I've started this thread to explore what kind of person was the man whose birthday Christians celebrate this week.
As a start, why would Jesus want to turn water into wine? Did he discover the first chemical indicator which changes color in acidic & basic solutions and wanted to demonstrate it? Was his message liberate yourself through technology? Carl
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=st...l_jesus_miracle Historical Christian Site Said to Be Found
By LAURIE COPANS, Associated Press Writer
CANA, Israel - Among the roots of ancient olive trees,
archaeologists have found pieces of large stone jars of the type the
Gospel says Jesus used when he turned water into wine at a Jewish
wedding in the Galilee village of Cana.
They believe these could have been the same kind of vessels the
Bible says Jesus used in his first miracle, and that the site where
they were found could be the location of biblical Cana. But Bible
scholars caution it'll be hard to obtain conclusive proof -
especially since experts disagree on exactly where Cana was located.
Christian theologians attach great significance to the water-to-wine
miracle at Cana. The act was not only Jesus' first miracle, but it
also came at a crucial point in the early days of his public
ministry - when his reputation was growing, he had just selected his
disciples and was under pressure to demonstrate his divinity.
The shards were found during a salvage dig in modern-day Cana,
between Nazareth and Capernaum. Israeli archaeologist Yardena
Alexander believes the Arab town was built near the ancient village.
The jar pieces date to the Roman period, when Jesus traveled in the
Galilee.
"All indications from the archaeological excavations suggest that
the site of the wedding was (modern-day) Cana, the site that we have
been investigating," said Alexander, as she cleaned the site of mud
from winter rains.
However, American archaeologists excavating a rival site several
miles to the north have also found pieces of stone jars from the
time of Jesus, and believe they have found biblical Cana.
Another expert, archaeologist Shimon Gibson, cast doubt on the find
at modern Cana, since such vessels are not rare and it would be
impossible to link a particular set of vessels to the miracle.
"Just the existence of stone vessels is not enough to prove that
this is a biblical site," and more excavations are needed, he said.
Based on the shards, Alexander believes the vessels found at her
site were 12 to 16 inches in diameter - or large enough to be the
same type of jars described in the Gospel of John.
Other evidence that might link the site to the biblical account
includes the presence of a Jewish ritual bath at the house, which
shows it was a Jewish community. Locally produced pottery was used
at the simple house, showing it could have been from the poor
village described in the Scriptures.
Stephen Pfann, a Bible scholar in Jerusalem, said that while the
American dig has generally been accepted by scholars as the true
site, the shards found in modern-day Cana raise new questions.
"I think there is ample evidence that both sites are from the first
century, and we need more information to correctly identify either
site," Pfann said.
Alexander has been digging in modern Cana since 1999.
The current find came in a last-ditch "salvage dig" before a house
is built on the site. A Christian Arab family financed part of the
excavation, in accordance with Israeli law, before construction can
begin.
Alexander believes that with more substantial investment, the site
could became a major tourist attraction and pilgrimage destination.
"We're really working very hard to save some of this site because
what we do have here is a village of Jesus," she said. "And it was
here that he carried out the first miracle."
