Bullshit! Archaeologists: We found piece of Jesus' cross

[cali]

Archaeologists working at an ancient church in Turkey think they've unearthed a piece of the world's most famous cross, the one used to crucify Jesus.

They found a stone chest during excavation at a 1,350-year-old church, and the chest had a number of relics inside believed to be associated with the crucifixion, a historian at Turkey's Mimar Sinan University of Fine Arts tells the Hurriyet Daily News.

"We have found a holy thing in a chest," she says. "It is a piece of a cross," and they think it's from the cross.

The entire chest is now undergoing lab tests, reports NBC News. Researchers aren't sure who owned the chest, but it was probably a religious person of some importance, and that person apparently believed the cross relic was the real deal.


<snip>


http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2013/08/02/newser-jesus-cross-archaeologists/2611357/

You could span the globe with the fragments claimed to be from Jesus' cross.

[LisaLynne]

1. The number of logic fails in this story astounding. nt

[RKP5637]

2. I call BS on the finds potential authenticity. n/t

[dipsydoodle]

3. The locals then used it on a barbeque.

[randome]

6. No, they used it to make a club and then killed a resurrected baby Mammoth with it!

Last edited Fri Aug 2, 2013, 08:29 AM - Edit history (1)

After the NSA told them where to find the cross piece. And the Mammoth.
[hr][font color="blue"][center]Stop looking for heroes. BE one.[/center][/font][hr]

[dipsydoodle]

8. Stop looking for heroes. BE one.

I like that.

[randome]

10. Thanks!

[hr][font color="blue"][center]Stop looking for heroes. BE one.[/center][/font][hr]

[randome]

12. I forgot something: DUzy!

[hr][font color="blue"][center]Stop looking for heroes. BE one.[/center][/font][hr]

[Egalitarian Thug]

4. They found the Dark Age PT Barnum's stash of wares. n/t

[Liberal In Texas]

5. There were so many pieces of the "True Cross"

in churches "that John Calvin is famously said to have remarked that there was enough wood in them to fill a ship." (wiki)

Selling "relics" was quite the business back in the day.

[Brigid]

16. And they're different kinds of wood too.

[AnotherMcIntosh]

57. When my son was 5, he even laughed when I explained (with a straight face) the concept of holy water

[Sunlei]

7. it's posible. the Romans at that time kept records, maps on everything.

They probably reused the crosses they 'crucified' to death every 'convicted criminal' the Roman gov put to death.

jesus had a large following back in those days, I bet a lot of people picked-up and saved 'relics' from the day he was publicly put to death by the gov.

[KharmaTrain]

17. He Was Pretty Much An Unknown...

...and if there was real proof that this was a piece of wood that somehow survived 2,000 years...it would be the first evidence that Jesus even existed. There still are no physical artifacts of his that have been discovered. Give credit to Paul for being one of the best publicists ever...spreading the Jesus story around almost 200 years after the crucifixtion.

Seems like every year there's someone whose discovered some biblical "relic"...from a new sighting of Noah's Ark to yet another sighting of the Ark of the Covenant. I'm filing this with those claims...

[GreenStormCloud]

27. Paul was a contemporary of Jesus.

It is well established the Paul made his missionary journeys in the decades immediately following the crucifixion.

[KharmaTrain]

30. Following...

...is not contemporary. There still are no personal artifcats...writings, personal items or even any legal notices of Jesus even existing. Theologians and Historians have debated for centuries. We're sure not about to settle it now...

[GreenStormCloud]

36. Paul wasn't 200 years later.

Paul was an adult before Jesus was cruxified, on April 3, 33CE. That date is established by the reference to a blood moon (total lunar eclipse at moonrise - a rare event) occuring during Passover. We now know that there was such an event on that date, visible from Jerusalem.

The dates of Paul's missionary travels (+/- 10 years) are not seriously disputed by any legitimate historian. Nobody places them 200 years later.

BTW - I do not believe that the chest actually contains a piece of the cross.

[KharmaTrain]

40. Confusing My Peter With Paul...

...and I apologize on that confusion. My point is that Paul spread the word of Jesus after his life and that there still are no contemporary accounts of Jesus...no Roman records and the accounts his existence by Josephus is also in dispute. Maybe some day if they're able to excavate under the temple mount in Jerusalem some real evidence may come to light.

Again...I apologize for letting my fingers type faster than my brain...

[NuclearDem]

37. And again, it's difficult to confirm the historiocity of most of these stories

Since most evidence we have for them comes from the Bible or the Church itself.

We don't know for a fact that what is recorded in Acts as Paul's true history actually has any veracity to it. Institutions and cultures have been known to exaggerate or mythologize their significant figures to some extent (Washington's cherry tree), and it's very likely this occurred with Paul, and almost impossible to think it didn't happen with the historical figure that was portrayed as Jesus.

[GreenStormCloud]

38. The historicity of Paul's journeys is not disputed by any serious historian. N/T

[enlightenment]

58. Biblical historians, maybe.

Is there any evidence that Paul existed - outside the Bible? Any evidence that he wrote the gospels ascribed to him?

[GreenStormCloud]

62. Yes, there are other writings that mention him.

After Paul, the church leaders wrote to each other. Some mentioned Paul. There are several such writings from the generations immediately after Paul. Names would be Clement, Polycarp, Irenaeus, Tertullian.

