving celebration?
All right let's start with who's bringing what... How about you in the Fort Worth/Dallas Metroplex bring the potatoes and the rolls, you guys up in the northern section of the country can bring the stuffing--make it cornbread for me if you can, but if you can't, we'll ask our neighbors from Dixie to do the honors. I figured my Southern guests could bring the sweet potato pie and that my Western guests could bring some rattlesnake meat for a little variety. Cranberries? Oh, sure--some of my Massachusetts readers can provides those--right, guys? Pumpkin pie... who's going to bring that? How about we give that particular honor to the Midwesterners. The St. Louisans can bring toasted raviolis and Ted Drewes' frozen custard so others can sample some of the regional cuisine.
The best thing about a cyber-celebration is that there's simply no need for advance preparation. Can you tell that my home isn't completely spotless online? Of course not! Can you tell I'm passing out cheap paper plates and not the good china? Not really! Can I tell that you just spilled your iced tea and cranberry sauce onto the light beige carpeting? No way! Entertainment? Heck, the Internet is entertainment enough already, so who needs charades and sing-alongs? You don't even have to worry about us pulling out our family photo albums and boring you for hours with our girls' baby pictures. It's a totally stress-free party. I don't even have to worry about kicking you out before midnight--I'll simply "switch off" and let you wander the worldwide web by yourselves...
Stop and think here a minute about how fortunate we are even to be considering throwing a party, cyber or otherwise. Think about how many individuals are eating a warmed-over turkey dinner courtesy of their local Salvation Army or other non-profit organization. We worry about getting our holiday shopping done--others worry about having a roof over their heads come winter. We worry over whether or not to buy a bigger, faster hard drive for our computer--others worry whether or not they should eat or pay on their mounting medical bills. We citizens of cyberspace have a great deal to be thankful for.
Let's be honest: As Americans, the idea of giving thanks to our Heavenly Father for the blessings He has bestowed upon us this past year is usually the last thing on our "to-do list." Whenever we hear the phrase "Happy Thanksgiving" we drool thinking about the succulent turkey and spicy dressing we're about to consume. We crave the sheer joy of being able to sleep in on a weekday. We make big plans to head out to the mall to walk off those extra pounds we gained in our gluttony and start our Christmas shopping in earnest. Prayer and thankfulness are the furthermost things from our minds the last weekend in November.
The modern manifestation of the holiday really wasn't what George Washington had in mind when he declared the first official Thanksgiving Day celebration in 1789. Neither was it for the Pilgrims. William Bradford and the survivors of the Plymouth Colony were just plain grateful to be standing after a harsh first year which killed half of them off. I doubt there were any slugs snoozing late at that original Thanksgiving celebration. Our ancestors may have not known what a "Butterball" was in the 17th or 18th century, but one thing they did know: They knew whom to thank for the blessings of liberty, home and family.
Don't let the glitter and gloss of the Brave New CyberWorld and the new millennium blind you to whom your prayers should be directed to on this national day of giving thanks. God isn't "virtual reality"--He's the real thing. And you don't need a modem to "chat" with Him, either.
Saturday, September 01, 2007
Drive-by Feeding...
You'd think it was the worst thing in the world--dishing out a hot meal for a homeless person living on the streets of downtown Saint Louis. But now that the downtown area is becoming "revitalized" with condo loft apartments, some listed at almost a half million dollars, it seems that the homeless aren't welcomed anymore. And neither are the ministries and groups that occasionally provide them with food, hygeine supplies and clothes.
The cops were out last Wednesday night when "Extreme Ministry" (sponsored by Faith Lutheran Church in the suburb of Oakville) did their usual bi-weekly rounds of the abandoned warehouses and downtown public areas. We had to make sure we were done by 10 PM, as they can slap fines on us for violating the curfew. The homeless were a bit scarce that evening, too, afraid to come out and accept a meal, as they'd already suffered from of their "new neighbors'" paranoia.
My friend Linda summed up her activities well:
Yeah, make me up a T-shirt like that as well--if you're going to be thrown in jail for Christian charity, you may as well dress the part...
UPDATE: Extreme Ministry has been given permission by the police to feed the homeless on the streets. We have demonstrated that we are an orderly operation, so we have their blessing (for now).
