By Staff
Special to the Standard
The Discovery Channel special, &#8220The Tomb of Jesus” caused quite a controversy recently.
Based upon the book by Simcha Jacobovici and Charles Pellegino, the program claims the tomb holding the remains of Jesus, his wife, mother and son have been discovered.
Jacobovici and Pellegino hosted the program, which included testimony from other scholars that supposedly backed up their assertions.
National news media organizations like NBC's Today Show and CNN widely covered what Jacobovici and Pellegino said.
First United Methodist Church of Brewton is holding a program at 6 p.m. Wednesday that will show the errors and inaccuracies in the claims made by &#8220The Tomb of Jesus,” the church's pastor, Dr. Ed Glaize, said.
Dr. Jason Borders, associate professor of Biblical Studies at Huntingdon College, will give a presentation discussing the basic ideas behind &#8220The Tomb of Jesus” and then show the flaws in not only the facts that are reported by the Jacobovici and Pellegino, but the also, the errors in their methods.
Borders earned his Ph.D. in New Testament/Biblical studies from Brunel University/London School of Theology in March 2004 and was awarded the degree by ceremony in London in June of that year.
His dissertation, titled &#8220Place as Mission: Temple Ideology and Function in the Intertextual Relationship of Isaiah 66 to the Temple Scroll and Acts 7,” was successfully defended before committee at Queen's College, Oxford University in February 2004.
His particular areas of specialization include Luke-Acts, Isaiah, and the Dead Sea Scrolls. In addition, Borders holds a master of divinity cum laude in Biblical and theological studies from Emory University/Candler School of Theology and a bachelor of science in physics from Millsaps College. Non-degree work has taken Borders to Israel where he completed the Intensive Summer Ulpan in Modern Hebrew at the University of Haifa (1997) as well as the Graduate Year Program of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (1997-98).
Previous positions held by Borders include adjunct assistant professor of religion for Union College (2003), and adjunct Assistant Professor of Biblical Studies for the Jerusalem Center for Biblical Studies, Israel (1997-2004). While holding the latter position, Dr. Borders led tours throughout Israel for church laity and continues to enjoy travel and teaching in Israel.
If you would like to eat prior to Dr. Border's program, dinner will be served beginning at 5:30 p.m.
If you would like to make dinner reservations or if you have questions about the presentation, please contact the church office at 867-8051.