On Sunday, The Discovery Channel plans to debut a program (I dare not call it a documentary!) about some archeologists who claim to have found Jesus’ family’s burial site.

The discovery, some ten limestone bone boxes called ossuaries, is not new.  The ossuaries were first uncovered in a Jerusalem suburb back in March of 1980.  And this isn’t the first time we’ve heard about Holy Family bones turning up; remember the ossuary from about five years ago which was alleged to hold the bones of Jesus’ brother James — and which has since been thouroughly debunked?

James Cameron (”Titanic” ranks among his credits) is involved in the production, which for me offers at least two big points going in:  First, money isn’t much of an object when it comes to production values and promotion, and second, that a little thing like historical accuracy should never stand in the way of a rollicking good show.

One of the more interesting developments coming out in advance of “The Lost Tomb of Jesus” is the assertion that DNA testing will have proved something.  But what?  My understanding of DNA, whether it’s used forensically in court to prove the blood spot was from the killer or on Maury Povich to prove “Who’s Your Daddy,” is that it’s pretty much useless without some basis for comparison.  So therein lies the dilemma:  Whose DNA IS this, anyway?  Maybe the lab techs can show family relationships exist among the bones, but tying that to Jesus is, well, way more than a stretch — unless, as at least one critic has asked about, they somehow got a DNA sample from God.  Now THAT would be newsworthy….

Yes, I am a Christian, and my faith is very important to me.  I am also a student of science, and I see no inherent contradiction there.  I figure God can create the universe in any way He chooses, including through evolution.

That we’re even discussing all of this before the show hits the air speaks volumes about Cameron’s success as a showman.  PT Barnum has nothing on this guy.  Will I watch?  Sure I will, just as I both read “The DaVinci Code” and watched that movie. I also tuned in for the James Ossuary program.  But I’m not gullible enough to be taken in by it, unlike too many others who will actually believe this stuff — either because deep down they really want to debunk Christianity and its tenets or because they’ll be swayed by smoke and mirrors passing as “science.”