Jesus Had a Wife?..Ancient Papyrus Opens Discussion about Sexuality & Role of Women in the Church

[KoKo]

A Harvard scholar who unveilled an ancient Coptic papyrus in which Jesus refers to "my wife" has said the discovery provides no definitive answer but it was "the first unequivocal statement" to claim that he was married.

Published on Sep 20, 2012


Full Story:[/b

In what seems to be ripped from a Dan Brown novel, a Harvard professor has said that an ancient piece of papyrus makes "the first unequivocal statement" that claims that Jesus was married.

[Karen King, Hollis Chair of Divinity at Harvard Divinity School]:
"I think the fragment itself is discussing issues about discipleship and family. But certainly the fact that this is the first unequivocal statement we have that claims Jesus had a wife, is of great interest."

Karen King is a well-respected historian of Christianity, and the Hollis Chair of Divinity at Harvard Divinity School. She says that, on the ancient Coptic papyrus from the fourth century, while Jesus is speaking to his disciples, a scribe writes "Jesus said to them, my wife ...". The sentence cuts off there on the 8 cm by 4 cm fragment.

[Karen King, Hollis Chair of Divinity at Harvard Divinity School]:

"I want to be very clear that this fragment doesn't actually give us any evidence that Jesus was married, or not married. It is too late. In fact all of the earlier and most reliable historical information is completely silent and this does not change that situation. But we can ask the question when did Christians first start talking about whether Jesus was married or not? Who was the first person, for example to say that Jesus was not married? "

The origins of the papyrus, named "the Gospel of Jesus' Wife," is a bit of a mystery. However, AnneMarie Luijendijk, an associate professor of religion at Princeton University, believes it is real.

[AnneMarie Luijendijk, Associate Professor of Religion, Princeton University]:

"To the best of my knowledge I have come to the conclusion that this was indeed an authentic, ancient text, written by a scribe in antiquity. We can see that by the way the ink is preserved on the papyrus and also the way the papyrus has faded and also the way the papyrus has become very fragmentary, which is actually in line with alot of other papyri's we have also from the new testament. "

While the fragment of thirty-three words and incomplete sentences may not answer many, it does raise important questions about both sexuality and the role of women in the Christian church, debates that are still had today.

In addition to Jesus' status of marriage, the papyrus suggests a debate of whether women could be priests.

In the Catholic Church, the largest Christian church, only men can be become priests, as they believe only men were chosen as Jesus' disciples.

However, another fragment of the papyrus reads "and she will be my disciple."
The fragment is owned by a private collector. The Vatican has yet to comment on the discovery.

In 2003, Dan Brown's "The Da Vinci Code" angered the Catholic church, as it suggested Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene and had children.

[liberal N proud]

1. The Climate ain't changing and neither is the bible

You know this is about how this information is going to be received.

[AtheistCrusader]

4. They'll adapt.

They'll make the bible 'say' whatever they want to interpret it to say, so they can keep the 'faith' thing going.

They do it all the time already. Not just Christians/Abrahamic traditions either.

[yallerdawg]

2. In light of yesterday's...

"Jesus was probably gay" video, would this make his wife "a beard?"

I swear, somewhere out there I dimly recall a Cheech and Chong routine covering all this.

But as they say, if you remembered it, you weren't there, right?

[loudsue]

3. I don't see any way that the historical Jesus DIDN'T have a wife.

It's just not culturally feasible that the "king of the Jews" descended from king David (of course, they were out of power at the time) would have run around being called "rabbi" by the community, and he was a single man at the age of...what....33 or so when he was crucified?

Just sayin'.

[Major Nikon]

6. There were rabbis who remained single at the time

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Essenes

[MADem]

10. The church hierarchy passed his wife off as a prostitute when they rewrote the stories.

She wasn't a prostitute, though. They didn't want priests living a life in imitation of Jesus and getting married and giving church property to their own children.

It was a way to hang on to control of their assets.

[KoKo]

14. There could be a bit of that..but it could also be very different from your interpretation, also...

We just don't know...until all the Dead Sea Scrolls are Made Public.

And even then..it comes down to "Faith and Belief" as to how it moves forward.

I'm glad that new DISCOVERIES are out there which moves the Dialog further foward.

Just Saying.....

[onehandle]

5. More proof that Jesus existed.

Maybe he had a wife. Maybe he didn't.

It's the 'Jesus was invented' tinfoilers who deserve a collective eye roll.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

7. Not really, most of these documents date a century after he supposedly lived....

Some of the books that weren't included cover all kinds of things but were too wild.

There's one where Jesus was a kid and was accused of killing his best friend. He brought the dead kid by back to life and said, "Tell them I didn't throw you off the roof." In another, as a child, he was making doves out of clay and was accused of working on the Sabbath so he made the doves come to life and they flew away. There was one where a customer was complaining about his uncle's carpentry so he blinded him.

The age of the tale doesn't make it true. Quite the opposite. There were a ton of stories being passed around like dime store novels.

[tclambert]

8. Wife or domestic partner?

Another post on here yesterday said Jesus was gay.

I'm just sayin', if you wanna see religious right wingers' heads explode . . .

[Spitfire of ATJ]

9. "if you wanna see religious right wingers' heads explode"

Tell them Jesus had sex.

[zebonaut]

11. Jesus also likely had Jock Itch, Acne, and mild Halitosis

[KoKo]

15. True...but that Spans Generations forever.....doesn' it?

Who doesn't suffer from these ills occasionally though behavior that invites that. Did Jesus imbibe too much wine that cause his "halitosis" and contributed to his Jock Itch and Acne?

We don't know and never will, probably.

But the "Beatitudes" are a testament to Human Condition. So...for many of us we practice that. We.. TRY TO...that is.

[YOHABLO]

12. And just yesterday I read an article about Jesus being gay .. now what is it.. gay or straight?

[phylny]

13. Well, evidently he DID have a beard n/t ;)

[KoKo]

16. We don't even know if that's true. Was the custom of his day to be

"clean shaven" or to be "bearded."

Some scholars believe it was the Judaic culture of the time to have a Beard... But, Jesus was a RADICAL for his time...so, perhaps, he chose to be "clean shaven" in PROTEST?

We don't know.......We just have to put ourselves in "Jesus Radical Shoes" to try to understand his place in time...and the following reports along the way.

[phylny]

17. Well, I meant beard as in a person. It was supposed to a joke. N/t