In the 16th century, Pope Leo x, remarked "It has served us well, this myth of Christ." Though strange for a Pope to make such a comment, it was certainly an understatement, then and now. If this program shows convincing evidence that the Western religions may have got some of the more significant parts to the Christ story wrong can you, by any stretch of the imagination, imagine the Vatican sending out information to the worshipping world that Christianty must change, regardless of the probability of the research being true.

When you quote somone it would be good to know where he said it. When Jesus appeared to the apostles after he died Thomas was able to put his fingers in the wounds and Jesus also ate with his two followers on the road and with his apostles after his death so it would appear that he was a body. He also told Mary not to touch him in the garden when she found him.

I, too, as a matter of faith believe Jesus was rasied from the dead in bodily form. My question was not what the church or anyone else currently believed. My question was if the church, specifically the Vatican, would be in a position to admit the Gospels were wrong if indisputable proof were presented that Christ did not rise bodily into Heaven. The Dali Lama, when asked what would happen if it were proved conclusively that reincarnation was not true, responded that, although that would be a hard thing to prove, if it were proven then Buddhism would have to change. Word would be sent out to all of the their temples that they were wrong. My question was if anyone thought the Vatican would respond in such a manner if complete DNA testing confirmed that Christ's body had, indeed, remained on Earth.

[quote]The Dali Lama, when asked what would happen if it were proved conclusively that reincarnation was not true, responded that, although that ... then Buddhism would have to change. ... if complete DNA testing confirmed that Christ's body had, indeed, remained on Earth.[/quote]

A bodily ascension of Jesus into the sky. Where did his body go? You think heaven is up in the sky? What's up there is 350,000 feet worth of atmosphere and then the vacuum of space and the Van Allen radiation belts. Where did Jesus' body go? To the Moon? Is Heaven hiding behind a cloud? If it all weren't so tragically insane it would be funny.

Is heaven a physical place or a place where - to paraphrase Doc Brown: "Bodies? Where we're going we don't need bodies."

If you accept a physical, bodily ascension, walking on water, being born of a virgin, etc. then you're already too far gone for science to matter.

http://normdoering.blogspot.com/