Certainly.
Posted on 09/18/2012 5:05:46 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — A historian of early Christianity at Harvard Divinity School has identified a scrap of papyrus that she says was written in Coptic in the fourth century and contains a phrase never seen in any piece of Scripture: “Jesus said to them, ‘My wife ...’ ”
The faded papyrus fragment is smaller than a business card, with eight lines on one side, in black ink legible under a magnifying glass. Just below the line about Jesus having a wife, the papyrus includes a second provocative clause that purportedly says, “she will be able to be my disciple.”
The finding was made public in Rome on Tuesday at an international meeting of Coptic scholars by Karen L. King, a historian who has published several books about new Gospel discoveries and is the first woman to hold the nation’s oldest endowed chair, the Hollis professor of divinity.
The provenance of the papyrus fragment is a mystery, and its owner has asked to remain anonymous. Until Tuesday, Dr. King had shown the fragment to only a small circle of experts in papyrology and Coptic linguistics, who concluded that it is most likely not a forgery. But she and her collaborators say they are eager for more scholars to weigh in and perhaps upend their conclusions.
Even with many questions unsettled, the discovery could reignite the debate over whether Jesus was married, whether Mary Magdalene was his wife and whether he had a female disciple. These debates date to the early centuries of Christianity, scholars say. But they are relevant today, when global Christianity is roiling over the place of women in ministry and the boundaries of marriage.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
It was Christianity that was at the forefront of freeing women from their historic role (especially in the ancient middle east) as chattel.
Furthermore, it was in cultures dominated by Christianity that women were first elevated to equality.
Jewish law stated that you cannot be a Rabbi unless you are married.
“I love Luci”
n.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucio_Fulci
And he certainly DID stick out.
If you remove family from the formula then the continuity dies.
Thats a good one.....
Much to do about nothing since Jesus spouse is the Church and all Scripture points to Nuptials in Typology of the OT revealed in NT.
So Called Modern Scripture Scholars are a joke!
They're accepting transvestites for the chair of the Harvard Divinity School now? Nice.
While we accept certain extra-Biblical writings as authoritative, this fragment, unrelated to any other, does not present any revelation by itself.
Where does it state that?
I was going to say, "My wife...is a phrase that I would never say, since I have never married."
Certainly.
post 15
You nailed it.
I know you’re being sarcastic, but, yes, of course it would.
That’s why this is not only ridiculous on its face, but they make themselves look like antichrist hacks.
It is more likely that it would be mentioned if Jesus was not married, given that marriage was the norm. the fact that it’s not mentioned tends to indicate that he likely was married.
“Jesus said to them, ‘My wife, if I ever have one, will be able to be my desciple’”......
Is that where the 72 virgins come from?
1. What is the Coptic word for Jesus?
2. Was it a common name in the fourth century (i.e.; could there be other people with the same name)?
3. What makes the scholar think this scrap has anything to do with the historical Jesus?
4. Why are there not any other ancient writings that speak about Jesus having a wife?
5. Having a wife is not a sinful thing, so, if Jesus WERE married, why would NO ONE mention the fact or give her name?
6. If Jesus had a wife, why was she not at the cross when he died?
7. Why is there no mention in the New Testament gospels or epistles? There are many mentions concerning the other Apostles being married, so it would not have been wrong for Jesus to have had a wife.
I suspect this will be like the discovery of the Shroud of Turin, the "ossuary markings", the various and sundry "relics" and who knows what else that may get dug up. There have to be contributing elements to help decide whether or not something is legitimate. Finding an obscure scrap of papyrus with Coptic words written on it, hardly proves what the article presumes. I think it was only trying to get a rise out of people and sell newspapers - maybe even garner some recognition for the scholar, but we should always be careful to watch out for sensationalism and not jump to conclusions about anything.
The anti-Christians do this like this at least once a year to discredit the divinity of Jesus.
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