From the Mailbox

Letters, we get letters, we get stacks and stacks of letters. Well, maybe not, but good Ol' Terry is still paying attention, so I shall respond to his latest inquiry as to my opinions on the Jesus Ossuary Special. Well, I did watch it, sans the commercials thanks to my DVR, and have not emerged with a different opinion than when I started. The very insistent filmmakers did make an interesting case, maybe even compelling, though there were holes in their arguments. Even today the controversy continues with criticism that the interpretation of the Mary Magdalene ossuary was flawed, that it did not refer to the mysterious "Mariamne," but to another person, Mara (a variant of "Martha") as an additional occupant of the bone box. If Mary Magdalene cannot be identified, it undermines the statistical probability that this is the Mary/Joseph/Jesus family's remains, as well as the shocking suggestion that Jesus may have been married and had a son.

To which I send a resounding "So what?" Let's try to put it all in an historical context. I know to do so would be apostasy to the True Believers, but since I'm a secular atheistic Jew, I don't really give a damn. If this is not the Jesus family tomb, the conclusions are either 1) the Jesus family tomb is elsewhere, or 2) the Jesus family didn't exist. Christians should be pretty excited to have historical evidence of their Leading Man beyond the witnessing found in the Gospels. And if indeed the tomb was discovered, and Jesus's bones and DNA were left around, this does nothing to undermine the belief in the Resurrection, which is the most powerful "miracle" upon which Christianity gains its traction.

The diehards, though, insist that if the bones remained below, Jesus did not, in fact, bodily ascend into heaven. Now my faithless skepticism intrudes. Who said that Jesus flew up bodily? Did anyone actually witness this? Couldn't his disembodied spirit have ascended? I don't believe in Heaven, or certainly one that exists somewhere in the stratosphere or perhaps in the center of the Milky Way galaxy, but let's suppose it does. Why would one assume Jesus goes up in that battered mortal form, while the rest of those deserving only go up as weightless spiritual energy while their bones remain in coffins or in ashes scattered in some river?

I believe those espousing this particular faith ought to pay a lot more attention to the social benefits of his teachings, and less to the fanciful mythology. The teaching are useful and real; the mythology bullshit and damaging. Buddha and Confucius contributed useful ideas to mankind, and neither of them had to fly up to the Pearly Gates in a robe to establish their credentials. Get over it!

I'm much more excited over the fact that Rob and Amber were defeated by a midget in "The Amazing Race;" that another Bush appointee, Alberto Gonzalez, is getting his ass kicked; and that the idiotic "Don't Ask/Don't Tell" is being reconsidered as the stupid, counterproductive and utterly undemocratic policy that is the greatest shame of the Clinton Administration.

And of course--Terry, if you are still with me, you will agree--that the baseball season is 18 days away.