The Church of the Nutrition–referencing Christ's nurturing–was a pilgrimage site during the Byzantine period. This church earned its name because it was said to be built atop Christ's childhood home.
Research published in the Palestine Exploration Quarterly, published in 2013, presents evidence that this church lies beneath the Sisters of Nazareth convent in Nazareth, Israel.
And beneath this church lies the remains of a stone building from the first century AD.
University of Reading Professor Ken Dark says the house shows evidence of quality craftsmanship, which would be consistent with reports of Joseph's trade. His new book, The Sisters of Nazareth Convent: A Roman-period, Byzantine, and Crusader site in central Nazareth, outlines the archaeological evidence accumulated over years of excavation beneath the convent.
The problem? There's no way this can ever be confirmed.
What if a young boy is born who claims to be the reincarnation of Jesus Christ and confirms the site as his former home? Similar to the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama, or the Avatar.
The story could revolve around the child's upbringing and attempts to convince the wider world of his legitimacy, told from his view. The Christian church's political challenges would take front and center in the first book, both among protestants and Catholics. The story could highlight the boys dealing with his status while not yet performing miracles, second-guessing himself despite flashes of his former life.
One of the keys to his memories would be that he has no awareness of events that happen before his current age. For example, at ten, he remembers all of Jesus's life up to the point Christ was ten.
The second book could be about convincing the Jewish population. Simultaneously, the reincarnated Christ takes steps in his education that put him on a path to performing the miracles ascribed to himself in the past via science.
In the third book, the miracles begin. Mainstream Christianity accepts him first, then the other religions do as well. The world splits into believers and non-believers, causing rifts common in every major institution, like Republicans and Democrats, Protestant and Catholic, Sunni and Shia.
The fourth book, and the rest of the series, could deal with coming to the point up and through Jesus's crucifixion, where he isn't killed. He has to figure out, on his own, how to navigate the challenges as the leader of a religion. In the final book, he brings about the prophecies laid out in revelations.
