Was St. Peter's Tomb Found? Updated

UPDATED AGAIN WITH NEW INFORMATION

Artist's concept of Peter

As a religious historian, I invariably run into people convinced by a new book that some great Christian relic has been found that “proves” the validity of their faith.

The latest is The Fisherman’s Tomb by John O’Neill.  In it, the author, who has made a habit of researching early Christian sites, claims that the real bones of the Apostle have been found below St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. 

Some of that is true: Remains were found there. They date from the 1st century and are those of a man, thought to be about 65 years old. The Church has claimed they are Peter's relics for centuries and has held an annual celebration in their honor since the 1960s.

None of that proves a thing.

In the first place, there’s no evidence Peter ever went to Rome.  Any information about Peter in the New Testament, the only place Peter is mentioned in any historical document of the era, ends basically when Jesus dies.  Even the account as it stands may be wrong. Not even the Roman Catholic Church thinks the New Testament is historically accurate.

Early Church fathers, starting only in the second century, claim Peter went to Rome.  However, Paul, who in an epistle describes visiting Rome and who otherwise argued with Peter, never mentions seeing Peter or that he was in Rome.  Paul lived during Peter’s lifetime.  The others did not.

Peter's Tomb in Rome

Besides, Peter, identified as an illiterate fisherman, would have had no reason to go to Rome, home of the empire and an enemy to him and fellow believers.  In early Church traditions, he supposedly went to Antioch and served as the bishop there.  That, too, is conjecture since the early Church, being Jewish, didn’t have hierarchy of any kind.

Then, too, the “tradition” about Peter’s death, reportedly crucified upside down under Nero in around 64 C.E., didn’t start until long after his death.  Not coincidentally, the Church spent centuries arguing over where to base its home.  The Bishop of Rome was pushing for Rome and was helped when the “tomb” of Peter was found there.

Peter the Hermit

Many such relics have been found fortuitously through history, such as Peter the Hermit miraculously producing the “lance” that pierced Jesus’ side just when the People’s Crusade was faltering in the 11th century. There are enough pieces of the “true cross” to recreate a forest, many “discovered” to boost morale or enhance belief.

Where was Peter’s skeleton found? In what was previously known as a pagan graveyard.  Lots of bodies.  Dating is also problematic.  Scientists don’t have any method of pinpointing an exact date.  Carbon 14, which is the most accurate method so far, is plus or minus 50 years.  So, the body found in the grave could have been placed there from 10 C.E. to 110 C.E.

The Church examined the tomb in the fifth century and realized the artifacts with it placed the body in a different era.  As a result, the tomb was "lost" for a few decades.

Also, other tombs found in the area contain the names of Jesus, Mary, James, John, and the rest of the apostles.  No one claims that the entire early church was transferred to Rome. Besides, all the names were common among Jews then.

In addition, tombs of known martyrs were festooned with their names incised in the stone by pilgrims.  Peter's tomb contains graffiti, but his name appears only once.

Those gaping holes in the claims don’t even reflect the biggest problems. 

Emperor Claudius

For starters, regardless when Peter died, he was unknown to anyone outside of Jerusalem.  Even there, maybe a handful of people in the Nazarene sect knew him.  His death would not have caused a ripple in anyone’s consciousness. Christianity did not exist then.  The Roman church is thought to have been founded by Jews returning from Judea.  If so, there could not have been that many.

The Nazarenes were a sect of Judaism.  Every member was a Jew.  Emperor Claudius had banned Jews in Rome from 49 until his death in 54.  How many had come back? Of those, how many cared that a small cult had gathered around a dead preacher from the backwoods of Judea?  Paul insists the church was flourishing when he visited there but doesn’t give any numbers.

Artist concept of Paul

None of the other “churches” he founded had more than a few members.  Rome would have been no different.

Just to indicate how limited the number must have been, no one knows where and when Paul died.  Yet, he is far more significant than Peter, having founded many of the Christian colonies.  Myths about him claim that he pushed on to Spain.  So far, no one has claimed to have found his tomb, even though Christianity is based on his teachings.  Rome, of course, claims Peter and Paul died there, without a shred of supporting evidence.

As for Peter, being completely unknown, after death, he would not be accorded any special burial.  He might have died as a Roman prisoner, although charges are still unknown.  As such, his body would have been tossed in a common grave.  Regardless, the tiny, impoverished Jewish-Christian community in Rome, well documented in Roman sources, could not have afforded a tomb.

Then, too, he was supposedly crucified upside down.  Supporters claim that the skeleton of “Peter” backs that claim because it has no feet.  Other explanations are possible, of course, such as bones separating during movement or scavenging by wild animals, but not in the narrow mindset of believers.

