by Debra DuPree Williams @DDuPreeWilliam
If you read my blog regularly, you have figured out that I am deeply involved in doing my family’s genealogy. I’ve been researching any and all sides of my family for decades. With the addition of DNA testing, I have connected with more cousins than I would have thought possible. Just this week I heard from two “new” cousins whose DNA was a match to mine. Turns out, one of the ladies and I are closely related. My great grandparents are her great-great grands. We will be getting in touch sometime this week.
That brings me to a show we recorded last week, the week of Easter. There are many such shows on at that time of the year, as if it is the only time we become interested in learning about Jesus. This particular show was a bit different. It was on the History channel and was called The Jesus Strand: A Search for DNA.
The Shroud of Turin
Two men, one a Bible scholar, the other a geneticist, traveled to many parts of the world, from
Italy to Egypt, to Bulgaria to Israel, in search of any relic that might contain DNA from Jesus. Of course, they went to the Shroud of Turin and were actually given a sample of DNA from the blood which is still present on that garment. They went to Bulgaria to view and obtain DNA from what are believed to be the bones of John the Baptist, the kinsman of Jesus. Remember, Mary, mother of Jesus, and Elizabeth, mother of John the Baptist, were relatives. (Luke 1:26-56)
On their quest, these men even went to the home of a man who claimed to have bones from an ossuary, or bone box, obtained from a cave in Israel. These ossuaries had written on them Jesus, Joseph, Mary, Mary Magdalena, and Judah, son of Jesus. They were interested until they were told that the box with Judah written on it said that Judah was the son of Jesus. We all know that there is no Biblical foundation to say that Jesus had a son. The Bible scholar was quick to point out that these names were among the most-common of first century Israel and that there is no evidence that Jesus ever had a son. Skeptical? That would be putting it mildly.
Besides the Shroud of Turin, they were taken to yet another church which housed, behind heavy, locked, iron gates, a huge box and behind it, enclosed in glass, a cloth said to have covered the face of Jesus, beneath the Shroud of Turin which covered the body of Jesus. The man telling the story said that the marks absolutely lined up with those on the shroud and that it contained the same rare blood type, AB. But could they, or will they ever be able to prove that these relics were those which actually covered the body of Jesus?
Descendants of Jesus?
As the show was nearing its conclusion, they discovered that the DNA samples showed a close association with a group of people called the Druze. They are of Egyptian descent, but they had moved to and lived around Nazareth about the time of Jesus. Until the thirteenth century, they were not a closed religion. At that time and to this day, unless you are born Druze, you may not join their religious order. You may not leave it, either. Their beliefs encompass ideas from most of the main religions of the day, Christianity, Islam, and Judaism. The one strange thing, at least to me, is that they believe in reincarnation. When you die, you are born as a new baby as the soul goes on and on.
The two men found a modern-day Druze family who willingly gave their DNA to be tested against that taken from the Shroud of Turin. Upon getting the results, they told the man and his daughter that they descend from Jesus. All of this is based on their belief that the shroud is, indeed, the burial cloth of Jesus. Frankly, I don’t know how they can possibly know that for sure. The shroud didn’t even show up for the first time until the thirteenth century when having a relic in a church was common place. Many were fakes. It does date from early first century. But did it really cover the body of Jesus?
Could the man and his daughter be descendants of the family of Jesus? Well, that is possible as Jesus had brothers and sisters. I’m sure many of their descendants still live in that area. But how would they know, without a doubt, that the shroud, from which they got the DNA sample, was that which covered Jesus?
Final Thoughts
These were my thoughts after seeing this show. Some things we aren’t supposed to know. It goes back to a question of faith as spoken of in Hebrews 11:1. I don’t need to prove that the Shroud of Turin was the actual burial cloth of Jesus to know that he suffered and died for you and for me and that he rose from the dead on the third day. I don’t need DNA to prove that he was a kinsman of John the Baptist. The Bible, the source of my beliefs, tells me that. I don’t need to know if there are people on this earth who can prove a blood connection to Jesus.
I argue that as followers of Jesus, we believe, by faith, He suffered and died for us, for our sins and the sin of all of humanity for all time. We believe that He rose again on that first Easter morning, that the tomb was empty. We believe He entered into Heaven and that He is alive today, sitting on the right hand of God the Father. We believe that He will return. That blood connection to Jesus? If we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior and ask Him to dwell within us, then we have that blood connection to Him. It was His blood which was shed for us and He is now dwelling within us through the power of the Holy Spirit. Because of our beliefs, we are the children of the King, made in the image of God, our Father. The heirs of the Kingdom.
The Conversation
Typical History Channel investigation; fun to watch, but only as a guilty pleasure. The Jesus Strand, Oak Island, Hunt for Hitler, etc…are each driven forward by confirmation biases that would embarrass any genuine academic. The producers take the thinnest of threads and use them to repair holes in their stories. Every rock on Oak Island is a Templar relic, and every abandoned bunker in Europe is part of Hitler’s escape network. What’s unique about the Jesus Strand is they allow their confirmation bias to exclude possible evidence. The biblical record does not mention Jesus had a son so the ossuaries are dismissed out of hand? Understandable from the devout Christian, but what about the alleged DNA scientist? We know certain gospels were ignored when the Bible was compiled centuries after Jesus’ death and resurrection. Is it not possible there is more to the story than that written in the current version is of the bible? I agree with the reviewer above; if you have faith then you don’t need further evidence of Jesus’ physical or spiritual existence. If however you are producing a show that asserts it is seeking historical truths and using scientific methods then you cannot permit confirmation bias to so obviously influence your acceptance or abandonment of potential evidence.
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Amen to that, Marge!
Debbie, I agree with you. The Lord knows we would worship any relic found when only He is worthy to be worshipped. Carry on!!!