Module 8 Short Answer
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School
Southern New Hampshire University *
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Course
100
Subject
Arts Humanities
Date
Apr 3, 2024
Type
docx
Pages
2
Uploaded by CaptainCrab3038
Dennis Mccree
02/26/24
Module 8 Short Answer
https://www.dallasnews.com/news/faith/2023/10/06/controversial-biblical-artifact-with-alleged-
tie-to-jesus-brother-comes-to-dallas/
The article linked above is about a controversial biblical artifact called “The James Ossuary”. This artifact is claimed to have once held the bones of Jesus’ brother James. The artifact is presented by Israeli collector Oded Golan and is one of about 340 artifacts in his private collection. Golan claims that most of the artifacts date back to the time of Jesus Christ.
The controversy relating to the ossuary is that while scholars agree it is an ancient artifact, part of
the inscription on the box that relates it to Jesus’ brother is claimed to have been forged into the box by Golan and not by someone in the time of the box. This was actually disputed at a trial in Israel where Golan was charged with fraud and forgery of artifacts. The argument against Golan was that the first half of the inscription was forged in modern times whereas the name was forged
in the original time of the box. 74 Experts testified to this but ultimately were not able to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Golan in fact forged the inscription and he was acquitted on the forgery and fraud charges. Some critics still argue that the fact that the ossuary first appeared in the antiquities market and not from any official archaeological site should raise red flags to its authenticity as well. Golan’s position on the charges is that it’s ridiculous to think that it was half forged because it is far easier to forge a complete item than half of one. He also claims that the ossuary has been tested and examined by dozens of professionals in different fields. As far as the fact that the
ossuary first appearing from a private collector, Golan stated that massive construction projects in Israel are revealing thousands upon thousands of artifacts that are not in official archaeological
sites and a majority of them come to antiquities markets. The critics believe that the past belongs to all of us, so these items belong in museums and not private collections. The controversy surrounding the James Ossuary seems to have split the interpretation of it down the middle. While there seems to be a consensus among experts that the ossuary is ancient, the inscription that relates it to Jesus’ brother has experts split on it’s authenticity. The humanities help communicate the perspectives, values, and beliefs of a culture which plays an important role in defining the ethics that a culture abides by and helping outsiders understand this when looking at the culture.
Humanities impact todays ethical issues in a mostly positive way. I think that we have an issue these days of the fringe on both sides of our culture being at odds with each other over our morals and ethics. The vast majority of our culture though still have firmly planted beliefs and values that are aligned with the lessons that we have learned through humanities.
Citations
Ashford, J. (2023, October 9). Controversial biblical artifact with alleged tie to jesus’ brother comes to Dallas. Dallas News. https://www.dallasnews.com/news/faith/2023/10/06/controversial-biblical-artifact-with-alleged-
tie-to-jesus-brother-comes-to-dallas/
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