Jerusalem Christian Review

“It’s all a bunch of legends and stuff. Where’s the evidence?” Ever hear comments like that when discussing Jesus, the Bible, and early Christianity? Well, as Molly McGee used to say to Fibber, “‘Tain’t so, McGee!” (You gotta be an older saint to catch the reference.) The evidence is all around the Holy Land and is being continually discovered. The Jerusalem Christian Review (JCR) has been bringing news of the archaeological discoveries which shed light on the Bible for nearly 30 years. What is the JCR? It is Jerusalem’s leading Christian newspaper, a subsidiary of the Jerusalem Bible Holy-Land Center, a non-profit, educational organization founded in 1968 by a group of Christian and Jewish scholars. The Institute’s Board includes some of Israel’s most respected civil, political, and educational leaders. Some of the interesting stories reported in recent issues of JCR are available on-line here. Tombs with cross symbols and inscriptions referring to Jesus; excavations in Capernaum which may have actually found Peter and Andrew’s houze!, Mathias’ tomb, David’s palace, and much more fascinating and faith-reinforcing discoveries are detailed. There are pictures of these discoveries, too. Occasional bits of this pop up in the general press, but aside from professional archaeological journals or “Biblical Archaeology”, I have not seen these stories in such detail anywhere else. Although avowedly Christian, JCR has received the praise and respect of the Jewish authorities in Israel. This site is nicely done, easy to navigate, and the pictures come across well. To get access to the full JCR on-line, you need a password which you can get by subscribing (less than $5 a month). The Jerusalem Christian Review can be reached at edchr@christian.edu.

http://www.jerusalem.edu/