BBS in a Box 1/BBS in a box - Trilogy I.iso/Files/Publish/B/Bible Archeology Facts •INFO•

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                 RECENT ARCHEOLOGICAL DISCOVERIES OVERSHADOWED

                              BY SHROUD HEADLINES

While  the discovery that the Shroud of Turin is not an  authentic
relic of Jesus Christ has monopolized recent headlines, the uncovering of a
true relic of the Nazarene's life has been quietly overlooked by all but  a
few scholars.

      The  finding of what is believed to be Peter's house in Capernaum,
where  Jesus  stayed,   taught and conducted healings - including  that  of
Peter's mother-in-law - has been substantiated by archaeology, says James H.
Charlesworth.    He describes it as an "authentic relic"  in his new  book,
"Jesus Within Judaism," published by Doubleday.

      Dr.   Charlesworth  is  chairman  of the  biblical  department  at
Princeton   Theological   Seminary   and  a  leading   authority   on   the
Pseudepigrapha,  the Jewish religious books written between 250 B.C.E.  and
200 C.E.

      He  insists that the unearthing of Peter's house - along with  six
other major archaeological discoveries in the past 20  years and the finding
and  deciphering  of such writings as those at Nag Hammadi,  the  Dead  Sea
scrolls and additions to the Pseudepigrapha - all add up to one conclusion:

      "Jesus did exist, and we know more about him than about almost any
other Palestinian Jew before 70 C.E."

      Even though Dr.  Charlesworth maintains that "a biography of Jesus
is,   and always will be,  impossible,"  the scholar says that there is  no
doubt  that  "he was a real person who lived in Palestine,  growing  up  in
Galilee."

      Now  on a sabbatical in Israel where he is doing research  on  the
Dead Sea Scrolls and teaching at Hebrew University,  Dr.  Charlesworth said
the   new   findings   substantiate  some  things   previously   considered
questionable  in  the  accounts by the Jewish historian  Josephus  and  the
writers of the New Testament Gospels.

      Among the new information is the discovery that most first century
synagogues  were  large public meeting rooms in private homes  rather  than
separate buildings.   Such is the design of the house now said to have been
Peter's home.  It is beneath the remains of an octagonal church, typical of
those built by early Christians over venerated sites.   It is also near the
famous remains of a later formal synagogue building.

      The house,  whose construction dates to about 60 B.C.E.,  contains
etched crosses, a boat and more than 100 Greek, Aramaic, Syriac,  Latin and
Hebrew graffiti from second and third century Christians who venerated  the
place.   It contains ritualistic pottery,  and wedged between and under the
floor stones are fishhooks, as if a fisherman lived there.

      Other  recent  archaeological finds Dr.  Charlesworth described  as
"sensational,   breathtaking"   in  a telephone  interview  from  Jerusalem
include:

      -   The  discovery  that the rock under the  Church  of  the  Holy
Sepulchre  is a rejected quarry stone,  seemingly fulfilling and giving the
double meaning to the biblical passage in 1 Peter 2:7,  "...the stone which
the builders reject, this has become the head of the corner."

      -   Finding  the  first remains of anyone who obviously  had  been
crucified.  The bones of a man named Jehohanan show the ankles still nailed
to the wooden cross piece,  and scientists have been able to determine from
the position of the skeleton that he died of suffocation.  He also received
a proper Jewish burial, indicating that the same was possible for Jesus and
that  not all the crucified were tossed into pits,  as some historians  had
thought.

      -   Unearthing  of the Praetorium,  the official residence of  the
governor during the Roman occupation of Jerusalem,  in the upper city.   It
confirms Josephus' description.

      -   Finding  the  double gates and passageways  to  the  Solomonic
Stables  that confirm that the Temple area was larger than  had  previously
been  thought and that it included stalls for large animals,   which  lends
authenticity  to  the  biblical account of Jesus cleansing  the  Temple  of
moneychangers.

      -   Discovery of the northern or third wall begun by Herod Agrippa
and the Essene Gates as described by Josephus.   It defines Jerusalem as  a
larger  city  in the time of the Romans than many had thought and  confirms
the existence there of members of the Essene cult.

      Dr.  Charlesworth points out that since the 1940s hundreds of pre-
70   C.E.  Jewish documents have surfaced to "help clarify the intellectual
landscape  for first-century Jews such as Jesus."   Among other things,  he
said,   they underscore the fact that the "Palestinian Jesus Movement was a
Jewish  group that used Jewish tradition to articulate allegiance to  Jesus
of Nazareth, a Jew from Nazareth."

      That is one reason his book is finding "a warm and open reception"
in  Israel,   said Dr.  Charlesworth.   He said this fulfills  one  of  his
purposes in writing the book.

      "I  had  hoped to bring Christians and Jews together by  at  least
giving them something to talk about," the scholar said.

                                     * * *

      (The article  is reprinted from THE WORD,  January, 1989   -   the
  official   diocesan  newspaper  of  the   Antiochene   Orthodox   Christian
  Archdiocese  of North America,  358  Mountain Road,  Englewood,  NJ  07631.
  Subscriptions = $12.00 per annum in Canada and the U.S.;  foreign countries
                         $15.00. Single copies $1.50.)