How do they know the skeleton was of a crucified man?  There’s no evidence of crucifixion other than the missing feet.  In fact, of all the skeletons ever examined from that era, and although Romans crucified thousands of victims, only one set of remains have ever been found that can be positively identified as having been crucified.  That’s because, in other cases,  the nails were removed because they supposedly had health-related properties.The lack of nails means cause of death cannot be ascribed to crucifixion.

Heel of crucified man

The only skeleton of a crucified man located to date had a nail embedded so deeply into the heel bone that it couldn’t be removed.  That’s not true for the “Peter” skeleton. 

Besides, cutting off the feet, supposedly a prerequisite for an upside crucifixion, would have brought instant death, making crucifixion superfluous.  On top of that, Romans crucified victims in all sorts of directions.  In no extant description did the victim lose anatomical parts beforehand.

Finally, Christians showed no interest in their history until the 4th century. The first history of Christianity wasn’t even written until then. No sources for the information were supplied.  In the book, the author Eusebius was convinced the world was ending shortly because of the harassment faced by Christians.  He was wrong about that, too. 

Soon after, Christianity was legalized by the Emperor Constantine.  His mother, Helena, later toured Jerusalem and picked out locales she was sure were connected to Jesus.  Today, through archaeology, scholars know she was invariably wrong.

The same is probably true with this skeleton supposedly of Peter.

The scenario that makes the most sense is this: Rome needs to find an important relic.  A body buried in a pagan cemetery is identified as Peter’s.  It’s treated with respect and placed in a tomb.  Then, centuries later, another author, the latest in a line of them, comes along to celebrate the “discovery.”

Of course, coincidences happen.  Maybe the folks in the 300s stumbled over Peter’s body.  Stranger things have occurred.  It’s just extraordinarily unlikely, especially in this situation, but the bold, incredible claims about Peter’s tomb are no surprise.  

O'Neill

Author John O’Neill is the same shill who published Unfit for Command: Swift Boat Veterans Speak Out Against John Kerry, the unrepentant, false assault on John Kerry, then the Democratic candidate for president.

O’Neill wasn’t honest then, but he sold books.

Ditto for The Fisherman’s Tomb.

Long-time religious historian Bill Lazarus regularly writes about religion and religious history with an occasional foray into American culture.  He holds an ABD in American Studies from Case Western Reserve University.   He also speaks at various religious organizations throughout Florida.  You can reach him at wplazarus@aol.com.  He is the author of the famed The Unauthorized Biography of Nostradamus; The Last Testament of Simon Peter; The Gospel Truth: Where Did the Gospel Writers Get Their Information; Noel: The Lore and Tradition of Christmas Carols; and Dummies Guide to Comparative Religion.  A recent book, Passover in Prison, which details abuse of Jewish inmates in American prisons.  His books are available on Amazon.com, Kindle, bookstores and via various publishers, including Bold Venture Press.  He can also be followed on Twitter.

Anti-Semitism Reveals a Christian Past Updated

Russell Walker

UPDATED

A variety of news agencies are reporting that episodes of anti-Semitism have risen around the world. Fringe political leaders in Europe have attacked Jews verbally. Recently, a Nazi flag was found flying in a Wyoming public park at the same time avowed anti-Semites are openly running for office. 

Then, this week, 11 people were killed by an avowed anti-Semite in Pittsburgh, a more graphic demonstration of the kind of hate festering in this country.

In North Carolina, for example, white supremacist Russell Walker, a Republican candidate for the state house of representatives, used his webpage to claim (sic) “the jews are NOT semitic they are satanic as they all descend from Satan.” 

Paul Nehlen

In Illinois, American Nazi Party member and Republican Arthur Jones is running for Congress and posted on his website that the “idea that six million Jews, were killed by the National Socialist government of Germany, in World War II, is the biggest, blackest lie in history.”  In California, John Fitzgerald, representing the Republicans in a run for a state house seat, claimed that the Holocaust is a lie and that Jews were behind the slave trade of the 1700-1800s.  In Wisconsin, another openly anti-Semite, Paul Nehlen, is running as a Republican for the U.S. House seat being vacated by Paul Ryan.

What is going on?

Sadly, nothing new.  Anti-Semitism has been an integral part of Western civilization since it was invented by Christians some 1600 years ago.  With a president openly espousing bigotry, anti-Semites are simply more overt, reprising their counterparts in the Middle Ages and the 1930s.

Roman sculpture of the Jewish menorah

Prior to the birth of Christianity, anti-Semitism was unknown.  Jews may or may not have been popular, but that had nothing to do with their religion.  As residents of a small country in between major powers, Jews often found themselves in conflict with neighboring lands  Their beliefs didn’t matter at all.

And they were different.  They believed in one god at a time when the rest of the world had countless gods or, as in Buddhism, none.  They had many rules and regulations that explained how to worship that god they called Yahweh.  Romans shrugged and added Yahweh to their pantheon along with multiple gods from other cultures.