The cops were out last Wednesday night when "Extreme Ministry" (sponsored by Faith Lutheran Church in the suburb of Oakville) did their usual bi-weekly rounds of the abandoned warehouses and downtown public areas. We had to make sure we were done by 10 PM, as they can slap fines on us for violating the curfew. The homeless were a bit scarce that evening, too, afraid to come out and accept a meal, as they'd already suffered from of their "new neighbors'" paranoia.
My friend Linda summed up her activities well:
I must apologize to all of my good friends and family for my illicit behavior. I do not apologize to God. I have officially been called a 'drive by feeder' by the St. Louis city police. Last night while providing food to a group of homeless people a police officer stopped his car and approached our group. He asked how long we intended to be there. He very definitely let us know that "drive by feeding" is being discouraged. We asked whether it is illegal. He had to say No, but that we would be watched. If we were still there after 10 PM we would be arrested for not obeying curfew laws. He followed us to all 4 of the locations we visited. It made the homeless nervous. We only fed 80, half of our normal numbers. Those that did partake advised us that the police patrols have been very heavy and harassing. Over half of the churches that provide this service have not shown up this week. The homeless are making themselves scarce for the time being. They are there and hungry. Just afraid and out of sight. By the way - we passed out our last plate of food at 9:50.
My next T-shirt will read:
Convict Me,
I'm a Drive By Feeder
Yeah, make me up a T-shirt like that as well--if you're going to be thrown in jail for Christian charity, you may as well dress the part...
UPDATE: Extreme Ministry has been given permission by the police to feed the homeless on the streets. We have demonstrated that we are an orderly operation, so we have their blessing (for now).
Tuesday, April 03, 2007
The Dog, the Cross, and the Grave
In honor of the seventh anniversary of my dad being in heaven, I resurrected this essay on what Easter is really all about.
Have you walked on any graves lately?I've been in a funk lately. In all honesty it's been a rather tough year for me on a personal level. One moment it's New Years Eve and the next it's Easter, the start of spring. Somewhere along the way I celebrated yet another birthday and another wedding anniversary. Somewhere along the way I sold another book and picked up some writing assignments which keep me busy from dawn to dusk. Somewhere along the way I think I lost sight of what is mankind's true reason for being here in the first place. And so I've been doing some reevaluating.
Today I'd thought I'd share my take on the "Big Question" or the "Ultimate Question" with you. You know which one I'm talking about--the one satirist Douglas Adams of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy fame wrote extensively about in his book, Life, The Universe and Everything. The ultimate question the deserves an ultimate answer. It being such a large one, where can I begin but with something familiar to me and work my way out. . .
As every good novelist knows (please, no comments here from my editors and critiquers) you have to intuitively know how your story is going to turn out before you begin it. Sure most people enjoy "character driven" stories--I know I do-- but the writer must have some idea where the characters are heading to before she or he sets them off on their fictional journey towards it. The romance genre is a perfect example. Somewhere along the line, in spite of all misunderstandings or terrible interventions by other usually well-meaning characters, the hero and the heroine have to discover their true love for each other.
Despite what people unfamiliar with the genre think, this doesn't necessarily mean the hero and heroine will end up walking down the aisle together, living together, or even sharing a kiss. All the romance reader wants to know at story's end is whether or not these two people have come to terms with what is in their hearts. Therefore, the romance novel is not so much a "formula story" peopled with cookie-cutter characters and predictable plotting, but a window on an evolving relationship between two individuals. It's the process the protagonists must endure--and not the outcome of it--which is in doubt, and romance fans have come to find great satisfaction in the endless variations on that theme of relationship building.
What's all this nonsense about novel writing have to do with the search for the answer to the "ultimate question to life, the universe and everything?" Well, let me tell you in one word--everything. In order for us to know how to live each day of our short existence on this planet it is essential we know where we are going. In other words, we need to focus on the outcome of our journey, and we need to work on our relationship with the One who ultimately will lead us there.
To clarify further, I'm not talking about going down to the corner store to pick up some hamburger buns for dinner. I'm talking about where we're all going to wind up sooner or later. To be succinct, allow me to quote a line from a popular science fiction movie, spoken by a famous alien from the planet Vulcan: "How we face death is how we face life." Our life's journey ends in the grave, pure and simple.
