“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.
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.
The definitive analysis of the heresies of the Roman Catholic Church:
http://www.buzzardhut.net/index/htm/Dangers.pdf
ABSOLUTELY INDEED.
Where does it state that Mary had children with Joseph in the bible? The bible talks about the patriarchs, and how they had children with their wives.
Does it come out and say, James, the son of Joseph and the son of Mary?