Five big questions about the 'Jesus' wife' papyrus

Houston Chronicale ^ | Thursday, September 20, 2012 | Alessandro Speciale

[count-your-change]

In a surprise announcement that seemed scripted by novelist Dan Brown, a Harvard professor revealed an ancient scrap of papyrus on Tuesday that refers to Jesus' wife. The so-called "Gospel of Jesus' Wife" presents a dialogue between Jesus and his disciples, said Karen King, a respected historian of early Christianity at Harvard Divinity School.

[count-your-change]

“authenticated”? I suppose that was from her deep knowledge of the subject.

I smell a book deal somewhere in all of this, maybe another movie by Brown.

[Salvation]

The Bride of Christ is the Church. Not any human.

[Ruy Dias de Bivar]

***King seems anxious to turn a few lines of unknown origin into new insights into early Christian belief, etc., etc. ****

Yawn. Much like they tried to foist off on us the SECRET GOSPEL OF MARK and the Gospel of Thomas.

[Salvation]

You are right.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2934146/posts?page=22#22

[AU72]

I’ll pass until a brave scholar finds evidence that Mohammed took a 9 year child bride.

[dinoparty]

Yes I know. I’m suggesting there is no reason to think this meant anything different.

[count-your-change]

But Professors of Divinity get bored by accepted books of the NT. Those books are available to anyone at low/no cost and just don’t grab headlines.

But find something mysterious and secretive that can be blown up into a “Gospel”, well...that’s something!

[marstegreg]

This is where I figured out she was clueless:

King speculates that the fragment may have been tossed in an ancient garbage heap by someone who objected to the idea of Jesus being married. Early Christians fiercely debated celibacy and marriage

With a little research she would have realized that Peter, the first pope, and the apostles that Jesus chose were, for the most part, married men.

[marstegreg]

This is where I figured out she was clueless:

King speculates that the fragment may have been tossed in an ancient garbage heap by someone who objected to the idea of Jesus being married. Early Christians fiercely debated celibacy and marriage

With a little research she would have realized that Peter, the first pope, and the apostles that Jesus chose were, for the most part, married men.

[OneWingedShark]

Paul said his preference was that Christians remain single so that they could devote themselves to the issue at hand (spreading the gospel and serving the Lord Jesus). How much MORE focused would Christ, Himself, be about his mission? He did not come here to live a carnal life...he came to “seek and to save those who are lost.” He came to die, and He knew that.

True; however, it is not inconsistent with the thought that Jesus was indeed human. (And that is an important point in Christianity, that God became a man in order to save the race of man.)

So, in the long run... it's really irrelevant if he had a wife or not.

[count-your-change]

Dan Brown is hunting for them.

Fragments of ancient papyrus have a value and are interesting in themselves, even this one. But to claim the history of early Christianity will now have to be revised is nonsense.

[count-your-change]

A little bit of scholarly restraint would be called for.

[OneWingedShark]

The quest to bring in the agenda that Jesus Christ had a wife is to try and destroy the the fact that he was GOD in the flesh, to marginalize his deity... it’s the spirit of the anti-Christ at work.

You know, I'm going to have to disagree; that he had a wife would only confirm that he was indeed fully human... which has been what Christianity has always claimed: that Jesus is both God and man, perfectly bridging the gap and therefore the perfect High Priest.

Besides, the spirit of the anti-christ is defined in 1 John:

1 John 4:3 [KJV]
And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.

A little convoluted, but still understandable: the spirits which aren't from God are those spirits which do not confess to Jesus having come in the flesh.

[count-your-change]

Careful..a riot may be headed to your neighborhood. You haven’t been drawing cartoons, have you?

[Fiji Hill]

No, Jesus was not married.

[count-your-change]

You’re not suggesting....No......Surely not.

[SunkenCiv]

GGG managers are SunkenCiv, StayAt HomeMother & Ernest_at_the_Beach	join list or digest view topics view or post blog bookmark post a topic subscribe
Just adding to the catalog, not sending a general distribution. Suggestion of a married Jesus - Ancient papyrus shows that some early Christians believed he wed A Faded Piece of Papyrus Refers to Jesus' Wife A Faded Piece of Papyrus Refers to Jesus' Wife (Written in Coptic in the fourth century) The Inside Story of a Controversial New Text About Jesus (Married!) Thanks count-your-change. To all -- please ping me to other topics which are appropriate for the GGG list.

[Belteshazzar]

Quick and easy response. Answers to the five questions:

1. No one has any idea. Therefore it is most likely to be a fake, whether faked long ago or more recently.

2. No.

3. Nothing.

4. No.

5. Who knows. It doesn’t matter.

See, that was easy.

[Little Bill]

A lot of weirdness came out of Egypt in the Third and Fourth Centuries, Gnostic's for example.

[count-your-change]

I have a feeling it will quietly be tucked away when it becomes apparent that it’s worthless.