Excessive bloviation yellow flag!!
“Especially in Russia where so many faithful had to practice underground, they were drawn very close together and they called each other brothers and sisters when they related not only as siblings but as cousins. “
I call fellow believers brother and sister. This isn’t unique to Russia. It simply ignores the facts under discussion... And Russia remains outside the Holy Land.
Russians have a word for cousin and they can tell a cousin from a sibling. I know this because my daughter is Russian.
Greek also has a word for brother, sister, and cousin. The NT does not use the word for cousin. It could have., but Greek is precise. God inspired the two Apostles to choose the Greek word for brother.
I disagree. I also know many Russian families and Russian nuns and priests inside the Holy lands.
Russia was the primary owner of the Holy Lands during the time of the Tsars and they strived to make the Russian Orthodox religion as close to the beginnings of Christianity as possible.
Russian Orthodox families call siblings and first cousins ‘brothers and sisters’ not in the protestant evangelical way but in terms of biological relationships.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_the_Just
As a consequence of the orthodox doctrine of perpetual virginity, which does not allow that Mary had children after Jesus, Jerome considered that the term “brother” of the Lord should be read “cousin”. In addition, he concluded that James “the brother of the Lord,” (Gal.1:19) is therefore James, son of Alphaeus, one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus, as well as James, the son of Mary Cleophas.
And it’s been this way for thousands of years.