Being busy preparing for my travels, I only barely caught wind of the fact that a scientific report declared that the James Ossuary, i.e. the one with the inscription “James, son of Joseph, brother of Jesus,” has a patina with a chemical signature matching the Talpiot tomb, in which were found ossuaries with inscriptions such as “Jesus son of Joseph,” “Judas son of Jesus,” and “Mariam and Mar(th)a” (previously suggested to read “Mariamne also (known as) the Master.”
If this is correct, and if further study of the inscription and patina on the James ossuary were to declare the entire inscription authentic, then would it be fair to say that in that case the tomb and inscriptions would indeed belong to Jesus and his relatives with a high degree of certainty?
If so, how would you interpret the particular names found and their presence in the Talpiot tomb? How would it affect your worldview of belief system?
And if you are a mythicist, would it cause you to abandon your irrational faith commitment and embrace the existence of Jesus as historically likely? 🙂
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