There's no way around it, so we all must come to grip with this fact. It's the how we deal with this distressing bit of information which separates the women from the girls, the men from the boys, and the humans from the aliens. This is where the relationship bit comes into play.Allow me to digress a moment and tell you a story in order to make my point.
My sister Cathy e-mailed me a digital photo of our father's new headstone. It was put in place a little over a month after the funeral, and she was kind enough to travel back up to Kentucky in order to snap a picture of it. It's very nice as headstones go, and Cathy joked, "I had to stand on top of Daddy in order to take a decent shot. I felt funny doing that. It reminded me of all the 'graveyard etiquette' we learned." I knew exactly what she meant.
When we were young, we used to walk around a cemetery directly behind our grandparents' home near Greer, South Carolina. Both of them now rest in that particular cemetery, but that isn't why that field comes to mind. I remember how our grandmother told us not to "go running on top of people" in the big green field whenever we went on a walk with her. We learned it was the epitome of ill-breeding to dance across someone's grave, and so we politely refrained from doing so.
It makes sense--we certainly shouldn't distress the loved ones of the deceased by chewing up the grass with our heels and possibly kicking over their lovingly placed flower arrangements. By showing respect for the dead, we are showing respect towards the living, loving our neighbors as ourselves as the Golden Rule tells us to do. However,--and this is a big 'however'--this is the only reason people should refrain from trampling on graves.
Let's be honest--the folks six feet under aren't going to care much one way or the other. In fact, I believe a good portion of them aren't really there anyway. Huh? What I'm saying is that, yes, you could dig up their bones and retrieve bits of clothing and keepsakes from their corpses, but they aren't really there anymore.
My father wasn't really there under Cathy's feet while she snapped the photo of his gravestone--his journey's end on earth has springboarded him into a new adventure, an exciting adventure which has no end.You see, despite all my dad's faults he never stopped believing for a second that when his earthly trip was over he wasn't going to meet up with his Lord and Savior and begin a new journey through eternity with Him. This is where "journey" and "relationship" meet.
Just as Jesus rose from the tomb on the third day after his crucifixion and death, all who come to faith in Him--begin a relationship with Jesus--believe that after this brief period of time called life we will do likewise. Our bones rest in the earth for now, but our spirits keep on traveling until they come to our ultimate destination, being one with God. Our trip isn't over just because we're placed in a coffin--it's just begun.
Whenever I'm feeling down, I stop and make myself contemplate where my journey will ultimately end. I think of Jesus, our loving "shepherd," who will guide us "sheep" on this next step of our existence, and that thought snaps me out of any self-made misery. My daily journey doesn't seem so overwhelming and tiresome whenever I think of the "Big Picture" and visualize our "Big Guide" waiting there at Heaven's gate for us.
It's the ultimate romance story, I think--the relationship I have with Jesus here today will be celebrated tomorrow with all believers in Heaven. It should be quite a party. I'm looking forward to meeting up with Dad and lots of other dear friends and relatives. We'll have to lots to talk and joke about--particularly when I tell Dad about how I spotted a stray dog running up to his grave right after the ceremony when we were driving off and did, well, you know, a doggy thing on top of it. . .
Obviously that dog had never been taught any graveyard etiquette! But before you get too upset about it, just stop and think: Maybe this little incident demonstrates a very important truth... One of God's simpler creatures, the dog, demonstrates a faith stronger than we humans possess.
The dog instinctively knew Dad wasn't there.
Have you walked on any graves lately?I've been in a funk lately. In all honesty it's been a rather tough year for me on a personal level. One moment it's New Years Eve and the next it's Easter, the start of spring. Somewhere along the way I celebrated yet another birthday and another wedding anniversary. Somewhere along the way I sold another book and picked up some writing assignments which keep me busy from dawn to dusk. Somewhere along the way I think I lost sight of what is mankind's true reason for being here in the first place. And so I've been doing some reevaluating.
Today I'd thought I'd share my take on the "Big Question" or the "Ultimate Question" with you. You know which one I'm talking about--the one satirist Douglas Adams of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy fame wrote extensively about in his book, Life, The Universe and Everything. The ultimate question the deserves an ultimate answer. It being such a large one, where can I begin but with something familiar to me and work my way out. . .
