Posted on 04/14/2014 9:05:44 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
The internet has been abuzz with intriguing headlines announcing that scholars have determined that the so-called “Gospel of Jesus’ Wife” papyrus is “authentic” and that there is “no forgery evidence” in the manuscript.
What exactly does this mean? And should Christians be concerned that a new discovery might contradict the biblical account and undermine their faith?
Actually, the report from scholars working with the Harvard Divinity School found that the manuscript is much younger than previously thought – in other words, it is even further removed from the time of the New Testament than scholars originally believed – meaning that, at most, it is a very late myth without a stitch of historical support.
What the report did say was that there was no evidence that any part of this small manuscript had been forged, so what was written was “authentic” in terms of not being the work of a modern forger.
But the scholars did not determine that the apparent reference to Jesus having a wife was authentic. How could they?
As New Testament scholar Darrell Bock observed back in September, 2012 when the find was first announced, “In the New Testament, the church is presented as the bride of Christ. And then in Gnostic Christianity in particular, there’s a ritual - about which we don't know very much - that portrayed the church as the bride of Christ. So we could simply have a metaphorical reference to the church as the bride, or the wife, of Christ.”
And what if this text recorded Jesus as saying that one of his disciples would be his wife?
Bock explained that, “This would be the first text - out of hundreds of texts that we have about Jesus - that would indicate that he was married, if it’s even saying that. So to suggest that one text overturns multiple texts, and multiple centuries, of what has been said about Jesus and what’s been articulated about him, I think is not a very wise place to go, just simply from a historical point of view.”
Initially, when Harvard professor Karen King learned about this papyrus fragment written in the Coptic language, which was used by the ancient, heretical, Gnostic Christians, she thought it might have been a forgery, as did other scholars, especially from the Vatican. But upon further study, she concluded it was not, dating it to the fourth century A.D.
Yet how seriously should we take a fourth century report about Jesus, who was crucified around 30 A.D., especially when it contradicts every other piece of evidence we have about Jesus up to that time? As Prof. Bock said, this “is not a very wise place to go, just simply from a historical point of view.”
To give you a parallel example, how seriously would future historians take a report written 300 years after Pearl Harbor that contradicted every single report that preceded it, including all reports from all eye witnesses?
But the latest report – the one creating such a stir – claims that the tiny manuscript should not be dated to the fourth century. Instead, scholars have now dated it to approximately 741 A.D., meaning, more than 700 years after the time of Jesus. What kind of “evidence” is this?
It would be similar to historians 1,000 years from now finding a letter written in the year 2510 claiming that George Washington, who died in 1799, was actually an alien from Mars. How seriously would it be taken? (Come to think of it, the Ancient Aliens series has probably made a similar claim already!)
There remains no evidence of any kind that Jesus had a wife (note to the reader: Dan Brown’s fictional The Da Vinci Code is not evidence), and the only thing scholars did was determine that this small papyrus fragment was not a modern forgery, although it was hundreds of years younger than they originally thought.
Of course, it is still not totally clear that the manuscript even claims Jesus had a wife, but we know that within 150 years of the time of Jesus, there were fictional gospels circulating with all kinds of bogus claims. Should it surprise us, then, that many centuries later, another fictitious account with yet another new claim would be written down?
Unfortunately, many casual readers and skeptics now think that some “authentic” new evidence has been discovered supporting the idea that Jesus was married, and even Christians are asking if they should be concerned about this latest find.
Rest assured that nothing has been discovered that even remotely challenges the biblical account, and if this very late text does imply that Jesus had a wife, what we have is an authentic fabrication and nothing more.
From a scientific point it's not that far fetched there was an effect on the weather. Landing on the moon itself would not do that of course but blasting through the very thin ozone layer which environMENTALists are all the time in hysterics over cow flatulence when the a penetration by a space module/satellite or whatever would be much worse.
Not true. I know people who do this for Lent. For real.
Jesus taught that there are three types of eunuchs- those born so (by physical or mental defect who are unable to marry), those who are made eunuchs by men (such as Daniel and his three friends), and those who make themselves eunuchs for God (such as John the Baptist, Paul, and possibly Elijah). (See Matthew 19:12.)
