Finding the facts

Re “Faith and fraud,” Opinion, Nov. 29

Nina Burleigh has a book to sell, and she is making the rounds to drum up interest. Her book and article focus on the James ossuary, an allegedly ancient stone box with “James, son of Joseph, brother of Jesus” inscribed on it.

If it is not a fake, then her tale cannot be true and her book is worthless. Thus, she has a strong economic bias, which she amply demonstrates in the assumption in her article that the James ossuary is a forgery, though there is an ongoing trial in Israel to determine that very question. She also impugns the integrity and motives of those involved in the story who do not agree with her conclusions, apparently to support the greed part of her book title.

The most remarkable part is that her conclusions seem to ignore the conclusion of the judge that he is “not convinced the objects are forgeries” and who suggested that the prosecutors drop the case. At the end of her article, she states that before anyone calls a news conference, disinterested “experts” first ought to pass on the authenticity of future archaeological finds. It sounds like she has violated her own standard.

Randall Shelley

La Quinta