The Israeli paper, Haaretz, has an updated report on the trial of the alleged founder of the James Ossuary. Those who wish to keep up with the progress of the trial over its authenticity can read about it at:

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/974483.html

In sum, it looks like a case has been made against the authenticity of this find. The defense is getting its turn now.

This situation shows how importnat it is to give some time to a find that gets a lot of initial attention. There is always a vetting period with such things. We have seen it three times recently: with this ossuary, with the Jesus tomb claim and with the gospel of Judas. It takes time for the dust to settle on new announcements that are made with great fanfare. I wrote about this a few issues ago in Christianity Today. With these spectacular announcements it is always best to let some time pass and permit some vetting to take place before making a final call. This trial is a part of that total picture for the ossuary, so we are not quite there yet on this (but we are close).