Science, Faith, History, and the "Tomb of Jesus"

The Dallas Morning News religion blog has a strange quote from David Frankfurter of the University of New Hampshire about the current "Jesus tomb" controversy - no attribution as to the source, unfortunately.

It's remarkable that Christian groups are getting so hot under the collar about the implications of this. Scientific archeology can't touch religious tradition and conviction unless religions come to depend on science for their validity.

What a bizarre statement. The Christians opposing this "tomb of Jesus" nonsense are defending the historical truth of Jesus' death, resurrection, and ascension (and, of course, his non-marriage to Mary Magdalene). But Frankfurter's position makes sense if you view "science" and "religion" as two independent spheres of knowledge with little or no overlap. (The assumption, to the popular mind at least, is that "science" is "real" while "religion" is "helpful.")

The Unity of Knowledge
This is not what orthodox Christianity teaches, however. As the Nicene Creed begins,

I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible.

All of creation - heaven and earth, visible and invisible - is unified, because it was made by the one God. By implication, all of knowledge is integrated. The content of Jesus' sermons, the historical data of his birth and death, and the molecules forming his flesh are all part of the same, unified reality. We may not know all of that reality perfectly, but Christians, from the earliest days, have firmly connected their beliefs to the historical events of Jesus' life, death, and resurrection. As only one example from many, when Jesus' disciples were selecting someone to replace Judas as one of the Twelve, Peter said,

Therefore it is necessary to choose one of the men who have been with us the whole the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning from John's baptism to the time when Jesus was taken up from us. For one of these must become a witness with us of his resurrection. (Acts 1:21-22)

I am not at all sure what is so "remarkable" about Christians defending the reality of the event that forms the basis of our faith. Like the first disciples, we serve as "witnesses of his resurrection," through our religion, our science, and through every other aspect of our lives.