Such as?
But there weren’t any churches at all in existence when he died - only synagogues!
That’s just rabbinical commentary on the commandment for eunuchs not to marry.
Good sermon and no disagreement. It just doesn’t prove he was married one way or the other.
Christ built His Church on His Apostles and their Faith (Matt 16:18). At His Death, there was One Church. There was only meant to be One Church.
Please keep in mind that besides the Christian’s deified rabbi not being a Christian nor were there any churches in existence when he died his mission to get Jews observing Torah in letter and in Spirit was just that - a mission to Jews only.
He never even had a mission to get the non-Jews to follow the Ten Commandments which the B’nai Noach are supposed to do.
Oh yeah, I forgot. There were not only synagogues but places of pagan worship. And those pagan worship centers had the signs changed out front after 312 when Constantine did a corporate take over of the B’nai Noach movement and turned them into churches.
That wasn't the question posed by the person I responded to. I was simply showing Jesus was tempted, as we are. He didn't have to be married to face temptation as had been proposed.
Flesh bodies need hydration and a flesh body cannot survive 40 days and 40 nights without water. Christ fasted, no food or water. Not half baked.
You will need to explain that to the Samaritan Woman at the well.
He never even had a mission to get the non-Jews to follow the Ten Commandments which the B’nai Noach are supposed to do.
He didn't come that all would follow the Ten Commandments. He came to reconcile man with God. In doing so, it makes sense that these reconciled men would follow God's Law out of love for their Author.
Reference, please?
people believe all kinds of weird crap
At least 500!
“After that, [Jesus] appeared to more than five hundred brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep." 1 Cor. 15:6 Because of the Bible’s broad semantic use of “brother,” we can be confident that Mary did not give birth to more than 500 children.
Also, look at Genesis 13:8. The word brother is being used to describe the relationship between Abraham and Lot, who were not biological brothers but uncle and nephew: “So Abram said to Lot, “Let’s not have any quarreling between you and me, or between your herdsmen and mine, for we are brothers” (Gen 13:8).
The term 'brother' as used in the Bible has a broader meaning than uterine brothers. It can mean a biological brother, but it can also mean an extended relative, or even a spiritual brother.
In the Bible, these 'brothers' of Jesus are never once called the children of Mary. Only Jesus himself is called the child of Mary.
Strong’s Hebrew #6684 tsoom; a prim. root; to cover over (the mouth), i.e. to fast: - x at all, fast
IF the mouth is covered no water is going to pass through the lips.
There were at least 7 churches within Pauls lifetime. They were all Christian - so I guess they were all HIS church
Jews are supposed to love the non-Jew as well as his fellow Jew per the Eyn Sof.
The 10 Commandments is to be followed by the nations (who then become the B’nai Noach). The Jews are to follow all of Torah. Go talk to a rabbi. They’ll tell you the same thing.
What two commandments in the Torah rank as the greatest?
The Renegade Rabbi of deified fame pointed out the Hellenized one percenters Jews (aka the Sadducees), the rabbis (aka the Pharisees), a lawyer, and any of his talmidim (rabbinical students) who were present
Deuteronomy 6:5 “Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.”
and
Leviticus 19:18 “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
as recorded in the Christian’s replacement Torah (aka The New Testament) in Matthew 22:36.
If you look at these two mitzvot (commandments) and then study the other 611 you’ll see that they are commentary essentially on those two.
So in a sense, when the non-Jews practice these two they are practicing all of Torah in an indirect way.
Rabbi Hillel the Elder
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hillel_the_Elder
is famous for saying something very similar.
‘In one story about them, a gentile comes to both and asks, with the obvious intention of provoking them, to be taught the whole Torah while standing on one leg. Shammai is indeed provoked and gives the man an angry whack with a measuring rod. Hillel replies, “That which is hateful to you, do not unto another: This is the whole Torah. The rest is commentary — [and now] go study.”’
http://forward.com/articles/14250/the-rest-of-the-rest-is-commentary-/
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