As I ate breakfast one morning at the coffee shop I work at, a co-worker came up to me and told me he heard Jesus had a wife. At first I thought he was referring to another Dan Brown book and dismissed his suggestion, but then the explained that he'd heard an ancient papyrus was discovered that proved Jesus at least referred to a woman as his wife.
The document at the heart of this debate is what some refer to as "The Gospel of Jesus' Wife," a fragment of 4th Century papyrus on which, in the Coptic language, is written:
"Jesus said to them, "My wife..."
Professor Karen King, a historian at Harvard Divinity School, was the one to announce this finding at the Tenth International Congress of Coptic Studies. What I think is most important about her presentation, though, is that she stressed the importance of understanding that this ancient text in no way
proves that Jesus had a wife.
But of course when something so surprising and counter to everything we've been taught as Christians comes to light, much like the debate that surrounded the Da Vinci Code many years ago, people make some pretty declarative statements. Just like the co-worker who asked me if I knew Jesus had a wife. It's a declarative statement based on a fragment -- and mind you, it's a tiny fragment -- for which the context will never be known.
That doesn't mean it's something we should disregard, though. What this fragment of ancient writing does suggest is that there was possibly a group of Christians in the 4th Century who were familiar with or comfortable with the notion that Jesus may have referred to someone as his wife. And while that may not change the face of Christianity as it is today, it's certainly something to consider that there were early Christians who believed in a Jesus who valued women enough to take one as his wife or at least his disciple. The text on the papyrus goes on to say:
"... she will be able to be my disciple..."
In the end, it's unlikely we will ever know more about this fragment of ancient papyrus than what it says, but it's likely that people will still draw conclusions based on it. I personally think it's an interesting finding, but at the end of the day, it doesn't really change the way I feel about the Jesus of scripture.
What do you think about the "Jesus' Wife" papyrus? Do you think it can be understood? Would it change your beliefs if you knew Jesus was married? Why or why not?
True
Comments (18)
How do we know that the papyrus wasn't referring to Jesus Ahmed Gonzales?
Bottom line: We don't know if he had a wife, and no, it wouldn't change my views about him. I don't worship men who live celibate lives. And if we were to take Paul literally, and not marry, multiplying and reproducing would have been dramatically changed, would it not? Kind of like the Shakers.
It doesn't prove anything. He could have been speaking figuratively about the Jewish people being his wife. The people of the time didn't anyways know what he was talking about when they had a full length story told to them let alone with a tiny fragment of the story. How could we then even think today we could draw any conclusions from a fragment? Or seeing that the text was written 500 years later, its likely the text was founded on rumors or local theology. It's like someone today writing something very basic and essential to the identity of ChristopherColumbus that was previously unheard of and unwritten about before.
Is that all there is to it? I thought there may be some important fact involved. Sheesh!
Jesus will have a wife, we are His Bride. That is what I think about it.
"My wife... she will be able to be my disciple" - without knowing the context, he could have simply been prophesying something, Its impossible to decide this meant he had a woman as his wife in the flesh.
His woman was the church He was building. He was and is devoted to that woman alone - His Bride.
Regarding this manufactured "controversy" that a piece of payprus has been found which may indicate that Jesus may have had a wife. If he ever existed, whatever else Joshua Ben Joseph was, he was presumably a normal healthy Jewish man of his day.
Unless he was an Essene type, a semi hermitic fanatic living in the desert like what we would call a monk, he would have participated in normal Jewish life. He is presumed to be a carpenter after all, because a boy would follow his father's profession on the whole. The question already exists as to just how human he was, the Trintarians having to really work at that one to maintain any sort of sane balance.
Allowing for the sake of argument that the Trinitarian view of the Messiah is correct, despite ancient and modern Jewish protests that their messiah is not expected to be so, then Jesus was fully human whatever else he may have been. Indeed, if he lived then he was fully human whatever else he may have been or indeed be. Him having a wife is par for the course. Just as he ate food and presumably defecated. If you find the image that just appeared in your mind somehow demeaning to the concept of the Christ, then I advise the reader to do a personal study ofthe central theme of his religion and study just what "fully man" implies.
It is not the marriage that is upsetting people but the idea that somehow Jesus wasn't a virgin, sexually "pure". As if having a healthy sex life somehow lengthens the distance between Man and God. It's the same as people denying themselves food or comfort in order to get close to the Divine. If one believes that, then I'd advise them to go the whole hog and sit on a pole in the desert while whipping their genitalia with a lash, like the nutjobs of yore. At least start wearing a hairshirt. Once one starts to jounrey down that road, it becomes plan that one has taken a wrong turning.
