Click on a label to read posts from that part of the world.
Apostle Philip's tomb found in Turkey? Maybe not
The news wires are humming with yet another spectacular archaeological discovery, this time of the tomb of the Apostle Philip.St. Philip was one of Christ's twelve apostles and is said to have been martyred and buried in Hierapolis, now Pamukkale in southwestern Turkey. The city was an ancient spa town owing to the local hot springs and also a center for pagan temples. St. Philip is said to have come here to preach Christianity.
Italian archaeologist Francesco D'Andria and his team believe they have discovered his tomb. The description of the tomb and the writings they found on it all match up to it being St. Philip's burial place, they say.
But this might be more media frenzy and wishful thinking than a real discovery, along the lines of the recent "discoveries" of Caligula's tomb and the Crucifixion nails. First off, the Catholic Encyclopedia casts doubt on whether Philip the Apostle was buried in Hierapolis at all. The Catholic Church doesn't recognize the tradition of his being martyred in Hierapolis because it comes from the Acts of Philip, a source written centuries after Philip's death. Also, the tomb hasn't been opened, making it hard to say anything definitive. None of the news reports I read go into detail about what inscriptions the archaeologists found.
I'm not questioning the archaeologists' techniques or credibility, merely complaining about bad reporting. Perhaps D'Andria did talk to reporters about the inscriptions he found, but none of them covered that. Indeed, all of them state as fact that Philip the Apostle was buried in Hierapolis, and many state as fact that this is Philip's tomb. As happens so often with news stories about archaeology, reporters leap to attractive conclusions without checking their facts.
Hopefully D'Andria and his team really did find Philip the Apostle's tomb. This will add yet another reason to visit Hierapolis, which is already a UNESCO World Heritage Site. From the quickie news reports, though, it's hard to say for sure.
[Photo courtesy Wikimedia Commons]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
robert Jul 29th 2011 3:49AM
personally, i don't really care whether they have found philip's tomb or not, but i find it strange that you would say that the catholic church isn't even sure he was martyred there when a simple check over at the catholic register states exactly that.
not that the catholic church necessarily has everything right either.
most fascinating for me is that nobody seems to be arguing whether or not philip existed, or that he was a disciple, which would tend to indicate that they also accept that Christ was a real historical figure.
Sean McLachlan Jul 29th 2011 4:01AM
Robert,
To what register are you referring? The Catholic Encyclopedia is written by the Catholic Church and therefore reflects its ideology. Also, the Vatican's page on the Apostle Philip states: "According to certain later accounts (Acts of Philip and others), our Apostle is said to have evangelized first Greece and then Frisia, where he is supposed to have died, in Hierapolis, by a torture described variously as crucifixion or stoning."
You can see the whole page here:
http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/audiences/2006/documents/hf_ben-xvi_aud_20060906_en.html
This indicates that the Church doubts the account.
Personally I'm an agnostic, so I'm not taking the Catholic Church's word for it, but they make the fair point that the Acts of Philip is a much later source with no other supporting evidence.
As for Christ, there's good circumstantial evidence that he was a historical figure. As for all those miracles, well. . .
Paul McKechnie Jul 29th 2011 3:49AM
Sean McLachlan doesn't question the archaeologists' techniques or credibility, and instead blames the reporters. But Francesco D'Andria is quoted as saying 'We discovered the grave of St. Philip', and unless the reporting is so bad that the quotation is made up, the issue does go to the archaeologists' credibility.
The 27 July World Bulletin report quotes D'Andria as saying that 'the structure of the tomb and the writings on it proved that it belonged to St. Philip the Apostle'. As far as I can see in the accompanying picture, there is nothing about the structure which could only belong to the tomb of St. Philip. As for the writings, no detail is given about what is inscribed.
This looks to me like a case of an archaeologist co-opting the press to gain sensational coverage of an find which he himself does not understand, and which is probably not what he hopes and says that it is.
Dark Star Jul 29th 2011 6:50PM
It will be interesting to see what unfolds here. Thanks for the write up - this is the best one I have found so far.
And one note on the comments...
