tv Christian World News TLN April 10, 2012 9:00pm-9:30pm PDT

9:00 pm

>> today on "christian world news" looking for the authentic location of jesus' death, burl yal and resurrection. we explore christianity's holyiest places. from ancient to rome.

9:01 pm

and performance artist david garibaldi has a special easter presentation. the search for biblical history in the holy land, hello everyone, i am wendy griffith. in jerusalem's old city, two sites claim to be the place where jesus was buried and rose again. which is authentic. chris mitchell has the story. >> reporter: the garden tomb, the garden of joseph of arimathea some believe. some believe jesus died, buried and rose from the dead. the garden is a two-acre oasis in jerusalem. british christians bought the garden 125 years ago and formed

9:02 pm

the garden tomb associaton. for years they have allowed visitors free of charge. richard is the director of the garden tomb. >> we have the perfect representation of the biblical account of the four gospels. everything matches what we show people. >> today nearly a quarter of a million visitors pour into the garden tomb each year. this is the tour visitors get when they come to the garden. jesus was crucified outside the city walls, and there was a garden that belonged to a rich man by the name of joseph of arimathea. >> we came to the place the bible calls gol gat that, that is to say place of a skull.

9:03 pm

>> what are some of the main questions people ask you? >> some of the main questions from christian groups, can we be certain this is the place where jesus died and where he was raised to life. people ask why there are two please, here and the holy sepulchre. some believe it is the actual place of the crucifixion and resurrection, not the the garden tomb. constantine's mother hellen na helped build the church. the roman emperor built the site because local christians say it is the place of golgotha. gospel of john said at the place

9:04 pm

jesus was crucified it was a garden. if you have a garden, you need lots of water in the dry middle east. the garden tomb contains the largest cistern, it is 2000 years old and holds 2000 gallons of water. >> the tomb we have here is typical of first century jewish rolling stone, tomb, at least 2,000 years old. >> the bible also says there was a tomb. >> it is carved out of a solid wrok. it is a man made tomb. >> this channel that you can see in front of the tomb entrance is where the stone would have set that would have rolled across. the most important thing about the tomb is it is empty. let's have a look. >> okay. >> what we are looking at is

9:05 pm

through into the burl burial chamber. this is where a body would be laying. one here and one here. >> whether the garden tomb or church of the holy sepulchre is the tomb of jesus', many take with them a profound affirmation of their faith. >> i am a bible teacher and have so much to show them and want to take this passion back that jesus is who he says he is and is the son of god and did walk this earth. >> those at the garden tomb stress it is not the place, it is the person. >> the bible writers themselves were more interested in jesus christ, himself, who he is, why

9:06 pm

he died. >> that is what we want people to take away, the tomb is empty. we as christians in all the world faith serve the living god who has overcome death and dealt with the sin and jesus is the centrality of our christian faith, is he not? that is what we want people to take away, the living lord jesus. the easter weekend changed the world and the weekend when jesus died and buried and rose again for me and for you. >> chris mitchell, cbn news. jerusalem. up next, an unprecedented event in vatican city. find out what this is and see how it is united jews, roman catholics and orthodox christians, this easter.

9:07 pm

9:08 pm

>> as christians celebrate the death and resurrection of jesus christ, a one of a kind event is

9:09 pm

bringing jews, krat licks, protestants and orthodox christians together. as george thomas tells us, it is all happening in the shadow of the vatican. ♪ ♪ >> reporter: in the heart of the smallest country on earth -->> to have this selection of rare documents altogether in one police is extraordinary. >> this easter, as millions descend on one of the world's most holy places. >> we want to say here is a book we all love and cherish, let's celebrate that. >> in latin the word of the lord brings together more than 150 rare jewish, roman catholic, protestant, and orthodox christians artifacts to vatican city. >> what is the sense? >> cure ray to, dr. scott carol

9:10 pm

is a scholar on ancient manuscripts. >> when i think about those that studied it, it is an interfaith effort. >> steps from st. petersburg tells the story of god's word down throughout ages. >> i never imagined i could be centimeters away from such historical documents. >> the earlier surviving new testament written in palastinian air mayic to rare byzatine manuscripts and torah, the collection testifies to the hardships christians endured to access, translate the most

9:11 pm

published book. >> in the spirit of the text, it is preserved. it is the same faith that i share, that these men share through their testimony, through their preservation and the difficulties and suffering. >> what makes this exhibition at vatican city so unique, is the fact it has brought various faith groups together under one roof, displaying the manuscripts that are important to the protestan protestants, jewish, orthodox christians and roman catholic faiths. >> this exhibit is so important because of the subject itself. the bible is the instrument that unites us. >> walking in st. peters square, there is success since the opening in march. >> do you pinch yourself?