Denying the body to increase spirituality is bollocks. Having sex is not to be impure but a part of life. Once you accept that, it all falls into place. It's just the residule of the ancient Christian abhorence of sex and the birth canal that is rearing it's head here. So Jesus' had a missus, so what? It would be more acceptable to most Christians than what is implied by him being portrayed as having long hair, despite the Jewish habit of the time for short male hair, being unmarried and his "beloved" pal John being a mite on the effeminate side. Of course, that is all specualtion over the centuries and mere portrayal by artists, but it has become part of Christian folklore.
The extremes of religious practice are pushed by the fanatics who worry that somehow they are not reaching the spiritual heights that they perceive God wants them to reach, if they live a normal life. It's all a misunderstanding by extremists who just create barriers to normal healthy people of a religious bent but who have normal healthy drives.
I'll put this my my own post. Maybe it will raise a reasonable discussion on the merits and demerits of moderation and extremismin religion.
A note to the above comment
http://articles.nydailynews.com/2012-09-18/news/33931873_1_ben-witherington-iii-jesus-egyptian-christians
A Havard scholar says that the 4th century Coptic script was a copy of a 2nd Century Greek text. Much like the rest of the New Testament then, give or take a generation or two. I would not know how he got to that conclusion but it allows that this piece of papyrus is indicative of a belief that existed at least as nearly as old as the main-line gospels and epistles. So there was a few generations between them. If that invalidates this papyrus, then what does the half century or so do, before the gospels were written down after the crucifixion? Playing the time distance game will invalidate the arugment for Jesus' very existence, seeing as I am unaware of any contemporary evidence of his existence. Certainly no neutral reports. That may reveal the dismal extent of the depth of my study but maybe it does not.
@Lovegrove@xanga - There are more historical references and manuscripts referring to Jesus than there are Julius Caesar.
It's funny, that no one doubts the existence of Julius Caesar.@PrisonerxOfxLove@xanga - The term you deliberately missed out is contemporary, mon petite convict de l'amore.
Anyway, it doesn't matter about Julie. There are no Casearens trying to make laws according to the teachings of that murderous tyrant.
@Lovegrove@xanga - History is about the past, so by definition it is not contemporary. This is why the leftist attempt to revise history using contemporary Marxist dogma is fatally flawed.
@PrisonerxOfxLove@xanga - I do not believe you are stupid so you must just be taking the piss. You're just trolling after all.
@Lovegrove@xanga - Ha! Ha! I get what your saying! Sorry about that!
@xXrEMmUsXx@xanga - And you made my point exactly!
In the end, does it truly matter on whether or not Jesus had a wife? He was still sent to save us all.. Would him having a wife really affect his mission on earth all that much? I personally think people need to stop getting into a huff over things that truly don't matter, and focus on more important Christian topics, such as attending to the starving children in our country and other countries around the world.
Maybe this IS Da Vinci Code related though. What if that IS Mary Magdalene in the Last Supper painting? What if she WAS his wife? I don't think it really matters one way or another, I don't see why Jesus couldn't or shouldn't have been married. It's not like we're saying he was having illegitimate sex, rather, this would make any sex he DID have legitimate. I almost hope this is true :)
It is possible that Jesus did have a wife - and if so - is that such a bad thing ? Certainly why it was never written in the Bible might lead one the believe that a great many OTHER things were left out of the Bible deliberately.
