Easter a time to challenge beliefs

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The Easter season has an odd, new tradition: The period of reflection on the Crucifixion and Resurrection has become a popular time for marketers to roll out works -- from the scholarly to the sensational -- that challenge Christianity's core beliefs.

In the past several years, churchgoers have been hit with a steady stream of claims that Jesus didn't die on the cross, that he had a wife and children and that the Bible is a fraud.

Christians across a broad spectrum of belief are angered by the trend. They accept the freedom to question religion, but wonder why the assaults come during their faith's most sacred days.

"Why are they doing it now and why are they doing it in such a provocative way?" asked the Rev. James Martin, a Jesuit writer and author of "My Life With the Saints."

"We have nothing to fear from serious scientific inquiry, but when it's slanted and leaves out the religious point of view, it's very misleading. It can all be tied together in a slick package that can be very compelling."

This year's outrage for Christians was "The Lost Tomb of Jesus," a documentary suggesting that a south Jerusalem cave discovered in 1980 contained the remains of Jesus -- indicating he wasn't resurrected. The filmmakers also suggest that Mary Magdalene was buried in the tomb, that she and Jesus were married, and that a stone box labeled "Judah son of Jesus" belonged to a son.

The documentary was released six days into Lent by James Cameron, Oscar-winning director of "Titanic," who produced the film. Top archeologists in the United States and abroad called that claim and the film's findings preposterous, but a book based on the documentary quickly climbed the best-seller list.

"There is more tolerance in the general culture for all things wild and wacky about Jesus," said Ben Witherington, a New Testament expert at Asbury Theological Seminary and author of "What Have They Done With Jesus?"

Last year's Lenten season brought similar affronts.

The paperback edition of Dan Brown's novel "The Da Vinci Code" -- about a Roman Catholic conspiracy to hide Jesus' marriage -- was released, along with Michael Baigent's nonfiction, "The Jesus Papers: Exposing the Greatest Cover-Up in History."