As every good novelist knows (please, no comments here from my editors and critiquers) you have to intuitively know how your story is going to turn out before you begin it. Sure most people enjoy "character driven" stories--I know I do-- but the writer must have some idea where the characters are heading to before she or he sets them off on their fictional journey towards it. The romance genre is a perfect example. Somewhere along the line, in spite of all misunderstandings or terrible interventions by other usually well-meaning characters, the hero and the heroine have to discover their true love for each other.
Despite what people unfamiliar with the genre think, this doesn't necessarily mean the hero and heroine will end up walking down the aisle together, living together, or even sharing a kiss. All the romance reader wants to know at story's end is whether or not these two people have come to terms with what is in their hearts. Therefore, the romance novel is not so much a "formula story" peopled with cookie-cutter characters and predictable plotting, but a window on an evolving relationship between two individuals. It's the process the protagonists must endure--and not the outcome of it--which is in doubt, and romance fans have come to find great satisfaction in the endless variations on that theme of relationship building.
What's all this nonsense about novel writing have to do with the search for the answer to the "ultimate question to life, the universe and everything?" Well, let me tell you in one word--everything. In order for us to know how to live each day of our short existence on this planet it is essential we know where we are going. In other words, we need to focus on the outcome of our journey, and we need to work on our relationship with the One who ultimately will lead us there.
To clarify further, I'm not talking about going down to the corner store to pick up some hamburger buns for dinner. I'm talking about where we're all going to wind up sooner or later. To be succinct, allow me to quote a line from a popular science fiction movie, spoken by a famous alien from the planet Vulcan: "How we face death is how we face life." Our life's journey ends in the grave, pure and simple.
There's no way around it, so we all must come to grip with this fact. It's the how we deal with this distressing bit of information which separates the women from the girls, the men from the boys, and the humans from the aliens. This is where the relationship bit comes into play.Allow me to digress a moment and tell you a story in order to make my point.
My sister Cathy e-mailed me a digital photo of our father's new headstone. It was put in place a little over a month after the funeral, and she was kind enough to travel back up to Kentucky in order to snap a picture of it. It's very nice as headstones go, and Cathy joked, "I had to stand on top of Daddy in order to take a decent shot. I felt funny doing that. It reminded me of all the 'graveyard etiquette' we learned." I knew exactly what she meant.
When we were young, we used to walk around a cemetery directly behind our grandparents' home near Greer, South Carolina. Both of them now rest in that particular cemetery, but that isn't why that field comes to mind. I remember how our grandmother told us not to "go running on top of people" in the big green field whenever we went on a walk with her. We learned it was the epitome of ill-breeding to dance across someone's grave, and so we politely refrained from doing so.
It makes sense--we certainly shouldn't distress the loved ones of the deceased by chewing up the grass with our heels and possibly kicking over their lovingly placed flower arrangements. By showing respect for the dead, we are showing respect towards the living, loving our neighbors as ourselves as the Golden Rule tells us to do. However,--and this is a big 'however'--this is the only reason people should refrain from trampling on graves.
Let's be honest--the folks six feet under aren't going to care much one way or the other. In fact, I believe a good portion of them aren't really there anyway. Huh? What I'm saying is that, yes, you could dig up their bones and retrieve bits of clothing and keepsakes from their corpses, but they aren't really there anymore.
My father wasn't really there under Cathy's feet while she snapped the photo of his gravestone--his journey's end on earth has springboarded him into a new adventure, an exciting adventure which has no end.You see, despite all my dad's faults he never stopped believing for a second that when his earthly trip was over he wasn't going to meet up with his Lord and Savior and begin a new journey through eternity with Him. This is where "journey" and "relationship" meet.
Just as Jesus rose from the tomb on the third day after his crucifixion and death, all who come to faith in Him--begin a relationship with Jesus--believe that after this brief period of time called life we will do likewise. Our bones rest in the earth for now, but our spirits keep on traveling until they come to our ultimate destination, being one with God. Our trip isn't over just because we're placed in a coffin--it's just begun.
