February (Web-only) 2007

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The only thing more ridiculous than filmmakers' claims that a tomb outside Jerusalem once held the bones of Jesus of Nazareth, Mary Magdalene, a son of Jesus, and other family members is some of the media coverage those claims have garnered.

It's hard to top James Cameron when he says things like, "This is the biggest archeological story of the century. It's absolutely not a publicity stunt." But some media outlets seem to be trying hard to do so.

Here's a sample, from Nashville's WKRN, which began its report:

For many mainstream or traditional Christians, the belief that Jesus was resurrected from the dead is essential to their very faith[,] so hearing that scientists have used DNA samples to prove that his remains were once in a buried stone casket, if true, would cause them to re-think most everything they have ever believed. In response, many Christians refuse to listen.

While we're pretty comprehensive in surveying the mainstream media, there surely will be even better gems than this. So it's contest time. What media outlet has the most credulous, exaggerated, or otherwise wacky report on the "tomb of Jesus"? Entries (use the feedback form below) are due by Friday, March 9. The winner will receive a one-year subscription to Christianity Today (or one of our sister publications) and a copy of The Tomb of Jesus (the tie-in book to the Discovery Channel "documentary"). The winner will be determined purely at the whim of one or more editors here at CT. So don't take the contest too seriously. We hope you're not taking the documentary too seriously, either.