The following work is an assignment I chose to do for a research assignment. I have taken out personal identifying information, and reinserted information that was left out of my final draft, as it was way too long. I hope you enjoy reading it, even if you disagree with some of the information it contains. Hopefully this work will help you understand better the person Jesus was.

The Historical Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth may be the most famous person in the world. But who was Jesus? Many people who believe he was the son of God, worship this man who lived two thousand years ago. Others believe he was a prophet, a rabbi, a revolutionary, or even an archetypical figure who never existed.
There is a plethora of information about Jesus’ life. Christian literature refers to his divine birth, his ministry and his resurrection as described in the Bible. But underneath the trappings of divinity, there is a man with a vision of a more perfect world who was willing to die for his convictions. The man sought after in these pages is that man, the historical Jesus.
There are many mythical and heroic figures who are likened to Jesus. These will be touched on, in order to separate them from Jesus. Exploring the history of the New Testament, we are shown hurdles that must be overcome in seeking knowledge about Jesus.
Looking at the region of Jesus ministry, we can see what influences shaped his view of the world. With the help of archaeology, we are brought closer to understanding the world in which Jesus lived and died.
Finally, we will explore how Jesus is viewed today. Though he lived two thousand years ago, the Jesus lessons taught still affect those in our modern world, shaping our world. Two thousand years later, Jesus still touches the lives and minds of people all over the world.

Looking for the Historical Jesus
Albert Schweitzer concluded his search for the historical Jesus by stating he “never had any existence.” He believed Jesus was “designed by rationalism, endowed with life by liberalism, and clothed by modern theology in an historical garb” (398). Today, others find different explanations for the figure of Jesus.

The Savior God
Robert M. Price offers us savior figures similar to Jesus, whose cults were active in the same region and at the same time as early Judeo-Christianity ; Adonis, Attis, Mithris, Osiris, and Tammuz. Brian Flemming expands upon this list to include; Baal, Bacchus, Beddru, Devatat, Dionysis, Hermes, Horus, Krishna, Orpheus, Thor, and Zoroaster.
The list of traits of these savior figures closely resemble Christ's traits. They were born of a virgin on December 25, and stars appeared at their births. They were visited by Magi from the East. They turned water into wine, healed the sick, cast out demons, and performed other miracles. They transfigured before their followers. They rode donkeys into the city. They were betrayed for 30 pieces of silver and celebrated a communal meal with bread and wine, which represented the savior's flesh and blood. They were killed on a cross or tree, and descended into hell, then were resurrected on third day. Finally, they ascended into heaven to forever sit beside their father god and become a divine judge.
This view, while discrediting the divinity of Jesus, neither provides definitive proof of his nonexistence, nor does it prove that Jesus did not have a popular first century ministry.

The Hero God
Some people do not accept that Christ ever existed, that he was merely another example of the hero god. The God Who Wasn’t There, a DVD directed, written and produced by Brian Flemming, offers an example of this perspective from Alan Dundes, now deceased. Dundes was Professor of Folklore and Anthropology at Berkeley, author of more than 250 articles, 11 books, and he co-authored over 20 books.
In the film, Dundes cites Raglan’s model, based on Oedipus, found in The Study of Folklore, which he edited. Raglan offers the following traits found in the lives of various hero gods: A hero is typically born of a royal virgin mother and has a father who is a king and is often related to his mother. The circumstances of his conception are unusual, and he is reputed to be the son of a god. At his birth, an attempt is made by his father to kill him, so he is spirited away and raised by foster parents in a foreign country,
We know nothing of his childhood but upon reaching manhood, he reappears and returns to his country of origin or goes to his future kingdom. He wins a victory over a king, a giant, or a dragon, or some other feat of skill and cunning. Then he marries a princess and becomes king, and his reign is uneventful. He proscribes laws. Later, he loses favor with his subjects and is driven from his throne in the city. Finally, he meets with a mysterious death, which often takes place at the top of a hill and his body is not buried but he has one or more holy sepulchers. If he has any children, they do not succeed him.

