Was Thomas Jefferson America's first Jewish president? According to today's New York Times, he might be. Researchers studying Jefferson's Y chromosome (the genetic material that determines maleness) say that it belongs to a lineage which is rare in Europe but common in the Middle East. The DNA sample was taken from Jefferson's relatives as part of an earlier inquiry into whether Jefferson had fathered a family with his slave Sally Hemings.

As you may remember, researchers reported in 1998 that the Jefferson family chromosome matched perfectly that of a male-line descendant of one of Sally's sons. Historians who had previously dismissed the possibility of such a relationship were forced to revise their position. When seeking to determine genetic links and descendants, DNA evidence is the conclusive way to prove or falsify a theory.

For generations, skeptics of the Christian faith have wished for such a simple way to prove or falsify our truth claims. They ask, ‘What would convince a Christian that his or her faith is invalid?’ We cannot prove or disprove without a doubt that God exists, that the Bible is his word, that Jesus is his Son, they say. But there is actually a very simple way to falsify the Christian faith beyond question: prove that Jesus never rose from the dead. Paul said as much: "if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead" (1 Corinthians 15:14-15).

Jesus predicted his own resurrection: "On the third day he will rise again" (Luke 18:33). If he did not rise from the dead, he was wrong. If he was wrong, he was not God. If he was not God, Christianity is false. It's that simple.

All this makes James Cameron's claim to have discovered the tomb of Jesus more than interesting. If it could be proven that he was right, that Jesus was buried in the ossuary featured in the upcoming Discovery Channel documentary rather than rising from his tomb on Easter Sunday, then the Christian faith would be proven false. Archaeologists are not bothered by the possibility--the expert who first found the tomb in question has already dismissed Cameron's assertion as a publicity stunt and says there's no legitimate possibility that the ossuary belonged to our Lord.

Many of us already knew that. We knew that Jesus returned to physical life on Easter Sunday morning as the risen Lord. How? Let's continue tomorrow.

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