Science and religion don’t always see eye to eye – but, in effort to uncover new details about the holy man and his descendants, a biblical scholar and a geneticist have teamed up in the search for Jesus’ DNA.
The experts are tapping into the latest technology to analyze artifacts from sites around the world, including the Shroud of Turin, the Sudarium of Oviedo, and a newly discovered set of bones thought to belong to Jesus’ cousin, John the Baptist.
It’s hoped that their investigation will lead them to a DNA sample that could belong to Jesus or a member of his family, to identify any ties to people living today.
In the new documentary by the History Channel, which aired on Easter Sunday, Oxford University geneticist George Busby and biblical scholar Pastor Joe Basile travel from Spain and Italy to Israel and the Black Sea to search for Jesus’ DNA.
Among the artifacts the team investigated are the ‘bones of John the Baptist,’ which were discovered in Bulgaria in 2010.
The 2,000-year-old bones, which showed similarities to Middle Eastern populations, could be ‘hugely important’ as he was thought to be a cousin of Jesus, as well as a disciple.
This means the two would share DNA, Busby explains.
‘We can compare the DNA from a relic to DNA from other relics,’ Busby wrote in an article for The Conversation.
‘If we find other relics purported to be from John the Baptist, or a close relative of Jesus, then we could use genetics to compare the two to see if they are likely to have come from the same or related people.
‘Also, we have growing collections of DNA sampled form people around the world, which we can use to make a guess on the geographical origins of the relics.’
Click here to read more.
SOURCE: Mail Online
Cheyenne Macdonald
BCNN1 WP 