Romans also catered to Jews eccentricities by allowing them to pray “for” the emperor rather than “to.”  They handed out free food to poor Jews on a Sunday rather than on the Jewish sabbath, Saturday. 

Actually, Jews and those who liked their moral and ethical teachings (called God-fearers) represented the largest single faith in the Roman Empire, an estimated 7 to 10 percent of the population. 

Romans didn’t dislike Jews for their religious beliefs but weren’t happy with them for rebelling three times in the first and early second centuries.

Constantine legalized Christianity

Then the Christians came along.  Romans didn’t like them either because they were just as adamant that there was only one god and refused to accept that Roman gods existed.   

Romans thought the deities protected them and had to be catered to.  Failure to do so meant danger to the country.

Jews were not punished for their reluctance to acknowledge Jupiter and his cohorts because they had an ancient history and so were “grandfathered” in.  Christians were new and didn’t have that protection. They were persecuted (not as often as decried by Christian leaders or as long -- an estimated 13 years across three centuries) and quickly cried for religious freedom.  That fervent request vanished as soon as Christianity was declared the sole state religion late in the 4^th century.

Jewish ghetto from the Middle Ages

Then, Christians attacked every other religion, but their special animosity was directed against Jews.  Early followers of Jesus were all Jewish as were the first 15 popes.  However, when the beliefs finally divided around 100 C.E., Christians believed that Jews had been the “chosen people,” but that designation had transferred to the Christians.  Yet, there were still Jews. 

Once Christianity took control, anti-Semitism was born. Christian cultures quickly marginalized Jews, eventually banning them from many European countries, forcing them into detested professions like tax-collecting and money-lending, requiring them to wear special markings and making them live in isolated communities.  Jews were victims of pogroms and assaults, confiscation of property and kidnapping of their children as well as such absurdities as the “blood libel” that still stains human conscience.

Yet, Jews endured, despite the hatred reinforced by Church leaders determined to harass and belittle a small cadre of people who refused to accept Christian “truths.”  Anti-Semitism was nothing more than a brutal way of demeaning another religion for the sin of surviving in a Christian society.

The role of the Church in asserting and maintaining anti-Semitism was amply documented in a 1960s study by the Sanford University. 

Such hatred was further abetted by a pseudo-science called eugenics, which was at the heart of the Nazi claims of superiority.  Conceived in the mid-1800s by an English relative of Charles Darwin, eugenics argued that some people had good genes.  Others were defective.  So, everything had to be done to prevent the continuation of bad genes.  To Nazis, Jews had the poor genetics.  In this country, racists naturally thought African-Americans did.

Only genetic research after World War II proved the concept was false.  Some genes are defective, but they aren’t the property of a single group.  We all have them.  As a result, mixing DNA across ethnic boundaries results in stronger people, not defective ones.  That’s because a defective gene has to match up with a similar one to affect someone.  If only one contributor has a defective gene, it never affects the baby.

Children of the Holocaust

At the same time, scholars worldwide have documented the reality of the Holocaust, the lack of Jewish involvement in the slave trade and other facts that completely belie claims by anti-Semites.  Jews don’t control banking or have even a modest share of any industry except clothing and jewelry.

Still, anti-Semitism thrives.  Like any form of bigotry and irrational hatred, it is passed along through generations as described in Oscar Hammerstein’s lyrics from South Pacific:

You've got to be taught before it's too late
Before you are six or seven or eight
To hate all the people your relatives hate
You've got to be carefully taught.

In a recent news story, a young Christian woman in Germany visited a gathering of Jewish teens, listened to them explain their religion and told reporters that she couldn’t understand why anyone would hate them.  Anti-Semitism to her made no sense.

It doesn’t.  Neither does racism or any other form of bigotry.

Humans are all the same.  Our only difference is gender.  And even there the differences are minimal.

Unfortunately, as the spate of anti-Semitic candidates and actions demonstrates, some people prefer to create divisions when none exist.  They are not alone.  Each of the hate-spreading candidates are on the ballot because they finished first or second in their primaries or ran unopposed.  People voted for them despite their lies.

Sadly, irrational hated is not limited to the few who venture into the spotlight and hasn't been for centuries.

Long-time religious historian Bill Lazarus regularly writes about religion and religious history with an occasional foray into American culture.  He holds an ABD in American Studies from Case Western Reserve University.   He also speaks at various religious organizations throughout Florida.  You can reach him at www.williamplazarus.net.  He is the author of the famed Unauthorized Biography of Nostradamus; The Last Testament of Simon Peter; The Gospel Truth: Where Did the Gospel Writers Get Their Information; Noel: The Lore and Tradition of Christmas Carols; and Dummies Guide to Comparative Religion.  A recent book, Passover in Prison, which details abuse of Jewish inmates in American prisons.  His books are available on Amazon.com, Kindle, bookstores and via various publishers.  He can also be followed on Twitter.