I just had a thought yesterday about the 12 disciples. If Jesus really existed,

[raccoon]

whether he was just a prophet or was divine, and if he called these 12 men to be his followers.

Unless these men were very young--say late teens--at least some of them were probably married and had children.
Did they just up and leave their families?

This is something that I've never heard mentioned in any Bible stories or Sunday school stories.
Have you?

[Jackpine Radical]

1. Maybe they were all gay.

[clydefrand]

2. Just maybe

the were all gay?

[cbayer]

3. Interesting quesiton.

I just did some research on this and this is what I found.

Other than a single mention of Peter having a mother in law, the gospels are essentially silent on the matter.

It would have been the norm for men of this time and age to have had wives and families.

Others probably know more than I do.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

4. Yes, they would have dumped their families.

Jesus promised them a better deal - Matthew 19:29 - "And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life."

[RedstDem]

6. wouldn't eternal life get boring?

I know I could keep myself entertained for centuries, but after that?
not so much..

[Meshuga]

5. What about Jesus?

A Rabbi in his 30's still a bachelor at that time? Not likely.

[cbayer]

7. I like the speculative stories about Mary Magdalene.

[Drale]

8. Jesus did not say anything about celibacy or not having a family

as they follow him they probably did not have families. They were men at the bottom of the barrel who found a man they believed in and followed him. They went from beggars and "vagrants" to people who's lives were dedicated to one man and his good works. Thats the way I always look at it though.

Just for Facts: The whole priests can't marry or have children thing came into being in the middle ages when priests lived on church lands, and when they wanted to leave their children a inheritance they had to "steal" it from the church and for obvious reasons the church did not like that.

[Hestia]

9. The story goes that there were also 12 women disciples (women were the largest followers of

early christianity) with some being the spouses of the official disciples. The men and women taught in pairs, with women also being bishops, priests, etc. The Church of Love continued this until the RCC rooted them in the first official case of heresy. The Inquisition started with the Cathars.

[cbayer]

10. I really like this version and it does not surprise me at all that they

would be left out of the scriptures.

[Humanist_Activist]

11. Yes, they did leave their families(assuming they existed), and Jesus told all his followers...

that if necessary they must leave their families. Jesus Christ, as portrayed in the Bible, is described as a leader of an apocalyptic cult or sect of Judaism. The Kingdom of God was nigh, 2000 years ago, its just that God is really, really, late. In addition, Paul thought the same thing, to the extent that he told his followers to not bother getting married or having children. Granted these teachings changed when it became obvious Jesus wasn't coming back.

[trotsky]

14. Best, most scripturally and historically accurate answer. n/t

[Mariana]

12. Maybe their families came along with them

as they traveled from place to place. Didn't they have people (multitudes) following them around a lot of the time? The disciples' families may have been part of the crowd.

[raccoon]

13. Good idea. nt