Posted on 11/01/2003 7:19:13 AM PST by Happy2BMe
ABC asks (but in the wee hours): Was Jesus married?
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The Associated Press
NEW YORK -- ABC News correspondent Elizabeth Vargas concedes her network is stepping into a theological minefield with its one-hour exploration of whether Jesus Christ had a wife.
The ABC News special, "Jesus, Mary and DaVinci," is scheduled to air Tuesday, November 3rd, at 3:35 a.m. (The prime time slot on Monday is occupied by Monday Night Football.)
"You can't talk about this subject without intriguing people or offending people," Vargas said earlier this week. "We're trying to do it as respectfully as we can."
ABC screened the special for some reporters and religious leaders on Thursday. The program is based on the best-selling novel, The DaVinci Code, which claims to be partly grounded in historical fact.
The book asserts that Mary Magdalene was Jesus' wife -- not a prostitute, as in some teachings -- and that she fled Jerusalem with his child after his crucifixion.
The story was kept alive for centuries by a secret society that included the painter Leonardo DaVinci, who supposedly inserted clues about it in his art, the book claimed.
The ABC special speaks to several theologians who either discount the story or assert that it is possible. Vargas said ABC found no proof that Jesus had a wife, but couldn't completely discount it, either.
Vargas, who was raised a Roman Catholic, said her own parents said to her, "Oh, my goodness, what are you doing?" when they found out she was working on the story.
It drew some immediate criticism, particularly from a representative of the Catholic League, who said ABC News relied too heavily on the opinion of the Rev. Richard McBrien of Notre Dame, who believes Mary Magdalene's importance has been historically understated and that it's possible she was his wife.
"The facts themselves scream out that this is a crackpot theory," said Joseph DeFeo, policy analyst for the Catholic League.
I also heard (but have never read it) that Mary, the mother of Jesus was swept away to England via the trade ships out of the Middle East so as to protect her from Roman (and Jewish) persecution.
So many, many lies.
Matthew 24
4Jesus told them, "Don't let anyone mislead you. 5For many will come in my name, saying, `I am the Messiah.' They will lead many astray. 6And wars will break out near and far, but don't panic. Yes, these things must come, but the end won't follow immediately.
Luke 21
7"Teacher," they asked, "when will all this take place? And will there be any sign ahead of time?"
8He replied, "Don't let anyone mislead you. For many will come in my name, claiming to be the Messiah[1] and saying, `The time has come!' But don't believe them. 9And when you hear of wars and insurrections, don't panic. Yes, these things must come, but the end won't follow immediately."
And a good number of them don't believe that Jesus was God or that there is a God at all. The point is that they never have any evidence to back up this claim. If they have any then trot it on out. Let’s see it.
Why Jesus possibly being married is a threat to some Christians is not easy to understand.
A threat? No. Simply another lie that should be challanged. Goodness knows that there have been a lot of them about Him. But it is a very Greek notion that is not supported by the scriptures or by logic. It would be very odd, for example, for Him to have taken such tender care of His mother's future on the cross and then make no provision for a wife.
Even stranger would be His getting married knowing that His life would be so short and end so violently.
Sleep well.
What the prophesies say specifically, is that Jesus left no progeny.
Jesus told his disciples "..I have meat to eat that ye know not of." after they saw him talking to the woman at the well. He wasn't interested in taking a woman for a wife.
His "wife" is the church. You are right.
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