Table 1. Heroes and Traits
Hero Number of Traits
Oedipus 22
Theseus 20
Jesus 19
Romulus 17
Hercules 17
Perseus 16
Zeus 15
Jason 15
Robin Hood 13
Apollo 11

Though these traits are typical of archetypical heroes, they may have been bestowed on Jesus postmortem, when the religion of Christianity was developing and spreading into foreign lands and melding with neighboring religious traditions.
James P. Mackey offers the scenario of changes in Christianity over time depending on socio-cultural circumstances, including our “modern evolutionary-humanist” perspective, which has shaped the world’s popular views of Jesus’ humanity
and history (13). An extreme example of this is evidenced in 367 C.E., when Athanasius compiled the 27 books found in today’s New Testament in Alexandria, discarding the others due to various controversies (Ehrman, Lost Scriptures 3).
This leads us to another important subject in trying to find the historical Jesus, the Bible itself.

Changes in the Text of the Bible
In Misquoting Jesus: The Story Behind Who Changed the Bible and Why, Bart D. Ehrman, Chair of the Department of Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina, gives us an example of the requirement of literacy in early-Christian times. Ehrman tells us the story of an Egyptian scribe who lived ca. 184 C.E. named Petaus who was called on to investigate another scribe, Ischyrion, when villagers claimed he was not fulfilling his duties. Petaus dismissed this charge, as Ischyrion was able to sign his name, as shown on numerous documents, proving his literacy (38-39).
Ehrman gives us an estimate of only 10% to 15% literacy in the population, found in the upper classes at the time the New Testament was being written. Of these literate elites, there were writers and readers who could not necessarily do both. Petaus appears to have been a copier and was not entirely accurate, as shown on a practice scrap of papyrus with one sentence repeated twelve times in Greek. The first four sentences were accurate, but in the fifth sentence Petaus, a professional scribe, dropped one letter off a word and the remainder of the sentences contained the same error (37-39).
Early Christians were not regarded as usually literate. Ehrman refers to Paul, in the New Testament of the Bible, writing to his Corinthian congregation, calling them unwise “by human standards”. Another example of early Christian illiteracy given by Ehrman is Origen, an early church father, in his presentation Against Celsus, a rebuttal to the argument against Christianity made by the pagan Celsus in The True Word, a text that has not survived. Origen does not deny the charge, made by Celsus in The True Word, that the majority of Christians were from the “lower, uneducated classes”(39-41).
Early Christian writings were copied not by professional scribes, but by educated early Christians, and errors were common in these texts, as noted by both Celsus and Origen. Christian writers such as Iranaeus, author of Against Heresies, and Dionysius, an orthodox bishop of Corinth, complained of the mistakes and modifications taken with their works. Because these problems were so rampant, Revelation 22:18-19 carries a warning against adding, omitting or changing the words of this book with the threat of plagues and the denial of eternal life promised to believers (51-55).
Unlike many early Christian writings, Paul’s letters do appear to have been written by a scribe. In Galatians 6:11, Paul adds in his own handwriting, in a post-script: “See with what large letters I am writing you with my own hand.” Ehrman assumes that, “his handwriting… was larger and probably less professional in appearance than that of the scribe to whom he dictated the letter.” Further, as the letter was sent to a large region, Galatia, where Paul had established many churches, the original had been copied over many times to reach so many scattered congregations (58-60).
Later, in the fourth century, in a text called Codex Vaticansus, a scribe had changed the word ‘bears’ to ‘manifests’ in Hebrews 1:3. A few centuries after this, another scribe “corrected” the text, replacing ‘bears’ with ‘manifests’ in the text, and writing on the side, “Fool and knave! Leave the old writing and don’t change it!” (56)
This shows that errors and intentional changes were made to the Bible, and that sometimes a change in one word can change the meaning of a text.
Other Problems with the Bible as a Source of Historical Fact
The phrase “lost something in the translation” means a mistranslation or nonequivalent word can have a direct effect on the meaning of a text. Ehrman points to the Book of John as opposed to the other Gospels as suspect. Jesus speaks in long discourses in John, rather than parables. In addition, only in John is Jesus referred to as the “Word”. Ehrman suggests that parts of John were later added, including a prologue and an entire chapter (61-62).

