CNN's Finding Jesus / Clues first episode did not find anything!

I was so excited that CNN was going to air a documentary on Jesus (they always do before Easter) and this time do some historical investigation that would actually teach us something…NOT!

The first episode was about the historical evidence left by Jesus confirming his existence and so they picked on the Shroud of Turin which was purportedly to be a cloth that covered him after death and has an image of him embedded in the cloth.

The problem with the Shroud is that it has already been scientifically proven to be a Middle Ages hoax so why are they perusing something that has been scientifically discredited but still maintained by the Catholic Church and displayed because it draws so many paying viewers.

That first episode of their Jesus series was especially disingenuous because it did not use any critical historical methods to conduct their investigation but used dramatic images of Jesus and the crucifixion based on the Gospels (which do not agree with each other as to what happened) which are not considered history but myth.

I was especially irritated at their use of Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus, both members of the Jewish Sanhedrin which condemned Jesus according to the gospel, as the main characters that could have provided the Shroud of Turin and a similar cloth depicting the face of Jesus.

Joseph and Nicodemus were members of the Sanhedrin where all members voted to hand over Jesus to the Romans for execution according to the Gospels so how could they turn around and support Jesus and his mission after voting to kill him. Many historians doubt this ever occurred and believe it was inserted by the Gospel writers to show that Jesus was actually buried because if he was not, he could not be resurrected.

Another very improbable part of the Gospels and of the CNN report was that Joseph of Arimathea was granted permission by Pilate to take Jesus off the cross and bury him.

Pilate is known through historical records to have been an especially cruel man, a person that would not bend to anyone and especially to a Jew asking to do something that the Romans never did. They always let the crucified stay on the cross as an example to all who would cross them, until the body decomposed and fell to the ground where dogs would tear apart the flesh. At that point, the Romans would throw the person’s remains into a pit dug especially for such remains.

I realize that the whole Christian theology would be useless if Jesus was not buried in a tomb from which he would be resurrected but I feel CNN as an investigative body should not have basically dramatized the issue as if it really happened especially when they knew the Shroud of Turin is a fake and therefore cannot be used to prove Jesus was buried after dying on the cross.

CNN wants ratings too so I guess they will bullshit as much as any network to get people to watch.

There are more episodes to go so we will see if things get any better…I doubt it.