imageJoe Marino writes:

Paul Maier is retired professor of ancient history at Western Michigan University.  He also attended Concordia Seminary in St. Louis.  I’m not sure when the talk was actually given, but it was put on Youtube on 5/11/13.

Maier is very entertaining.  He once wrote an historical novel in which the Shroud was mentioned as having been proven a fake.  I started corresponding with him and he used to receive my print newsletter and also my email bulletins.

Since he was discussing archaeological evidence for the existence of Jesus, I thought he might mention the Shroud or I thought someone would bring it up in the Q & A.  Neither happened.  Granted, the Shroud isn’t "new," but I would have thought it was worth a mention.

He did mention several interesting things not directly related to the Shroud.  Regarding the date of the crucifixion, he mentions 2 things.  He said that Josephus wrote that James the Just was murdered 29 years after Jesus’ death.  Everyone gives the date of James’ death as 62, so that would put the crucifixion in AD 33.  He also said that a Greek writer named Phlegon recounted a darkness at noon and an earthquake in Nicea in the 4th month of the 4th year of the 202nd Olympiad, which Maier says matches to April, 33 AD.

He also said that the Jordan River Excavations show that the Strata from 33 AD indicates there was an earthquake disruption.  I’m not sure how you get a Strata for a specific year.

The whole thing is about 1 1/2 hours but it’s very informative and very entertaining.