The Possible Fallibility of Using the Bible as a Dating Tool for Christ
It is assumed that Christ lived from about 3 C.E. to 33 C.E., having been crucified by Pontius Pilate. However, in The God Who Wasn’t There, Robert M. Price, Professor of Theology and Scriptural Studies at Johnnie Colemon Theological Seminary, offers us an alternative tradition from Judaism and early Judeo-Christianity proposing the idea that Jesus had been killed a century before this time under King Alexander Gennius. Price also directs us to the Gospel of Peter, in which the claim is made that King Herod killed Jesus. Price proposes that Jesus was inserted into these historical backdrops.
Paul, formerly known as Saul of Tarsus, did not acknowledge any of Christ's life until the Crucifixion, the Resurrection and the Ascension. His representation of Christ does not suppose Christ to have been a living, breathing person, ignoring his human ministry, and focusing primarily upon his divinity. Paul does not refer to the miracles Jesus performed, or on anything Jesus is purported to have said. Hebrews 8:4 reads, "If he were on earth, he would not be a priest…," suggesting that Paul did not consider Christ to have been a historical person.
The Gospel accounts of the life of Jesus, which include tales of his birth, ministry, and the miracles he is said to have performed, have been dated after Paul. Mark is believed to have been the first Gospel written, with Matthew, Luke and John derived from Mark.
Allegorical literature was common during the time the Gospels were written. According to Richard Carrier, Instructor of Ancient History at Columbia University, Mark was writing a symbolic message, not an accurate history of the life of Jesus, and used parallels to Biblical, as well as Pagan, stories.
Though changes have been made to the Biblical texts over time, and despite those who argue that Jesus never existed, there is archaeological evidence to refute this view. Most of this evidence is religious in nature, taking the form of shrines and churches, dedicated to the deity of Jesus.

Influences That Shaped Jesus Life and Ministry
In The New Archaeological Studies and Their Bearing Upon the New Testament, Camden M. Coburn describes the environment in which Jesus lived. Having grown up in Palestine, Jesus would have been familiar with the historical landscape of his Israeli/Jewish ancestors, directly influencing his ministry. Coburn informs, “Jesus’ mission would have had another character if he had” grown up elsewhere.
Living as an adult in Galilee, Jesus would have been exposed to many different peoples, as Galilee was on a major trade route by way of Nazareth on land, and the Mediterranean Sea was a close-by highly traveled body of water (577-578).
Coburn paints a portrait of an oriental Jesus, his “religious presuppositions, style of argument, picturesque language, thought of nature and politics, view of religious truth, and methods of presenting truth…”, influenced by Egyptians, Phoenicians, and Romans (578-579).
Archaeology provides us with insight into the life of Jesus. On An Archaeological Search for Jesus, the places where Jesus lived, preached, and performed miracles is explored. It shows us that Jesus grew up in a pervasively Jewish world.

Bethlehem
Bethlehem is the place where Father Jerome Murphy O’Connor believes Jesus’ birth took place. While most Christians agree, others place his birth in Nazareth.
Bethlehem was ancient during Old Testament times, and was also called either Ephrathah or Ephrata (Genesis 35:19 and 48:7). In the second century C.E., Justin Martyr identified a cave near the village as the place of Jesus’ birth, and a church was built over
it (New International Version Archaeological Study Bible 1668). Dr. John Dominic Crosson, a former Catholic priest, believes by placing the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem, in the City of David, Christians made a symbolic statement that Jesus was the messiah.

Nazareth
Most biblical scholars do agree on Nazareth as the place of Jesus childhood. Jesus was known as “the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee,” and his earliest followers were called the Nazarene Sect. A third century Judeo-Christian synagogue containing Judeo-Christian iconography within the mosaic floor likely stands atop an earlier synagogue which Jesus likely attended as a young man (New International Version Archaeological Study Bible 1623).
Archaeological excavations performed beneath the Basilica of the Annunciation show Nazareth was an agricultural village (New International Version Archaeological Study Bible 1623). In Jewish homes in first century Nazareth, there was often a ritual bath with hewn steps descending into a carved-out rock basin, called a mikveh. As a Jewish boy living in the first century, Jesus would have been familiar with the mikveh.