The Bible is not one book, but a gathering of numerous writings in one cover. Each of the writings has its own history. Some of them mention Paul.

Paul didn't write any of the gospels. He wrote various letters to different congregations.

[BlueJazz]

9. Whoa! Paul, I can see your house from up here !

[egold2604]

11. great joke

[HillWilliam]

14. Paul! Hand me up my flats...

... these spikes are killing me!

[BlueJazz]

19. Good One !

[HillWilliam]

33. Paul! Paul! His mouth is moving up there... go find out and tell us what he has to say!

Paul climbs up and puts his ear close to Jesus' mouth and very faintly hears a familiar old song:




"IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIiii love a paraaaaaade...."

[randome]

34. YOU'RE in a mood!

[HillWilliam]

42. I'm pretty sure I'm goin' t'hell

Party on, Garth!

[Brigid]

43. It's off to the confessional for you!

Get going!

[1awake]

13. Possible... though HIGHLY unlikely. n/t

[dipsydoodle]

15. Holy Spear, Spear of Destiny, Lance of Longinus, or Spear of Longinus is alleged to be in Turkey too

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holy_Lance

[Nye Bevan]

18. You know, a wise DUer once said that people should keep their minds open,

and not jump to conclusions. Reflexively responding to something with "Bullshit" would seem to contradict that tenet.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10023391722

[cali]

20. seriously? c'mon. we're talking about a a couple of pieces of wood from

2 thousand years ago. and in any case, how the hell would you prove that ANY piece piece of wood was part of the cross that christ was crucified from? It's not like there's any dna. Carbon dating? approximate age perhaps, but crucifixion was a common execution method.

Sorry, but logic has to enter into this.

[earthside]

35. Lots of 'crosses'.

That is a good observation.

Even if it could be demonstrated that the wood came from a 'cross' ... even it dated to around 33 C.E., there is no way that it could ever be proven to be the 'cross' of Jesus.

The Romans crucified thousands, right?
Two other guys on the same day as Jesus (according to the Christian folklore).

There would have been hundreds if not thousands of crosses.

[CanonRay]

45. I don't think there's any of Jesus' DNA around anyhow

even if there were blood on this piece of wood. Every freaking monastery in Europe had relics.

[KatyMan]

55. The Merovingians!

or something...

[NuclearDem]

21. Well, considering we have no reliable historical evidence for much of what we "know" of Jesus

Much less whether the historical figure he may have been based on had actually been crucified, it is actually fair to call bullshit on this.

[mr blur]

22. ...but not so open that their brains fall out.

(Dawkins)

[Nye Bevan]

26. Heh.

I think Dawkins is a bit of an ass but that's pretty funny.

[bunnies]

31. haha! Brilliant. nt

[hobbit709]

23. I keep my mind open to the probability it may be true but there's a better chance of winning

the lottery

[Brigid]

47. I won the lottery once.

35 bucks.

[edhopper]

24. You know

there is a difference between an open mind an an empty one.

[leftyladyfrommo]

59. One of the hardest things in Buddhism

is to give up your opinions.

The Buddha taught that as long as you have opinions your mind is shut.

I've got to say, as a long time Zen person, that life without opinions is a whole lot easier to live. And it's a lot easier on your friends and family. Opinions really drag you down.

[mr blur]

25. How do they know it's not a piece of Apollo's chariot?

Or a sliver from the shaft of Thor's hammer?
Or a piece from Blind Io's walking cane?

Oh, because those are all mythological figures. I see...

[Scootaloo]

49. Thor's hammer was eaten by Jormungandr, silly

What do they teach kids these days?

[Vinnie From Indy]

28. I became skeptical after they reportedly found a pair of Crocs

they say were owned by Jeebus.

[LisaLynne]

29. Hey! Jesus did a lot of walking.

Crocs are great for that.

[Jackpine Radical]

32. How can you dispute this story?

People have been finding parts of the Authentic Cross for many generations. In fact, put together, all of the True Cross fragments add up to several tons.

[SummerSnow]

39. Bullcrypt...lol

[Myrina]

41. And it has alien markings! Quick, call Giorgiu Tsokalos!!

ALIENS I TELL YOU!!

[Brigid]

44. He's busy with that weather balloon in Virginia.

[baldguy]

46. There are enough Slivers Of The True Cross floating around to build a cathedral.

Several cathedrals.

[frogmarch]

48. Wow! Maybe

they can get DNA from the cross and clone Jesus!

[dusty trails]

50. I know it's real !

Geraldo Rivera found it in Al Capone's vault.

[Egalitarian Thug]

51. ..

[hrmjustin]

52. I hope it is real. It would be a joy if it were genuine.

[tkmorris]

54. A "joy"? That's a bit macabre, don't you think?

[hrmjustin]

56. Not as a Christian. It is something that we can touch. It would be a sacred relic.

Christians believe he overcame death and the cross.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

53. Fragments of the "One True Cross" production was a thriving cottage industry in medieval times.

And, plenty of poor suckers coughing up very hard earned money to touch them.

[Warren DeMontague]

60. ...Right.

http://www.jesuspuzzle.humanists.net/

[icymist]

61. Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life