Whenever I'm feeling down, I stop and make myself contemplate where my journey will ultimately end. I think of Jesus, our loving "shepherd," who will guide us "sheep" on this next step of our existence, and that thought snaps me out of any self-made misery. My daily journey doesn't seem so overwhelming and tiresome whenever I think of the "Big Picture" and visualize our "Big Guide" waiting there at Heaven's gate for us.
It's the ultimate romance story, I think--the relationship I have with Jesus here today will be celebrated tomorrow with all believers in Heaven. It should be quite a party. I'm looking forward to meeting up with Dad and lots of other dear friends and relatives. We'll have to lots to talk and joke about--particularly when I tell Dad about how I spotted a stray dog running up to his grave right after the ceremony when we were driving off and did, well, you know, a doggy thing on top of it. . .
Obviously that dog had never been taught any graveyard etiquette! But before you get too upset about it, just stop and think: Maybe this little incident demonstrates a very important truth... One of God's simpler creatures, the dog, demonstrates a faith stronger than we humans possess.
The dog instinctively knew Dad wasn't there.
Friday, March 23, 2007
The Screwtape Letters comes to the Big Screen
This is encouraging news--C.S. Lewis's classic tale of a "minor demon" attempting to pull a young Christian off the straight-and-narrow, The Screwtape Letters, is coming to the big screen next year... Thanks to Walden Media once again (the company that produced the lavish Chronicles of Narnia story The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.)
And of course, this news comes right after the critically acclaimed film about abolitionist William Wilberforce, Amazing Grace, opened in theaters.
Let's continue to encourage filmmakers to produce movies on Christian and family-friendly topics and stories. Attend these films with your loved ones and let the box office give Hollyweird a big hint.
And of course, this news comes right after the critically acclaimed film about abolitionist William Wilberforce, Amazing Grace, opened in theaters.
Let's continue to encourage filmmakers to produce movies on Christian and family-friendly topics and stories. Attend these films with your loved ones and let the box office give Hollyweird a big hint.
Monday, February 26, 2007
The Lost Tomb of Christ?
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070226/ap_on_sc/
jesus_s_burial;_ylt=AiaqqkVronuLyXqI29hQQGpbbBAF
Coming to the Discovery Channel, The Lost Tomb of Christ, a documentary by Oscar-winner James Cameron that proposes bone boxes found in 1980 contain the remains of Jesus of Nazareth. The film's claims have been universally panned by academicians and theologians alike.
Any bet that this thing is blown up in the press as big as The Da Vinci Code was this past year?
What is it with some folks? Why do they try to "destroy" the Gospel. What are they afraid of? That God would send a Savior to the world to save sinful man from hell because man is too weak to save himself?
Or do they just follow the bucks and think since The Da Vinci Code flopped this documentary is sure to be a success?
Some news on this "new find" comes from respected historian Dr. Paul Maier:
jesus_s_burial;_ylt=AiaqqkVronuLyXqI29hQQGpbbBAF
Coming to the Discovery Channel, The Lost Tomb of Christ, a documentary by Oscar-winner James Cameron that proposes bone boxes found in 1980 contain the remains of Jesus of Nazareth. The film's claims have been universally panned by academicians and theologians alike.
Any bet that this thing is blown up in the press as big as The Da Vinci Code was this past year?
What is it with some folks? Why do they try to "destroy" the Gospel. What are they afraid of? That God would send a Savior to the world to save sinful man from hell because man is too weak to save himself?
Or do they just follow the bucks and think since The Da Vinci Code flopped this documentary is sure to be a success?