Sepphoris
Nazareth was very near to Sepphoris, another, larger Jewish settlement, evidenced by the finding of mikvehs, and Sepphoris was home to a synagogue, a Jewish place of worship. Sepphoris was also Hellenized, in it’s architecture, in the use of the Greek language, and the streets. This shows a mixing of cultures.
Given the proximity of Sepphoris to Nazareth, it suggests Jesus probably grew up with Greco-Roman influences.
In the synagogue is an ancient mosaic. The writing on the mosaic is in Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek. In addition to Biblical associations and menorahs, Zodiac signs are found on the mosaic. References are made to the months, the four seasons and the equinoxes. Helios, the Greek sun-god, is found in the center of this mosaic. To minimize the pagan association of Helios, the face is absent in this representation.
Sepphoris also had a theater, with actors called hypocrites or pretenders. Jesus is often attributed to have used the word hypocrites when referring to the Pharisees and Sadducees, the priests of first century Judaic sects. The frequent use of this word by Jesus further suggests a Greek influence, which would have been easily gained through contact with those in Sepphoris.

Jerusalem
At the age of 12, Jesus is alleged to have been found in the temple of Jerusalem, following his family’s visit for Passover. At the end of his life, Jesus returned to Jerusalem for his last Passover, sharing a last meal with his closest followers, and finally to his fate of crucifixion.
Jesus found himself at home in the Jerusalem Temple, learning the Law, as established by Moses. Inside the temple was a special room called the Holy of Holies, the only place on earth where Jews believed God lived. Only the Jewish High Priest was allowed into this inner sanctuary on the Day of Atonement, so it is very unlikely Jesus would have been allowed to enter this room.

Capernaum
Capernaum may be the most significant archaeological site for evidence of the
historic Jesus. Jesus lived in this fishing village in the house of the apostle Peter, later called Saint Peter. The archaeological record shows, as early as the second half of the first century, Christian pilgrims came to the site of Peter’s house.
Over the site, an octagonal church was built. Octagons were symbols that the builders were trying to memorialize something in the New Testament. Found on the site were inscriptions, which were commonly carved in prayers to local gods. At this site, Jesus was the god. One message reads: “Lord Jesus Christ, save your servant, … [signature]”. Others read: …“save your servant,” or “remember your servant.” These inscriptions were written in Greek, Hebrew, Latin and an unknown language (Shanks).

On the Western Coast of Galilee
Jesus traveled to the land of the “Gergesenes,” the “Gadarenes,” or the “Gerasenes,” depending on which Gospel account of the story is referenced, where he allegedly healed a swineherd, suffering from demonic possession (Shanks). According to the New International Version Archaeological Study Bible, it is unlikely that Gadara or Gerasa, modern day Umm Qeis and Jerash, was the site of this “miracle” (1635).
Non-kosher Swine, or pigs, did not live amongst Jews, but those on the east side of the Sea of Galilee were Hellenized, as shown through archaeological evidence found at eastern settlements from the first century.
In modern day Kursi are the ruins of a sixth century Byzantine monastery, with a shrine built on the traditional site where Jesus performed this “miracle.”

Bethsaida
Bethsaida is another place of import to scholars such as Dr. Richard Freund,
Professor and Rabbi at the University of Hartford. Bethsaida was home to as many as half of Jesus’ apostles, including Andrew, Levi, and the sons of Zebedee, James and John. Here, tradition holds that Jesus fed a multitude of people with two fish and five loaves of bread (Matthew 14:13-21). Bethsaida is also the site of Jesus’ walk on water and a place where the sick were healed (Matthew 14:22-34).

Qumran
Qumran is a controversial site for Christians, home of the caves where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found in the late 1940s, and a pre-monastic ruin with three destruction layers, the earliest dating to 31 B.C.E. Some believe this was a place where at least some of the Dead Sea Scrolls were written by the Essenes, a Jewish sect. Ancient inkwells have been found here, substantiating this claim.
Only a few miles to the north lies the desert where it is said Jesus was tempted by the devil. The Jordan River, where Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist is just to the northeast of Qumran. This suggests Jesus was likely familiar with the Essenes.
Hershel Shanks points to one very well preserved scroll, 4Q246, which mentions the “son of God” in Aramaic, which is a title coined in the Bible for Jesus in Luke 4:41.
“…He will be called the Son of God, They will call him the son of the Most High…” - Scroll 4Q246
Though this may seem to link Jesus to the Essenes, Professor James VanderKam tells viewers this is not a reference to Jesus. The phrase “son of God” goes back to the Old Testament, in which the king is referred to as the “son of God.”
The New International Version Archaeological Study Bible sums up the Dead Sea Scrolls as a source of information into the types of issues concerning Jews “during the New Testament era” (1679).

