April 5, 1996
Web posted at: 6:15 p.m. EST (2315 GMT)
From Jerusalem Bureau Chief Walter Rodgers
JERUSALEM (CNN) -- This weekend, hundreds of millions of Christians will be commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus of Nazareth and celebrating his resurrection.
The Resurrection in the Holy Land some 2,000 years ago is a central tenet of Christian faith, symbolizing life and hope and triumph over death.
Biblical scholars have identified at least two possible sites of Golgotha, the tomb from which Christians believe Jesus rose from the dead. One is within the walls of modern Jerusalem in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. The other is a cave-like structure outside the ancient city of Jerusalem.
"We don't have striking evidence (either site) is the place. We have circumstantial evidence for both places," said Israeli archeologist Rame Arav.
Most Christians believe the tomb inside Jerusalem's Church of the Holy Sepulcher is Golgotha, according to one biblical scholar.
"Christians who come to the Holy Sepulcher have a 99 percent certitude that Golgotha is where it's said to be. You can actually see the rock beneath the glass," said the Rev. Jerry Murphy O'Connor, a Dominican scholar. (111K AIFF sound or 111K WAV sound)
Christians believe the rock is the one that was placed in front of the tomb of Jesus. But Jewish burials were required to be a certain distance from the Second Temple and the Holy Sepulcher tomb is too close, according to some scholars.
A cave outside the ancient city, near a first century Jewish tomb, is another possible resurrection site.
"We believe the Romans may have used this as a crucifixion site," said O'Connor.
Mary Magdalene was the first to see the risen Christ, according to the Bible, but, "Why a woman?"
"I believe in the Jesus movement women were extremely important. They were probably more numerous than men and I think they had a deeper intuitive, sympathetic understanding of what he was trying to achieve than men, " said O'Connor.
Skeptics argue Jesus' disciples later fabricated the entire Easter story.
"I don't believe that for a moment," said O'Connor. "Why would you stick your neck out? Why would you put yourself at risk in your community? Why would anyone do that for a lie?" (179K AIFF sound or 179K WAV sound)
The New Testament describes post-resurrection appearances including one on an old Roman road to Emmaus.
"The appearance at Emmaus was one of the appearances that stimulated the disciples into recognizing that what Jesus had said was really true -- that he would rise from the dead," said O'Connor.
There was, according to the Bible, another appearance in Jerusalem and another during the morning meal with the disciples on the shores of the Galilee.
"They were fishing down there, and then (Jesus) asked them, 'Did you catch anything?' They said 'no,' and then he said throw your net on the right side," said the Rev. Thomas Tshablala, a Franciscan priest.
It is now birds, not Jesus disciples, that fish the Sea of Galilee. Yet the Easter message did not die, thanks to the apostles who believed and went on to become "fishers of men."
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