Posted on 06/13/2011 3:57:07 PM PDT by HarleyD
Something for your read.
I always thought Jesus had brothers.
In fact, I always wondered if he had sisters as well.
Ping...
Um, the essay does not prove Mary had other children after Jesus. The essay does make a great case for Joseph having children who were his by another wife, who perhaps died in childbirth prior to Joseph’s betrothal with Mary. But the Bible really doesn’t make this issue plain. Joseph however is not a part of the New Testament story after childhood of Jesus (the incident where the twelve year old Jesus lagged behind at the Temple and was not missed until the parents were on the road appears to be the last mention of Joseph, IIRC).
“The essay does make a great case for Joseph having children who were his by another wife, who perhaps died in childbirth prior to Joseph’s betrothal with Mary”
With all due respect, this is like the ‘Big Bang’ Theory. There is NO evidence of Joseph having had a prior wife ANYWHERE.
Yet there IS evidence that Mary had other children in this. They are always mentioned with Mary, not Joseph. Why do we just ASSUME that they MAY have been Joseph’s from a prior marriage? This is out of thin air.
No one, picking up a New Testament and reading it through, would conclude Mary remained a virgin. Neither would they conclude that Purgatory is real, that the Bishop of Rome reigns supreme, or that priests are needed to offer a literal sacrifice of the flesh and blood of Jesus each week (or more). Those require scripture to conform to tradition, rather than judge tradition in light of scripture.
Of course she did, there is no reason not to believe she and Joseph did not have children.
Mentioned with Mary may be purely the result of Joseph having died and Mary raised the children and they are loyal to her for her dedication to them. James, brother of Jesus, did not believe in Him until after His resurrection, but then James becomes a prayer warrior for The Christ’s message. The author also fumbled a bit on the simile Jesus posed when He related that all who seek God’s Grace are His brothers and sisters.
>>It is sad to see the Roman Catholic church go to such lengths to maintain Mary’s virginity, something that is a violation of biblical law to be married and fill the earth.<<
I think that is a misinterpretation. The Bible is quite clear of a virgin birth of God’s Son. After that it will take some serious archaeological detective work to determine what happened. We know the last quote from Mary in the Bible is at the “water to wine” wedding and she says “do as He (Jesus) says.”
At least that is how I recall it. If someone knows otherwise I will gladly accept being corrected.
Salvation I ping you because I am pretty sure you know a lot about this kind of thing..
The divinity of Jesus of Nazareth inheres in his being one of the three persons of the Trinity, the Godhead, and not in any sense on whether or not his mortal mother bore additional children. He is God, and nothing that any mortal has done or can do can alter that truth. No Christian believes that Messiah did not exist prior to his incarnation in a manner chosen by God to serve His purposes, or that God could not have achieved His purpose by some other means. We presume too much when we undertake to impose conditions on Jesus’ divinity on the basis of the imaginings of our innately sinful and errant minds.
>>”Why can’t you be a lawyer like your brother Benny?” <<
He can walk on water and heal cripples, but can he spend a minute to talk to his mother? I am kvetching here and all he can think about is humanity! What, I am not part of humanity?
More Manachevitz, please. Did you know this was water this morning?
(am I going to be punished for that?)
He did plainly say, “Do this in memory of me.”
I’m sure He did have sisters. I suppose it was the culture at the time, but, when Jesus fed the 5000, He only counted the men, not the women and children. I’ve always felt also, that Jesus had brothers and sisters because God loves His creation. Told us to go and multiply and I don’t believe God would have left Mary without other children. Also, back then women didn’t have jobs, relied heavily on husbands and their children. Especially as they grew older.
You raise good points. Are you aware that cells from a gestated child remain alive in the uterine tissue of the mother for possibly the rest of her life? If one believes Jesus was man AND God in His flesh, then cells from his time in Mary’s womb would also be ‘cells from God’. Would it be profane to have other children conceived in such a place? ... I’m asking, not preaching.
These are aomong the stupidest threads I have seen on FR in a long time
Mary had a husband, Jesus talks about ‘brothers’
Mary and Joseph were ‘doing it’
What the heck is the problem with that, that it deserves 2 thousands years of speculation?
Of course not! It was the best wine the governor of the feast had tasted!
Oh, goody, the literalists are at it again.
Just a note to the author: Catholic “tradition” and the selections as to what constituted the New Testament of the Bible were one and the same for 15 centuries, and the “Catholic” version of the New Testament hasn’t changed since then. Isn’t it highly unlikely that the Catholic Church just happened to miss, for 2000+ years, that the New Testament contradicted its teaching? But there are still those who think a smoking gun lurks somewhere . . .
This reminds me of the Sarah Palin email dump.
**Did Mary Have Other Children?**
Simple answer — No. If anyone would have touched her, the Ark of the New Covenant, they would have died just like the people who touched the Ark of the Old Covenant died.
Also — look up in your Bible:
How many times is the word “brethren” used?
A lot!
They lived in family courts, usually with relatives around them. These relatives were called “brethren” or cousins. It’s the language of that day.
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