Kloner on DNA and other Issues – March 10

Here is a short note I posted on a scholarly chatsite today. It contains elements of the Kloner interview.

Update: click here for the interviews with Dr. Amos Kloner and Dr. Stephen Pfann.

I am now in a locale where I can reply easily and directly. The issue with the DNA involves only the two tombs of Mary and Jesus. All it proves is a non-match biologically between them at a maternal level. Of course, that simply means they are not siblings or parent-child. It CANNOT prove they were married. The geneticist on the special made that statement assuming that the assumptions of the test about the family tomb, etc were correct (which was, of course, the question).

Here is a short note I posted on a scholarly chatsite today. It contains elements of the Kloner interview.

Update: click here for the interviews with Dr. Amos Kloner and Dr. Stephen Pfann.

I am now in a locale where I can reply easily and directly. The issue with the DNA involves only the two tombs of Mary and Jesus. All it proves is a non-match biologically between them at a maternal level. Of course, that simply means they are not siblings or parent-child. It CANNOT prove they were married. The geneticist on the special made that statement assuming that the assumptions of the test about the family tomb, etc were correct (which was, of course, the question).

When I did the Ted Koppel special, Koppel ran a quote form the geneticist making it clear that DNA cannot prove marriage. I since have interviewed Amos Kloner in Israel (this will post on my blog next week at www.bible.org). He makes it clear that the DNA non-match cannot even link Jesus and Mary as the "non-relation" may come with any other male in the tomb. Complicating matters even more, he says that it is not only family members who get buried in such a tomb. Slaves who had endeared themselves to the family could. He estimates 35 bodies or so in this tomb. He argues that cannot be Jesus’ family because there are too many bodies for the one generation of time (from 30-70). He has much more to say, but these are the key points. He is working on a book on burial practices in Jerusalem for Petters that will be out by year’s end, he hopes. I saw the page proofs.