Early Second Century Sources
In the beginning of the second century, Christians were at odds with the Roman authorities. Lucian, in “Perigrinus,” described Christ as a “prophet, cult-leader, head of the synagogue, and everything, all by himself,” and refers to him as “the man who was crucified in Palestine because he introduced this new cult into the world.”
Tacitus, in “Annales” says, “Christus, from whom their name is derived, was executed at the hands of the procurator Pontius Pilate in the region of Tiberius.” He further referred to Judea as the “source of the evil,” meaning the source of Christianity. (Tabor).

Jesus Childhood
The Bible offers us no account of Jesus’ childhood, other than the nativity narratives. Glimpses of his childhood can be found in the controversial “Infancy Gospel of Thomas,” included in the book Lost Scriptures by Bart D. Ehrman. Here, Jesus is shown as a sometimes mischievous child.
Even as a child, the Jesus in the “Gospel of Thomas” shows a disregard for Judaic law. On the Sabbath, he is shown making sparrows from the mud along a stream. When reprimanded, he brings them to life and the birds fly away. Further showing his disrespect for authority, Jesus called his teacher Zachaeus a hypocrite, and showed such wisdom Zachaeus believed Jesus to be “not of this world” (Thomas 2, 6-7, Ehrman 58-59).
The “Gospel of Thomas” includes the familiar Biblical tale of Jesus in the temple in Jerusalem. In the tale Jesus’ family traveled to Jerusalem for Passover. As they left, his family realized Jesus was lost. They found him days later in the Temple, where the priests marveled at his knowledge of Jewish law (Thomas 19, New International Version Archaeological Study Bible Luke 2.41-52) (Ehrman 62).
Though some of these stories do refer to the miraculous, the tone is set for a future Jesus who challenges authority.

Jesus and Jewish Authority
Whether or not Jesus was a rebellious child, as a man Jesus preached that those in power, the oppressors, would be brought low, while those at the bottom of the social ladder would be raised up. Ehrman refers to this as a “reversal of fortunes.” Jesus taught his followers to seek “a life of service to others” rather than a life of domination over others. He also taught his followers to become like children. This was contrary to the status driven social structure of the time, in which children had no status or power (48-49).
Jews of this time had a hierarchical society, with powerful priests and elite families. Those at the top of the social ladder led those below them in spiritual matters, but viewed them with disdain because they lived lives in ritual impurity. These were the sinners (Nolan 21).
Those considered impure included; “the poor, the blind, the lame, the crippled, the lepers, the hungry, the miserable, sinners, prostitutes, tax collectors, [the possessed], the persecuted, the downtrodden, the captives, all who labour and are overburdened, the rabble who know nothing of the [Jewish] law, the crowds, the little ones, the least, the last and the babes or the lost sheep of Israel” (Nolan 21).

Jesus and Roman Taxation
The political structure in Jerusalem during the lifetime of Jesus was unstable. According to Albert Nolan, when Jesus was 12 years-old, there was a revolt under Roman rule. Romans demanded that the Jews bend to their authority and pay taxes based on a census. Traditional Jews viewed this as traitorous to God. This revolt led to the crucifixion of two-thousand Jews at the hands of the Romans (11).
When Jesus said, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar, and to God what is God‘s,” (New International Version, Archaeological Study Bible, Matt. 22.21) he spoke against the traditional and popular Jewish’ position.

Jesus and Women
Jesus had a non-traditional relationship with women. Jesus gave women a spiritual status equal to that of men. Women were Jesus’ friends and followers, and he was often seen in the company of prostitutes and un-chaperoned women. According to Nolan, being born female was seen as a sign that prayers to God were not answered. Women’s status was equivalent to that of children. Motherhood was the role set for women (57).
Expanding on this idea, Dr. Catherine Kroeger explains that exposure of infant
females was practiced by non-Christians. Christians repudiated this practice (1).
In the Gospel of Mary Magdalene, after Jesus has died, the apostles asked Mary to share the things Jesus had shared with her, and did not share with them. They were jealous of this knowledge and some objected to the idea that Jesus would have shared things with a woman only. Andrew said, “I at least do not believe the Savior said this.” Peter asked, “Did he really speak privately with a woman and not openly to us? Are we to turn about and all listen to her? Did he prefer her to us?” (The Gospel of Mary Magdalene 9.2-4)
However, Mary Magdalene was a major supporter of Jesus’ ministry (Luke 8.1-3). At the time of Jesus crucifixion his male disciples deserted him (Kroger 2), fearful of persecution, but many women were there, including Jesus’ mother, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus was buried in the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea, his mother and Mary Magdalene watched. Mary Magdalene was also present when the tomb was opened, finding his body gone (Matthew 26.69-74, 27.55-61, 28.1-10).

