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September 18th, 2012
03:28 PM ET
Newly revealed Coptic fragment has Jesus making reference to 'my wife'By Eric Marrapodi, CNN Belief Blog Co-Editor (CNN) - A newly revealed, centuries-old papyrus fragment suggests that some early Christians might have believed Jesus was married. The fragment, written in Coptic, a language used by Egyptian Christians, says in part, "Jesus said to them, 'My wife ..." Harvard Divinity School Professor Karen King announced the findings of the 1 1/2- by 3-inch honey-colored fragment on Tuesday in Rome at the International Association for Coptic Studies. King has been quick to add this discovered text "does not, however, provide evidence that the historical Jesus was married," she wrote in a draft of her analysis of the fragment set to appear in the January edition of Harvard Theological Review. The divinity school has posted a draft of King's article to which AnneMarie Luijendijk, an associate professor of religion at Princeton University, contributed. "This fragment, this new piece of papyrus evidence, does not prove that (Jesus) was married, nor does it prove that he was not married. The earliest reliable historical tradition is completely silent on that. So we're in the same position we were before it was found. We don't know if he was married or not," King said in a conference call with reporters.
"What I'm really quick to say is to cut off people who would say this is proof that Jesus was married because historically speaking, it's much too late to constitute historical evidence," she continued. "I'm not saying he was, I'm not saying he wasn't. I'm saying this doesn't help us with that question," she continued. Follow the CNN Belief Blog on Twitter In the accounts of Jesus' life in the Bible, there is no mention of his marital status, while the accounts do mention Jesus' mother, father and siblings. The four Gospels - Matthew, Mark, Luke and John - tell the story of Jesus' birth and early childhood then skip to his short, three-year ministry before detailing his death and resurrection. The idea that Jesus was married is not a new one. In other writings about the life of Jesus from antiquity suggest Jesus may have been married to Mary Magdalene, a disciple who was close to Jesus. Author Dan Brown also used the idea of Jesus being married as a jumping off point for the fictional novel "The Da Vinci Code." King dismissed that notion in her call with reporters. “There’s no indication we have that Jesus was married,” said Darrell Bock, a senior research professor of New Testament studies at Dallas Theological Seminary. “One could say the text is silent on Jesus’ marital status is because there was nothing to say.” Initial dating for the honey-colored fragment by the team of scholars puts the papyrus piece coming out of the middle of the second century. King is referring to the fragment as the "The Gospel of Jesus' Wife" or "GosJesWife" as a short hand for reference, and noting that the abbreviation does not mean this scrap has the same historical weight as the canonical Gospels. Biblical scholars often use the term gospel to refer to a genre of ancient writings featuring dialogue between Jesus and his disciples, King notes in her paper. The Gospel of Thomas, the Gospel of Mary and the Gospel of Judas are just a few of the ancient accounts about the life of Jesus that Christians do not consider canonical. At the conference, King said another professor suggested the fragment could have come from the text of a homily, or sermon, where the writer was using this phrase as a literary device. She told reporters that while she will consider that as a possibility, the fragment is “probably a gospel. Probably from the second century and most close to the Gospels of Mary, Thomas and Philip.” Bock agreed with the notion that the text fragment shared similarities with those gospels, called the Gnostic Gospels, which were the writings of an early outlier sect of Christians. He said the text could be referring to a "gnostic rite of marriage that is a picture of the church and Jesus, not a real wife." But he added, "it’s a small text with very little context. We don’t know what’s wrapped around it to know what it’s saying.” Bock said it’s likely to be a gnostic text if it proves to be authentic. “The whole text needs vetting. She’s doing the right thing to release it and let scholars take a look at,” he said, adding “it’s a little bit like trying to analyze the game in the first quarter.” “It’s a historical curiosity but doesn’t really tell us who Jesus was,” Bock said. “It’s one small speck of a text in a mountain of texts of about Jesus.” CNN’s Belief Blog: The faith angles behind the biggest stories The owner of the fragment has been identified by King as a private collector who has asked to stay anonymous. The owner brought the fragment to Harvard have King examine it in December 2011. King then brought it to the Institute for the Study of the Ancient World at New York University. Roger Bagnall, the institute's director and an expert on papyrus, examined it and determined it to be authentic, Bangall confirmed to CNN. Ariel Shisha-Halevy, professor of linguistics at Hebrew University, Jerusalem, who was asked to examine the authenticity, according to the draft of the article, told King via e-mail, “I believe - on the basis of language and grammar - the text is authentic. That is to say, all its grammatical ‘noteworthy’ features, separately or conjointly, do not warrant condemning it as forgery.” Little is known about the origin of the text. Because both sides of the fragment have writing on them, King said it could have come out of a book rather than a scroll. "Just like most of the earliest papyri of the New Testament and other literary and documentary papyri, a fragment this damaged could have come from an ancient garbage heap," the King says building on prior research by Luijendijk. King writes "the importance of the 'Gospel of Jesus’ Wife' lies in supplying a new voice within the diverse chorus of early Christian traditions about Jesus that documents that some Christians depicted Jesus as married." The Smithsonian Channel also announced Monday that it will air a special on King's findings on September 30. soundoff (4,539 Responses)« Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 Next »
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The CNN Belief Blog covers the faith angles of the day's biggest stories, from breaking news to politics to entertainment, fostering a global conversation about the role of religion and belief in readers' lives. It's edited by CNN's Daniel Burke with contributions from Eric Marrapodi and CNN's worldwide news gathering team.  |
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For allt who believe religion is their free pass to murdering with permission:
GOD HAS SPOKEN!
