The Gospel of Jesus' Wife

[Logomachist]

So anyone have any strong feelings about the "Gospel of Jesus' wife"?

I'm not surprised Jesus was married (I've believed that for years) but I never expected a gospel fragment to confirm it! Too bad we only have a fragment and more of the document hasn't been preserved!

[Goat]

So anyone have any strong feelings about the "Gospel of Jesus' wife"?

I'm not surprised Jesus was married (I've believed that for years) but I never expected a gospel fragment to confirm it! Too bad we only have a fragment and more of the document hasn't been preserved!

Actually, I don't. While I am not surprised, the time frame from which the fragment was, and the fact it copic.. and just one document shows the diversity of early Christian belief, and just how well the Early RCC managed to get rid of opposition.

[bluethread]

There are difficulties with this fragment onmany levels. First, it is hundreds of years after the fact. Second, it is but a fragment, which leads to points three and four. Third, which "jesus" are we talking about. The name He went by was as common in His time as jesus is among the spanish speaking nations today.

As an aside, I like to point out that there is proof that the knights Templar must have taken jesus' body and eventually brought it to the new world where they had to keep moving it around to keep people from finding it. The proof of this is that if you go to Israel, you will not find one tomb with the name jesus on it. However, if you go to latin america you will find tombs all over the place with that name on them.

Back to point four. Since the reference to a wife comes at the end of the fragment,we have no idea what it refers to. Is it figurative or literal, and what is the point being made about this "wife"?

Detractors of the Scriptures like to point out in great detail that they believe that these kind of things, when applied to the Scriptures, disprove their authenticity. Yet, when a fragment arises that is found lacking on all of these counts, it must be considered seriously?

[puddleglum]

When Paul was defending is right to marry if he chose to do so he pointed out that Peter and the brothers of Jesus were married.

Do we not have the right to take along a believing wife, as do the other apostles and the brothers of the Lord and Cephas?
(1 Corinthians 9:5 ESV)

But he didn't say anything about Jesus himself being married. It seems likely that if Jesus had been married Paul could have made his case stronger by mentioning that fact here.

Here is some more helpful information about this subject.

http://www.answersingenesis.org/article ... us-married

[Goat]

When Paul was defending is right to marry if he chose to do so he pointed out that Peter and the brothers of Jesus were married.

Do we not have the right to take along a believing wife, as do the other apostles and the brothers of the Lord and Cephas?
(1 Corinthians 9:5 ESV)

But he didn't say anything about Jesus himself being married. It seems likely that if Jesus had been married Paul could have made his case stronger by mentioning that fact here.

Here is some more helpful information about this subject.

http://www.answersingenesis.org/article ... us-married

I don't see how answers in genesis could be considered a reasonable or rational source even about the Christian religion.

[Choir Loft]

So anyone have any strong feelings about the "Gospel of Jesus' wife"?

I'm not surprised Jesus was married (I've believed that for years) but I never expected a gospel fragment to confirm it! Too bad we only have a fragment and more of the document hasn't been preserved!

A piece of paper with a partial sentence and scratching on it proves nothing. What I believe needs to be done is a bit of scholarly work to determine authenticity with regard to its origin and context. It's called provenance. Look it up.

When discussing the true value and worth and impact of any artifact (or antique), ask yourself how much you'd pay for it. A cautionary flag should suddenly appear in your logical acceptance or rejection of an items veracity. If the item is real, then it should have a very real impact on modern perceptions of the culture from which it came. If it isn't real (and there have been MANY cases of fraudulent artifacts which have even fooled the experts), then one might risk losing a lot of money not to mention the respect of one's peers.

For example, would the revelation of Jesus being a married man affect His spiritual impact on history or the church? A modern spiritual leader with a huge impact who was very Christ-like was Mahatma Ghandi. Another man was Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. Both were married, both followed the non-violent peaceful methods of Jesus and both made huge impacts on society. Being married was only a footnote in the history of their work. Was Jesus married? Does it make a difference one way or the other? If so, how much would you pay for this piece of paper discovered in a place that is notorious for fakes?

I admit its fun to speculate on minor discoveries of history. If this bit of paper were determined to be true and not a forgery, it would provide an added proof that Jesus really lived. What impact would that have on the reader's philosophy (or wallet)?

IMO I prefer to be cautious about accepting this bit of paper as proving anything at all. The bottom line for me is that I'm not prepared to buy it. Are you?

but that's just me, hollering from the choir loft...