Jesus was not like other men of his time. He flouted social norms. He spoke out against oppression and injustice. His philosophy offered dignity to the misfortunate. He was instigating change in the social fabric of Jewish society, threatening the authority of those at the top of the social ladder, the Pharisees.
Ultimately, what set Jesus apart led to his early death at the hands of Pontius Pilate. Urged on by the Pharisees, Jesus was crucified. The story of his resurrection is the basis of the Christian faith, but there is another theory.

The Matter of Jesus
The Gospel According to Mary Magdalene shows a Greek influence. Greek philosophers, such as Aristotle and Plato, were concerned with the nature of matter, and as previously shown, Jesus would have been exposed to Greek thought.
In The Gospel According to Mary Magdalene, Chapter 4, verses 21 to 23 contain the following passage, starting with the first surviving fragment at verse 21:
[Mary asks:] “…will matter then be destroyed or not? 22: The Savior said, All nature, all formations, all creatures exist in and with one another, and they will be resolved again in their own roots. 23: For the nature of matter is resolved into the roots of its own nature alone.”
This leaves open the possibility that Jesus’ earthly remains, his bodily matter, stayed on this earth, returning to the earth, contrary to religious tradition.

The Jesus Family Tomb
The Jesus Family Tomb, written by Simcha Jacobovici and Charles Pellegrino, offers us a plausible argument that the family tomb of Jesus’ was found. Using the technology currently available, they explore mitochondrial DNA, a genetic test that follows the maternal-line of DNA. They find a strange symbol above the antechamber wall of the tomb, and again on an ossuary in another tomb. Other symbols, including a six-spoked star, were found on the Jesus’ ossuary. A statistician tells us the odds of finding this tomb, given the circumstances, is 1/600 (Pellegrino 67-83).
The two ossuaries Jacobovici is most interested in are the Jesus, son of Joseph and the Mariamne the Master ossuaries. Jacobovici wants to know if these two people were unrelated, and luckily there was fragmental human residue containing ancient DNA in both of these ossuaries which he has examined to test this hypothesis. The Lakehead DNA Laboratory in Thunderhead Bay, Ontario specializes in paleo-DNA, and is the facility where these tests are performed (167-168).
First, the scientists tried to extract nuclear DNA from the samples, but as they were unable to, they turned to mitochondrial DNA. By finding markers that are only found in mitochondrial DNA, the lab showed that this Jesus and Mariamne were not brother and sister, or mother and son. This leaves open the possibility that this was a married couple (170-172).
The symbol carved over the entrance to the tomb is another mystery that Jacobovici tries to decipher. The symbol is an upward-pointing chevron, an incomplete triangle, with a circle underneath. In early-Judaism, the Temple of Jerusalem was often depicted as a complete triangle supported by columns. Jacobovici deciphers the chevron symbol as a representation of the fall of the Temple [in Jerusalem] which was still to be rebuilt, as predicted by Jesus (128-130).
The circle is interpreted as the all-seeing eye of God, or as a rosette symbolically representing Israel. Pagans of the time, however, used the circle to represent eternity.
In a study of the Simon of Cyrene Ossuary, James Tabor found a similar symbol, an “inverted “V” enclosing a dark circle.” Simon, father of Alexander, along with his family, was believed to have been a follower of Jesus (129).
The six-spoked star, associated with the Star of David and found on the Jesus’
ossuary, does not fit in with common mason’s marks which were usually found on the left side of an ossuary and it’s lid, in the shape of a “V” or an “X” for alignment. In addition, preceding the words, “Jesus, son of Joseph”, is a large cross mark, appearing to have been carved with the same stylus, at the same time the name was inscribed (78-79).

