The Discovery Channel has damaged it's credibility in the educational forum in it's airing and classifying the short film, "The Lost Tomb of Christ" as a "documentary film." I certainly understand that Simcha Jacobovici and James Cameron are in it for the money. However, their "scientists" do seem incapable of understanding and applying real archaeological standards. In addition, wasn't one of the previous self-proclaimed "world-renowned scientists" a guy named Oded Golan? And didn't Oded Golan say that he used the same forensic technique to determine that he was presenting an ossuary from that same tomb in which an inscription reads something like, "James, the brother of Jesus." And isn't it Oded Golan who is currently on trial after profiting financially by forging part of the inscription on that artifact, so that it would read, "James, brother of Jesus?" Weren't any lessons learned from Oded Golan's previous attempt to defraud the public as well? So, shouldn't their "documentary film" instead be presented as fiction? Or what's next on the Discovery Channel? A new Discovery Channel slogan, "Inquiring minds want to know?" Hhmmmm … Isn't the Discovery Channel even slightly embarrassed about this nonsense and what this hoax will mean in terms of credibility? An apology to science students and their good teachers around the world would seem highly appropriate. I am sure that this would help heal the Discovery Channel's credibility wound caused by this farce.

Welcome to the forum Chol, we are happy to have you here. Good Post! I tend to agree with you on many points.

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I agree, if they have a topic that deserves crtical counterpoints, they often mute or ignore it to focus on the point they want to drive home. A while back they did another piece on "What Jesus looked like". There are no descriptions of Jesus, there really isn't any verifiable historical documents on Jesus. But at the beginning of the program they glossed over this by saying "We know Jesus existd because Flauvius Josephus, a Jewish historian, writes about him." Of course, it makes no mention that the vast majority of scholars consider this blurb an interpolation, but that's a completely different argument and would ruin their show. It would just be a show remaking a generic portrait of an antiquity Jew, which is all it was. But if we call that generic portrait a possible picture of Jesus and air it around Easter....$$$$$$!

-TC

I think I watched part of that "What Jesus looked like." It was almost funny. Almost.

I agree also. I understand that they do want/need ratings, but that isn't an excuse. I really only tolerate it because of Myth Busters. They have shows that have potential, but they tend to ruin it with stupid phrases. like, "Arthropods reemerged." Reemerged? When did they disappear?

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"We cannot make, nor alter, nor even imitate so much as one blade of grass that He has made, and yet we can make or alter words of God as easily as words of man."
"We cannot serve God in the manner we serve those who cannot do without such service; and, therefore, the only idea we can have of serving God is that of contributing to the happiness of the living creation that God has made." -Thomas Paine

That is what happens when "religious" thinking permeates the scientific world.

When one lives in a world where entertainment companies own news outlets; when the physical appearance of who delivers the news is more important than the news itself; where politicians conduct opinion polls to determine what it is that the voters want to hear them say; where government intelligence is manipulated to justify the desires of a select few; where the death of Anna Nicole Smith is more important than the number of war dead in Iraq; when all of these things are standard fare, why, then, is one surprised that a television station--an entertainment medium--would air a controversial film in order gain viewers, and thus increased revenue?

Isn't that what unrestrained free-market capitalism--our new American Idol--is all about?

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