9:12 pm

>> it is incredible? just a couple of years ago, the idea wouldn't have come in my mind. >> two-thirds belong to steve green and his family, the largest ancient biblical artifacts and rare books. >> our family has a love for god's word. that has been passed down for multiple generation. >> this archaeologists helped the greens buy most of the collection which is now called the green collection valued at some 500 million dollars. >> to my knowledge, nothing has been done like this in the history of christianity. >> why are they doing this? why are they spending all this money? they want to tell the story of the bible. >> is steve green a collector?

9:13 pm

>> our family, myself included are not really collectors. we have made this purchase and acquisition of all of these bibles in order to tell its story. that is what we want to do. >> part of telling that story is to encourage people to read god's word, something sponsors of the exhibit, hope visitors take away. >> that is the whole point. we were wanting not only to observe history, but we are wanting to make history by getting a new generation engaged in holy scripture. when steve green is not scouring the earth for old bibles, you'll find him in oklahoma city, oklahoma running hobby lobby. it is the family's love for god's word that gets him excited

9:14 pm

the most. he has big plans to house the green collection in a museum in washington, d.c. george thomas, cbn news, vatican city. thanks, george, later in the broadcast, a performance artist brings the story of jesus to life, how his work will turn your perspective upside down.

9:15 pm

9:16 pm

>> you just met businessman steve green in george's piece. he is best known for his family company called hobby lobby. he and his family have spent a lot of money buying biblical artifacts. their purposes is to share the power of the holy bible. george thomas talked to steve green. >> you made this purchase in november, 2009, what did you buy and how much did you spend?

9:17 pm

>> first purchase was in november of 2009, the richard roll. he was a gentleman that translated the book of psalms into english 40 years before wycliffe did. we had several opportunities that were presented to dr. scott carol who is the director of our collection. he is an expert, he knows what he is looking at and what the rough value is. we have been buying for a little over two years now and have acquired 44,000 items. >> why are you doing this? >> we want to tell the story of the bible. we want to put it in a permanent museum. we are looking in washington, d.c. one is the history of this book, how we can believe and trust what this book has to say

9:18 pm

it is a reliable and historical document. secondly, we want to tell the story how this book has had an impact and thirdly, what is the story of the book? >> is there a sense in the american culture, in fact, pretty much across western europe that the bible and word of god is under assault? >> i think the fact of the matter is the book is under assault. which is nothing new. it has been under assault for generations, that is part of the story we want to tell. it has been persecuted and loved. loved to the point where people have given their lives. as folks come and look through all of these various artifacts, what do you want them to take away from the experience? >> think that they would recognize the position that those that have a bible and most

9:19 pm

have a bible, to cherish what they have. hopefully they will have a desire to be more engaged in that book and read it. at this time, especially as we celebrate lent and the easter season, recognize the central character which is christ and central event of all history. >> you know the research, people are not reading the word of god, their understanding is not good. do you hope having something like the green collection changes that? >> i have been on several mission trips where our family has been involved in distributing bible literature around the world. i have seen and handed kids around the world a portion of the bible and have taken and cherished it. it maybe the only book they have. in america, it has become common for most americans and in many

9:20 pm

case it is taken for granted. we have the most ignorant population we have ever had. i hope we can reinvigorate a desire with a museum in washington, d.c. that would cause people to say i want to get reengaged, ultimately, i want to apply it to my life. >> you are spending time to connect with universities whether it is came bridge or oxford to provide the scientific backing to your collection. >> we have start today green scholars niche initiative. we have professors that are -- a lot hasn't been produced or published, we want the best scholarly minds to take a look at it so when we have a museum we will present the artifacts in

9:21 pm

a scholarly way. we don't have to run from any of the evidence. we want to dig out as much as we can and present the evidence and show this book is what it claims to be. >> you can learn more about the amazing collection that steve green and his family have put together at cwnews.org.

9:22 pm

9:23 pm

>> welcome back. performance artist david garibaldi has captivated audiences around the world with his unique portraits. watch now as david shares this portrait of the most influential person in his life. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪

9:24 pm