This particular "fact" may hinge on a great deal. But as God did send his beloved son, certainly this son was entitled to a wife ? Φ ≡
games
Kora Flash Gamesماي ايجي myegy - العاب ماي
ايجي myegy.com كرة قدم 2010 girls
games العاب بنات mario
adventure العاب
تلبيس dress up games zuma deluxe
2010 العاب
باربي و براتز barbie, bratzقبله الحب
kiss العاب
مكياج و ميك اب ومنكير make up gamesdiner dash العاب
طبخ cooking gamesremote
control الحب عن بعد العاب
ديكور و تلوين coloring and decoration
http://www.koraflash.com/file.php?f=877 العاب
الحب و الزواج love and couple
http://www.koraflash.com/file.php?f=739 العاب
اطفال baby games
http://www.koraflash.com/file.php?f=976 العاب
اكشن action games
http://www.koraflash.com/file.php?f=927 العاب
قتال و حرب war and fighting
http://www.koraflash.com/file.php?f=765 العاب
رياضيه sports games كورة 2010 العاب
سباقات و سيارات car and racethe girl and
the horse العاب
الغاز puzzle gamesgirls games العاب
مضحكه fun gamesromance video
ball movies فيديو كورةmake up 2011
cartoon movies افلام كرتون fuuny
مقاطع مضحكه
youtube يوتيوب
ماي ايجي myegy - العاب ماي
ايجي myegy.com
girls بنات -
baby اطفال -
Sport
رياضة -
Racing سباق -
action
اكشن
-
Puzzle الغاز -
cartoon
كارتون -
myegy ماي ايجي
casber Ghost -
zuma 2010 -
myegy boxing games -
Naruto 2010 -
fifa world cup south
africa 2010
-
batman 2010
كرة قدم 2010
mario adventure
قبله الحب kiss
desert war حرب الصحراء
action fight قتال اكشن
-
gold world العالم الذهبي
احلى صور سوسن النجار 2012,صور سوسن النجار 2012
|
صور كواليس حاتم العراقي شيب الراس 2013 |
صور حسام الماجد 2013,صور حسام الماجد من حفلة قناة الرشيد
2013 |
صوره صلاح حسن بعد خروجه من المستشفى 2012 |
احلى صور لحسام الرسام من حفله نادي العلويه 2013 |
كواليس حفله حسام الرسام في نادي العلويه ببغداد 2013 |
صور ومقدمات واعلاميات العراق 2012,بوسترات ومقدمات واعلاميات
العراق |
مواهب الحلقة الأخيرة من مرحلة الصوت وبس في برنامج the
voice |
الحلقة الاخيرة من المرحلة الاولى من برنامح The
Voice |
صور حزينة 2013,بنات حزينة 2013,خلفيات حزينة
2013 |
صور حب 2013,صور حب وعذاب وعتاب 2013 |
صور كريستيانو رونالدو 2013,احدث صور صور كريستيانو رونالدو
2013,Cristiano Ronaldo |
صور مسي 2013,احدث صور مسي 2013,اجدد صور مسي
2013 |
صور قمة الرومانسية 2013,صور رومانسية جدآ 2013 |
صور بنات 2013,صور بنات حزينة 2013 |
صور بنات 2013,احدث واجمل صور بنوتات 2013 |
صور رومانسية نار 2013,احدث صور رومانسية كلش
2013 |
بوسترات هيثم يوسف 2013,احلى بوستر هيثم يوسف 2013
|
اجدد صور كاظم الساهر 2013,احلى صور كاظم الساهر
2013 |
صورة حسام الرسام في اربيل 2013,احدث صورة لحسام الرسام
2013 |
صور رومانسية حب 2013 |
توقعات الابراج 2013 حظك اليوم,abraj horoscopes
today |
صور تريزا 2013,احدث صور تريزا 2013,اجمل صور تريزا
2013 |
منتديات العراق |
مركز تحميل |
صور فريق الموسيقار كاظم الساهر للحلقة الاخيرة من برنامج The
Voice
صور متحركة ,صور متحركة 2013,اجمل صور متحركة
2013 |
صور بنات سعودية 2013 , اجمل بنات سعوديات 2013
|
صور بنات سعودية 2013 , اجمل بنات سعوديات 2013
|
بوسترات Amr Diab , صور عمرو دياب 2013 ,
احدث صور لعمرو دياب 2013 |
بوسترات Photo Bilqis , صور بلقيس خطيبة
الاعب نايف هزازى 2012 , صور بلقيس 2013 |
الركن العام والمواضيع العامة |
صور 2012 , صور خلفيات , صور حب , صور رومانسية ,
صور منوعة, صور قلوب |
همس القوافي وبوح الخواطر |
قطوف الشعر الشعبي |
روايات وحكايات الخيال |
همس المشاعر |
ازياء 2013,ازياء حواء 2013,ازياء بناتية 2013 , ازياء سهرة
2013 , ازياء اعراس2013 ,ماكياج 2013 |
ديكور 2013, ديكورات 2013, اثاث 2013, غرف نوم 2013,
ديكورات جديدة 2013, ديكورات حديثة 2013 |
الصحة والحياة , التداوي بالاعشاب |
اغاني عراقية 2012 , اغاني عراقية Mp3, تحميل أغاني
عراقية
2012 |
صور الفنانين , بوسترات الفنانين , صور نجوم العالم |
مسجات رومانسية 2012, مسجات حب2012, رسائل حب2012,
رسائل رومانسية2012 |