Next year's Oscar winning "documentary"

James Cameron, when he's not reconstructing sunken boats, has decided to spend his time reconstructing the historical record surrounding the life of Christ.

"The Lost Tomb of Christ," which the Discovery Channel will run on March 4, argues that 10 ancient ossuaries -- small caskets used to store bones -- discovered in a suburb of Jerusalem in 1980 may have contained the bones of Jesus and his family, according to a press release issued by the Discovery Channel.

One of the caskets even bears the title, "Judah, son of Jesus," hinting that Jesus may have had a son. And the very fact that Jesus had an ossuary would contradict the Christian belief that he was resurrected and ascended to heaven.

Cameron told NBC's "Today" show that statisticians found "in the range of a couple of million to one in favor of it being them."

Yeah, well, Cameron's claims don't quite bear up under scrutiney. They're not even original.

In 1996, when the British Broadcasting Corp. aired a short documentary on the same subject, archaeologists challenged the claims. Amos Kloner, the first archaeologist to examine the site, said the idea fails to hold up by archaeological standards but makes for profitable television.

"They just want to get money for it," Kloner said.

Cameron said his critics should withhold comment until they see his film.

"I'm not a theologist. I'm not an archaeologist. I'm a documentary film maker," he said.

A documentary film maker with little regard for the truth and an agenda to sell. Should go over greaqt next year at Oscar time. I even have a suggestion for the title, "An Inconvenient Tomb."

Scholars Criticize New Jesus Documentary - Entertainment