Refuting the Claims made in The Jesus Family Tomb
There are those that don’t agree. Jodi Magness of the American Institute of Archaeology, claims the identification of the Talpiot tomb as the Jesus’ family tomb is based on problematic, unsubstantiated claims. Magness, argues that although according to Jewish religious tradition Jesus’ body needed to be buried by sundown on Friday, before the Sabbath started, there was no Jewish law preventing the reburial of his body after the Sabbath (pars. 7-11).
Eric Powell, senior editor at Archaeology Magazine, informs readers the interpretation of the Talpiot tomb as the family crypt of Jesus is not new. This claim had been made in a 1996 documentary aired on BBC, and was promptly dismissed (par. 4).
Powell points out the new scientific techniques applied to the ossuaries and tomb’s material do not provide definitive evidence of this being the Jesus’ family tomb. Powell questions the ability of Jacobovici to positively assert, based on mitochondrial DNA tests performed on samples of human residue found in the Jesus and Mary the Master ossuaries, that the two were married.
Sandra Scham, contributing editor to Archaeology Magazine, finds that Jacobovici and Pellegrino are at odds with most of the academic world on the issue of the Talpoit tomb, perhaps because of references made to the fictional work The DaVinci
Code by Dan Brown, decreasing their credibility (par. 2).
Scham does not find archaeologists to be impressed by the numbers set forth by statistical analyst Feuerverger, claiming the results are flawed. “We know that we have seen these names before and we know the universe from which (the) results are drawn is a flawed one that no amount of mathematical manipulation can overcome” (par. 7).
“Rewriting the Gospel of Jesus,” an article by David Van Biema, questions the validity of The Jesus Family Tomb, as it does not rely on other sources; rather it provides new ones, perspectives that have not been presented before in the field of Biblical archaeology.
In the end the ossuaries found in Talpiot tomb, as interpreted by Jacobovici and Pellegrino, give us an alternative route to understanding the historicity of one of the most famous men in the history of the world.

How Jesus Is Viewed Today
The Dalai Lama, the spiritual leader of Buddhists all over the world, sees Jesus Christ as “either a fully enlightened being or a bodhisattva of a very high spiritual realization.” In the article “The Karma of the Gospel,“ he lists five similarities between Buddhism and Christianity including; Transfiguration, a point of high realization in a person’s spiritual evolution able to manifest itself as a physical change; Karma, the idea of reaping good things from good behavior or negative consequences from negative behavior, Faith and Empathy. The fifth similarity the Dalai Lama finds between Christians and Buddhists is the need for an enlightened leader to help attain a state of perfection.
Rabbi Jacob Neusner believes the place of a Jew is to repudiate the teachings of Jesus. He claims in the article “A Rabbi Argues With Jesus,” Christians made a mistake when they abandoned the Torah. But Kenneth L. Woodward claims Jews are now accepting Jesus as a Jewish teacher and reformer.
In the article “The Other Jesus,” Woodward describes how other people of non-Christian faiths view Jesus. Muslims regard Jesus as a great prophet, revering him as Jesus, son of Mary. Mary “is the only woman mentioned by name in the Qur’an.” Hindus revere Jesus as one who attained “the highest level of God-consciousness” (51-52).
Conclusion
At first, it seems hard to find any evidence that Jesus existed at all. With similar contemporary heroes and gods, who during their time were viewed as archetypical, and altered holy texts, it almost seems as if a religious conspiracy is at work, fabricating Jesus out of older traditions. Then we find the rare few exceptions, as in the case of Capernaum, and the letters from Lucian and Tacitus. Finding this, we discover who this man Jesus was, and to many still is.

Bibliography

An Archaeological Search For Jesus. Dir. Hershel Shanks. Host. Hershel Shanks. Feat.: Father Jerome Murphy O‘Connor, Dr. John Dominic Crossor, Dr. Richard Freund, Professor James VanderKam. VHS. Biblical Archaeology Society, 2003

Cobern, Camden M. The New Archaeological Discoveries and Their Bearing on the New Testament. New York and London: Funk & Wagnalls Co., 1921.

The Dalai Lama. “The Karma of the Gospel.” Newsweek 27 March 2000: 56.

Ehrman, Bart D. “Jesus, Apocalyptic Prophet.” Mysteries of Faith: The Prophets Ed. Peter W. Bernstein and Annalyn Swan. Washington: US News & World Report, 2006. 44-52.

---Lost Scriptures: Books That Did Not Make It into the New Testament. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2003.

---. Misquoting Jesus: The Story Behind Who Changed the Bible and Why. San Francisco: Harper San Francisco, 2005.

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