' FOR IF YOU DO NOT FORGIVE, NEITHER YOUR FATHER IN HEAVEN WILL FORGIVE YOU"
GOD, THE ONE TRUE GOD ALMIGHTY, THE FATHER OF JESUSCHRIST, AND CREATOR OF HUMANITY HAS SAID THAT IF YOU SHED BLOOD (HATRED) AND IF YOU DO NOT FORGIVE...HE WILL NOT GIVE YOU LIFE!
so.... keep on warring...warmongers... that you may join your leader in hell soon!
What the hell is even going here...
Lara,
Ummmmmmm.... you said the word "he||", and not only that, you wished that someone would go there -- ummmmmmm, that means that YOU are going there. 😈
amen!
Lara, please have your medications checked – you appear to be off them.
Lara
For allt who believe religion is their free pass to murdering with permission:
I dont believe that.
If you do, you have a BIG problem.
You need religious detox, you have it bad.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1APfv_GmtyE&feature=related
The Word of the Lord promised that once Jews gathered back from the scattering around the world, they will never ever EVER be destroyed nor their homeland taken away. It has been the children of satan who always hav plans so that Christ in their eyes cannot come back, and they use stupid plans and blow themelves up, and do all manner of evil, but GOD IS GOD AND NO HUMAN OR SATAN CAN BE VICTORIOUS OVER YHWVH OF ISRAEL.
The rest of blasfemous lies we know well and spread well amongst ignorants, are nothing but lies, in the end th devil has little time left, and so he roars lies and like a lion goes around to seek whom he will devour bfore his time comes.
JESUS IS COMIING BACK SOON....IN THE NGENERATION THAT SEES ISRAEL BEING BORN AS A NATION (1948) AND IN THE RECAPTURING OF THEIR LANDS FROM THEIR ENEMY (1967) -THAT GENERATION (US) WILL SEE THE RETURN OF CHRIST.
be prepared...you nay sayers....religious wolfes....religious antichrists.... be prepared for Christ this time does not come as a lamb but as a just JUDGE to end the evil in this world. e.g. religons...and antichrist spirits/people.
CHOOSE CHRIST NOW AND YOU WILL JOIN HIM IN ETERNAL LIFE....or else satan will be your company along with any amount of brides who will never make you feel good in hell. and actually hell is not going to be a party like many gbelieve. it will be the place of torture for your wicked hearts...if you spit at the Son of God.
Thank you, seriously for that. Thank you.
Laura, THAT's what he told them before the Babylonian exile also. Proven false. The claims of Zionism have been an integral pert of Hebrew culture since the beginning, ("promised land crap"). It was a self-justification for the appropriation of land from their neighbors. It has NOTHING to do with gods. it's called GREED.
I talk to God every night. One night he finally talked back. He told me to kill...
and then you said I see dead people? or did you see aliens too??? did you dream you were in the middle east too?
I say to you brother stop smoking the stuff and stick to beer, wine...
stay away from bath of salt dude or else you will actually believe your a zombie...
Such blasphemy. How do you find this funny and stay happy with comments like these. Do you type these things and say to yourself "this will be good" and press enter? I mean, how is this self enjoyable to write such a comment?
If something like that EVER happened it was Satan in desguise. God and Jesus warned us about this. The only difference to know if something is Godly or not is by what they say. So if it was told for you to kill thats not something God would say, so it is automatically the work of satan and his demons.
All you need is comon sense to know what is Godly or not. Ask yourself "Would God really say this?"
Common sense. Please, you need that to understand anything.
Francisco Decastro,
Satan is the Master Deceiver, right? The MASTER Deceiver. Who's to say that he didn't write your Bible (and the Quran... and the Book of Mormon... and all of the rest of them), toss in a bit of sugar about love and kindness and eternal bliss, then set the hook, sit back and cackle about all of the perpetual fighting over it all. 😈
The MASTER DECEIVER, remember!
