Dr. Bock,

I have no problem with your being so direct. I may, of course, be mistaken. I looked again at the Scripture passage in 2 Tim. that I quoted, and, although I may be in error, I don't see anything that would limit this passage merely to application within the church. If I have overlooked something, I would welcome your pointing it out to me.

My concerns with giving a serious response to the "Jesus' Family Tomb" matter is, firstly, that I feel it lends legitimacy to something that is totally absurd. In Proverbs 26:4-5 it says, "Do not answer a fool according to his folly, or you will also be like him. Answer a fool as his folly deserves, that he may not be wise in his own eyes."

In so doing, it prolongs a discussion that is rooted in folly. Of course, if someone is asking the question in sincerety, we shouldn't make them feel foolish for asking a sincere question. However, by laughing, I mean to ridicule the MATERIAL (i.e., Jesus's family tomb), not the PERSON. To a person who asks the question in earnestness--if anyone WOULD ask such a question--we could merely reply that the matter in question has absolutely zero credibility. That should resolve the issue, without having to seriously engage an absurd issue.

A second reason I think we should avoid getting sucked into seriously engaging this matter is that it takes away precious time, thought, and resources from issues that truly deserve serious engagement. If we seriously engage an issue that is this manifestly ridiculous, then we will have to contend with every Tom, Dick, and Harry theological absurdity that comes down the pike. What's next? "Jesus' body was abducted by aliens?" Can you imagine trying to seriously engage a discussion like that? Where does it end?

I think it should end here and now, so that we can engage truly important theolgical issues--matters of weight and import. You would know, as I would not, just what sorts of issues these are. In my opinion, this issue doesn't deserve serious engagement.