Pretty much anything you didn't directly witness is Circumstantial evidence, much of science is Circumstantial evidence. We just have to be very careful about drawing inferences. This is why we have the Scientific Method - Science is simply the process by which we minimize sources of bias and error in our inferences. For myself, concluding that there was a person, Jesus, as described in the Gospels would require me to ignore a tremendous number of difficulties. Too many to accept it based on the limited textual evidence for it.
I recommend Albert Schweitzer's The Quest of the Historical Jesus: "There is nothing more negative than the result of the critical study of the Life of Jesus. The Jesus of Nazareth who came forward publicly as the Messiah, who preached the ethic of the Kingdom of God, who founded the Kingdom of Heaven upon earth and died to give His work its final consecration never had any existence"
NM Jul 30th 2011 2:53AM
Hi Dark Star, you forgot to quote the rest:
Graham Stanton, Lady Margaret's Professor of Divinity at Cambridge University, writes that the majority of historians accept that Jesus existed and that the gospels contain plenty of valuable evidence which has to be weighed and assessed critically.[54] John P. Meier, professor of theology at University of Notre Dame, has stated that historians over the second half of the 20th century "have produced a rough consensus on the valid sources, methods and criteria in the quest for the historical Jesus"[55] Mark Allan Powell, professor of New Testament at Trinity Lutheran Seminary, has stated that "most historians are reasonably certain we can know about" things Jesus said and did.[56
Patricia Truty Aug 11th 2011 2:46AM
Sean,
I believe Robert is referring to the National Catholic Register newspaper, recently purchased by EWTN. (as opposed to the Nationla Catholic Reporter newspaper, which is not truly Catholic).
Joe Zias Aug 11th 2011 5:21AM
As someone directly involved in the excavation and publishing of the tomb of Caiphias I can state that the Jesus Nails story was a complete fabrication by a Canadian film maker along with a professor of biblical studies at UNC-Charlotte. If the folks in Italy are interested I as a Physical Anthropologist, with experience on the subject of crucifixion would be willing to confirm or disconfirm the the question as to whether the remains there show evidence for crucifixioon or beheading.
sharon Aug 16th 2011 2:32AM
I quote: 'The structure of the tomb and the writings on it proved that it belonged to St. Philip the Apostle'. What writings? Can we see them, what do they say?
Concerning the, quest for historical Jesus.
I refer you to the Nag Hammadi Ligrary. The scrolls I believe help to clarify that this Jesus did exist and so did his apostle's. I view them as proof.
http://www.gnosis.org/naghamm/nhlintro.html
Theologians have concluded that the historical Jesus did exist and that he was a teacher. Prefect!
And I agree this is the best site thus far.
Sharon
Phillip Oct 22nd 2011 1:43PM
I particularly hope this is Philips grave. I have patience for the truth. I have seen a couple of people on here that speak of little faith. I will try to help you with this.
Many people do not do their homework prior to opening their mouth.
I give you 4 assignments. Your first assignment is to read the Dead Sea Scrolls. Your second assignment is to read the Old Testament. In your first 2 assignments you will read of prophecies of the coming of Christ Jesus of Nazareth. You will read where, when, to whom He is born, (A Virgin) and the number of miracles (642) He will perform, (Dead Sea Scrolls). I don’t find it strange or a coincidence that the numbers from the (Dead Sea Scrolls) match the number of miracles performed by Christ Jesus (New Testament). Now we might just say they were just prophesies? I don’t find it strange or a coincidence that ALL of the prophesies of the (Dead Sea Scrolls) and (The Old Testament) have come true, period. If you were a mathematician you would learn that the odds of Christ Jesus being the Son of God is 10 to the 1000001 power. You do the math.
Your 3rd assignment: Read the New Testament. You will learn how we are supposed to live, particularly the Gospels. Learn and practice all of Cor. 13 and there will be world peace.
Your 4th assignment: Pray, pray for understanding of what you just read.
If you’re an agnostic or atheist, maybe a re-evaluation of your beliefs need to be contemplated with facts, rather than fiction. If this is not possible for you then please remember. You better hope your right when you die.
Me: 55, Disciple of Christ Jesus, Catholic [(not the new, hypocrites), I believe in the first Catholic Church with the 13)], not a Bible thumper but know and understand the parables and 2 metaphors, I am Nobody with Nothing, I am Phillip (like the Apostle only with 2 L’s)
Love Always,
Phillip