Alfred Newman

"Some of the themes used were stolen"

Newman didn't steal music from those other films. George Stevens directed Newman to re-use his crucifixion music from The Robe and slap it into the Lazarus resurrection scene. This was done over Newman's objections.

"The Nativity music was dreadful compared to Miklos Rosza' work on Ben Hur and King of Kings."

It was not dreadful. It was low-key, in keeping with the low-key photography and scripting. No blaring Rosza brio of combined orchestra and chorus. Instead: a soft, pastoral theme befitting the film's own unspectacular tone.

"The Crucifixion and Resurrection themes were un-inspiring as well."

What in the world are you talking about??? The "Crucifixion theme", after a brief intro of Verdi's Requiem, is all Newman's, and completely appropriate to the action on screen. Especially, there is nothing uninspiring about the final bars of the crucifixion music, when all goes dark, the sky explodes with thunder, and the Temple veil ripples in the wind. The music begins sweetly melancholic and steadily rises to an almost unbearable level of poignancy before resolving in a triumphant note which matches the Christian message that Jesus' death was really a victory. I wonder if you've ever really listened to the score.

Back to the resurrection of Lazarus. After fulfilling his obligation to Stevens of inserting his old music from The Robe, Newman then proceded to supply his own, new, unique "Hallelujah" theme. This lasts from Van Heflin exiting Lazarus' courtyard ("Did you see it? Lazarus is alive!") until the three characters begin running to the walls of Jerusalem. Newman wrote this theme for both Lazarus' AND Jesus' resurrection. It was foreshortened in the Lazarus-resurrection scene and deleted altogether for the Jesus-resurrection scene. Which inevitably raises the next question:

How can you possibly refer to the music that underscores Jesus' resurrection a "Resurrection" theme? It is not Newman's music at all, but rather, again at Stevens' direction, Handel's Messiah/Hallelujah Chorus. As with the Lazarus scene, Stevens insisted that Newman insert Handel rather than supplying music of his own. How could you not recognize the Handel, and how could you blame Newman for this resurrection music which he did not write, and for which he was not responsible?

Seems you are simply not conversant enough with the sad musical history of this film to make any criticism of Alfred Newman's work on it. You say you're a Newman fan, a claim which, based on your ignorance of Newman and his work in this film, seems to be less than factual.