Pandora’s box… no wait, it says “Jesus”

In his new documentary, James Cameron claims that they have found the tomb of Jesus, his wife Mary Magdalene, and their son Judah.

“All leading epigraphers agree about the inscriptions. All archaeologists confirm the nature of the find. It comes down to a matter of statistics. A statistical study commissioned by the broadcasters (Discovery Channel/Vision Canada/C4 UK) concludes that the probability factor is 600 to 1 in favor of this tomb being the tomb of Jesus of Nazareth and his family.”
-- Discovery.com

Apparently some Christians aren’t pleased.

I find this a curious story. I am not sold that it is absolutely the tomb of Jesus, but, if it is then we have some interesting questions on our hands.

Are the words of Jesus more important than what was written about him? (i.e. rose physically from the dead and ascended to Heaven.)

How important to the message of Christianity is the idea that Jesus never married (especially not Mary Magdalene) and never had children?

Christianity evolved significantly from the time of Jesus to the present day. Early on, the change was made so Christians did not have to become Jews before they could join the faith, even though Jesus’ ministry was largely concerned with the Jewish faith. In the early Middle-Ages the Church weeded out the parts of the New Testament that they didn’t agree with, including accounts written by contemporaries of Jesus. They changed and made the clergy celibate (even though Jesus never mentioned this). They changed so women could not be ordained.

In the modern day many Catholics don’t accept infallibility and are pro-choice.

Even Galileo put forth that when the Bible contradicted logic it was intended to be taken symbolically. Many sects of Christianity have this as a cornerstone of their beliefs.

I am not saying the evidence on this find is iron clad, but, for argument’s sake, let’s say that it is. Wouldn’t the finding of Jesus’ tomb be a chance for the faith to grow? Wouldn’t this be a very holy thing to find? Wouldn’t this give Catholics (and others who have institutional biases against women) a chance to bring equality to their congregations? Wouldn’t this give us new insights into the life of one of the most important people in history? Wouldn’t this, in fact, bring us closer to his teachings in a way that avoids centuries of, frankly, untrustworthy editing at the hands of the Church?

Isn’t it worth looking at this with a mind open to the possibilities?