Some news on this "new find" comes from respected historian Dr. Paul Maier:
Paul L. Maier, Ph.D., Litt.D
Department of HistoryWestern Michigan
University
Kalamazoo, MI
February 25, 2007
Dear
Friends and Readers,
Thanks for the profusion of e-mails I've received over the last two days regarding the Talpiot tombs discovery in Jerusalem, a.k.a., "the Jesus Family Tomb" story. Some of you also suggested that "life seemed to be following art" so far as my A Skeleton in God's Closet was concerned. Believe me, this is not the way I wanted my novel to hit the visual media!Alas, this whole affair is just the latest in the long-running media attack on the historical Jesus, which I call "More Junk on Jesus." We all thought it had culminated in that book of falsehoods, The Da Vinci Code. But no: the
caricatures of Christ continue. Please, lose no sleep over the Talpiot
"discoveries" for the following reasons, and here are the facts:1) Nothing is new here: scholars have known about the ossuaries ever since March of 1980, so this is old news recycled. The general public learned when the BBC filmed a documentary on them in 1996, and the "findings" tanked again.. James Tabor's book, The Jesus Dynasty, also made a big fuss over the Talpiot tombs more recently, and now James Cameron (The Titanic) and Simcha Jacobovici have climbed aboard the sensationalist bandwagon as well. Another book comes out today, equally as worthless as the previous.
2) All the names - Yeshua (Joshua, Jesus), Joseph, Maria, Mariamene, Matia, Judah, and Jose -- are extremely common Jewish names for that time and place, and thus nearly all scholars consider that these names are merely coincidental, as they did from the start. Some scholars dispute that "Yeshua" is even one of the names. One out of four Jewish women at
that time, for example, were named Maria. There are 21 Yeshuas cited by
Josephus, the first-century Jewish historian, who were important enough to be recorded by him, with many thousands of others that never made history. The wondrous mathematical odds hyped by Jacobovici that these names must refer to Jesus and his family are simply playing by numbers and lying by statistics.3) There is no reason whatever to equate "Mary Magdalene" with
"Mariamene," as Jacobovici claims. And so what if her DNA is different from that of "Yeshua" ? That particular "Mariamme" (as it is usually spelled today) could indeed have been the wife of that particular "Yeshua," who was certainly not Jesus.
4) Why in the world would the "Jesus Family" have a burial site in
Jerusalem, of all places, the very city that crucified Jesus? Galilee was their
home. In Galilee they could have had such a family plot, not Judea. Besides all of which, church tradition and the earliest Christian historian, Eusebius of Caesarea, are unanimous in reporting that Mary, the mother of Jesus, died in Ephesus, where the apostle John, faithful to his commission from Jesus on the cross, had accompanied her.5) The "Jesus Family" simply could not have afforded the large crypt uncovered at Talpiot, which housed, or could have housed, 200 ossuaries.
6) If this were Jesus' family burial site, what is Matthew doing there - if indeed "Matia" is thus to be translated?
7) How come there is no tradition whatever - Christian, Jewish, or secular -- that any part of the Holy Family was buried at Jerusalem?
8) Please note the extreme bias of the director and narrator, Simcha Jacobovici. The man is an Indiana-Jones-wannabe who oversensationalizes anything he touches. You may have caught him on his TV special regarding The Exodus, in which the man "explained" just about everything that still needed proving or explaining in the Exodus account in the Old Testament! It finally became ludicrous, and now he's doing it again, though in reverse: this time attacking the Scriptural record. - As for James Cameron, how do you follow the success of The Titanic? Well, with an even more "titanic" story. He should have known better, and the television footage of the two making their drastic statements on Monday, February 26 was disgusting, and their subsequent claim that they respected Jesus nauseating.
9) Even Israeli authorities, who - were they anti-Christian - might have used this "discovery" to discredit Christianity, did not do so. Quite
the opposite. Joe Zias, for example, for years the director of the Rockefeller
Museum in Jerusalem, holds Jacobovici's claims up for scorn and his documentary as "nonsense." Those involved in the project "have no credibility whatever," he added. - Amos Kloner, the first archaeologist to examine the site, said the conclusions in question fail to hold up by archaeological standards "but make for profitable television." -- William Dever, one of America's most prominent archaeologists, said, "This would be amusing if it didn't mislead so many people."10) Finally, and most importantly, there is no external literary or
historical evidence whatever that Jesus' family was interred together in a
common burial place anywhere, let alone Jerusalem. The evidence, in fact,
totally controverts all this in the case of Jesus: all four Gospels, the letters
of St. Paul, and the common testimony of the early church state that Jesus rose from the dead, and did not leave his bones behind in any ossuary, as the current sensationalists claim.
Bottom line: this is merely naked hype, baseless sensationalism, and nothing less than a media fraud, "more junk on Jesus."
With warm regards,
Paul L. Maier
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