If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John must feel flattered indeed this morning. And frustrated. After The DaVinci Code sold 40 million copies by writing its own heretical story of Jesus' life and supposed marriage to Mary Magdalene, two filmmakers are trying their hand at the genre. James Cameron, director of Titanic and The Terminator, has teamed with TV director Simcha Jacobivici to claim they have evidence of a tomb housing the remains of Jesus and his family.

Today's New York Times reports on their documentary, set to air next Sunday on the Discovery Channel. It deals with a crypt unearthed 27 years ago in Jerusalem. An area in the East Talpiyot neighborhood of the city was being excavated for a building in 1980 when ten burial boxes, or ossuaries, were found in the tomb. Six of them had inscriptions. The documentary claims that the inscriptions are those of Jesus, Mary, Mary Magdalene, Matthew, Joseph (Jesus' brother), and Judah. The last is purported to be the son of Jesus and Mary Magdalene.

The filmmakers admit that these names were extremely common in the first century, something like Bob, Mike, and Susan today. But they argue that the odds of finding all six in a single tomb are small. There are no bones in the ossuaries, though DNA testing on residue is claimed to indicate that Jesus and Mary Magdalene were not related and thus must have been married.

The Catholic League has responded quickly to these allegations: "Not a Lenten season goes by without some author or TV program seeking to cast doubt on the divinity of Jesus and/or the Resurrection. Last April, NBC's 'Dateline' featured the wholly discredited and downright laughable claims of Michael Baigent, and two years ago ABC treated us to a special that questioned every aspect of the Resurrection. Now we have the Cameron-Jacobovici thesis.

"Israeli archaeologist Amos Kloner was in charge of the 1980 investigation of the tomb that Cameron-Jacobovici have seized on 27 years later to make their allegations. 'The claim that the burial site has been found is not based on any proof, and is only an attempt to sell,' Kloner says. He adds, 'I refute all claims and efforts to waken a renewed interest in the findings. With all due respect, they are not archaeologists.' Indeed, Kloner has branded their claims 'impossible' and 'nonsense.' Moreover, he says there is 'no likelihood' that Jesus and his relatives had a family tomb. 'It makes a great story for a TV film,' he concludes." There's much more to the story, as we'll see tomorrow.

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