Crypt Held Bodies of Jesus and Family, Film Says,” heralded a headline in the Feb. 27 New York Times over one of the best-promoted docudramas of the year thus far.

The article announced “The Lost Tomb of Jesus” – a film produced by James Cameron of “Titanic” and “Terminator” fame – which aired on the Discovery Channel last Sunday.

Riding the coattails of the recent best-selling novel “The Da Vinci Code,” the film dramatizes the discovery of some limestone burial boxes, called ossuaries, unearthed from a Jerusalem burial chamber in 1980.

Although considered an insignificant find at the time, two of the boxes contain the inscriptions “Yeshua bar Yosef,” Aramaic for “Jesus son of Joseph,” and “Maria,” the Latin version of “Miriam,” which the New York Times called “a name so common in first century Israel it was given to about 25 percent of all Jewish women.”

Indeed, the name Yeshua was also common to the time. In the end, the docudrama – with considerably more drama than “docu” – came off as sloppy speculation that the tomb once held the bones of Jesus Christ, his mother, Mary, Mary Magdalene (presumably Jesus’ wife), and a son of theirs named Judah.

After the two-hour movie, TV newsman Ted Koppel did a creditable job of interviewing the film’s director, Simcha Jacobovci, consultant-adviser James Tabor, a professor at the University of North Carolina, and two panels of critics – first archaeological, then theological.

Koppel asked the director if the project might have been better served by putting more of the budget into the science than into the dramatic re-enactments in the film. The director’s response was, “I’m a journalist … not a scientist.”

The film “puts archaeology in a bad light,” said William Dever, professor emeritus of the University of Arizona. “It perpetuates the notion among nonspecialists and the public that archaeology is a kind of game, a sort of romantic, mysterious treasure-hunt in which amateurs can make great discoveries.

For me it represents the worst kind of biblical archaeology, because the conclusions are already drawn in the beginning.”

Jonathan Reed, professor at the University of LaVerne, was even more emphatic. “It’s what I would call archaeo-porn – it’s exciting, it’s titillating, but deep down you know it’s wrong. It’s not the kind of thing a long-lasting relationship is made up of, and that’s the relationship between science, archaeology and the Bible.”

Two theologians and the president of Catholic University of America, Father David O’Connell, were on the second panel interviewed. O’Connell noted simply that, “The film makes no difference to me in terms of my faith. I don’t see the evidence for it anywhere.”

Darrell Bock, professor at Dallas Theological Seminary, expressed more concern about the premise of “The Lost Tomb of Jesus.” “It’s absolutely problematic for the Christian faith, which declares a bodily resurrection on the third day. … This resurrection idea is deeply rooted in Christianity. I think what we’re seeing in this special are people talking about Christianity who do not understand the subtleties of what it is that Christianity believes. … They think in good faith they’ve brought forth evidence that Jesus existed and that we can still believe in a resurrection. They don’t understand that that kind of [nonbodily] resurrection is very different from what Christianity believes.”

Judy Fentress-Williams, professor at Virginia Theological Seminary, observed that the film is “a reflection of our culture. We have more and more journalism that incorporates aspects of entertainment. That means that Christians need to be critical thinkers and ask themselves when they view a documentary like this, what the field of biblical archaeology is all about. [Entertainment] is deceptive – it does not give all the information; it’s selective in what it presents.”

It must be noted that the empty tomb remains a key element in Christian faith. If the disciples actually stole the body (a rumor planted by the temple elders, according to Matthew’s Gospel), then all of Christianity is based on a lie. As Paul observed in his first letter to the Corinthians, “If Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless, and so is your faith.”

With so much at stake, it is unfortunate that entertainment masquerading as journalism – or worse, as authentic history – continues to get hyped on a regular basis.

Lee Witting is a chaplain at Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor, pastor of the Union Street Brick Church in Bangor, and a former publisher and editor of the Castine Patriot. He may be reached at leewitting@midmaine.com. Voices is a weekly commentary by Maine people who explore issues affecting spirituality and religious life.