The Latest Issue of BAR: Online, but Unendorsed

Last week I received an e-mail from Biblical Archaeology Review announcing the online release of their July/August issue. I was planning to post the relevant links here... until I noticed that this issue, like so many of its unfortunate predecessors, contains a harangue from Herschel Shanks defending the authenticity of the much-maligned ossuary of James the brother of Jesus. The dreadfully tedious and largely irrelevant debates over this tricky little box, which cannot contribute anything to the historical record beyond simple confirmations of James' life, Jewish heritage, and death, caused me to temporarily abandon this publication in disgust a few years ago. It grieves me to see that Shanks and others are continuing to fan these feebly flickering flames rather than dousing them, and thus I am boldly drawing a cyberline in the cybersand and refraining from posting these latest links. If you feel so inclined, visit the BAR website and take a look at the issue... but do so at your own risk! ;-)