There is no way that the Lord could have been married based on scripture. First he said this;
And Jesus saith unto him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air [have] nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay [his] head.
If He had a wife He would have had a place to lay His head at their home. Second scripture says this;
But he that is married careth for the things that are of the world, how he may please [his] wife.
The Lord was totally Spirit/God minded so He could not have been married based on scripture.
Which version of scripture? There are so many different variants, and they all say things a bit differently, even though the writings are credited as being the "word of God". If it was the true word of God, seems to me there wouldn't be versions, because God's word would be perfect. That, and the fact that the scriptures were written, edited, and selected by human beings. But, if you want to assign ultimate authority to these works, that is your choice.
This argument is irrelevant. Jesus most likely never existed.
Matt 3:15 "Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John consented."
See, Jesus was gay...
And to any who say "You took that out of context, yes, I did, as you do every single fvcking scripture you quote when you do not start at Genesis and end with Revelation.
The real problem is taking any of that literally to begin with. Try reading it with the same doubt you'd apply to a tale of Hercules or Beowulf.
his wife was probably a dude
It is my sincere prayer that before people call themselves "EXPERTS' of the Bible, that they would read the Bible first!
In the Bible, in the New Testament, there was more than one person who had the name of JESUS!!! I am shocked that these 'EXPERTS' who are looking into the authenticity of this little fragment of papyrus, do not even mention that this person named Jesus could be someone else who had the same name! THERE WAS MORE THAN ONE PERSON NAMED JESUS, WHO WAS
LIVING AT THE TIME OF JESUS CHRIST!!
Also there were people in the Bible who had names and surnames of Jesus! [ COLOSSIANS 4:11 ]
PLEASE DO EXTENSIVE RESEARCH ON THE MANY NAMES AND SURNAMES OF INDIVIDUALS NAMED JESUS, AND FAMILY SURNAMES OFJESUS DURING THIS PERIOD OF TIME, BEFORE YOU ALL MAKE AN ASSUMPTION THAT THIS TINY FRAGMENT COULD ONLY BE REFERRING TO JESUS CHRIST OUR LORD, AND NOT ANOTHER INDIVIDUAL WITH THE SAME NAME AS JESUS OR SAME FAMILY NAME OF JESUS!!
THANK YOU! AND I PRAY THAT YOU ALL WOULD KNOW THE LOVE OF OUR LORD AND SAVIOR, JESUS CHRIST!
Good point.
How would reading the bible help determine the authenticity of a piece of 4th century writing? Why do people always assume that people with differing points of view have never read the bible? I was raised a Christian. I was required to attend Sunday School, Church, Youth Group, Confirmation class and even earned the God and Country Medal in Scouts – which requires years of study. I've also studied many ancient cultures, and as a result believe that ALL religions were born of human conjecture. You cannot point to any one and say this is the right one (with any authority other than "what you want to believe") Every religious text I've ever read is clearly written via the various perceptions of man, not some divine being.
I did read the Bible, Rev. You need to read ABOUT the Bible. It's what turned me into an a-theist.
How many angels can fit on the head of a pin?
None or infinity. Angels don't exist.
It's DANCE. How many can DANCE on the head of a pin. Depends on whether they disco or waltz.
Ah yes, then there's the one about demons:
How many can prance ahead of the din? 😈
... and drunkards:
How many put their pants on their head 'cuz of gin. 😈
“I know your deeds and your toil and perseverance, and that you cannot tolerate evil men, and you put to the test those who call themselves apostles, and they are not, and you found them to be false” (Revelation 2:2).
Why do I have the feeling you're sprinkling your monitor with holy water?
Anyone interested in buying my 2005 Ford Mustang?
My wife might be interested.
Wow, usually these truthiness articles only happen at easter.
Many people forget that the new Testament IS NOT "the unabridgied authorized autobiography of Jesus". It is a book on his teachings.
With all the Mohammed studff going on, apparently the media now has to trash Christianity. (perhaps that will make people forget the Obama Muslim atuff, right CNN?)
Jesus could have been married, just as he could have had other by birth younger siblings.
One just has to look at how women in todays most non-technological societies are treated to realize that it was most likely the same thing for women of Palestine that chose not to be active enough for Matthew, Mark, Luke & John to notice them.
Many people in recent history who make large impacts on the world have non-impacting partners. Why should religion be any different?
You think that women of Palestine chose not to be active? They were repressed and controlled by their religion into being second class citizens, worthy of nothing more than birthing and keeping house.
How do I know that only Jesus is the Savior Son of God and the one true God and not the blasphemies in the world?
Testing the Spirits...1 John 4:1-6
“Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this we know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God; and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now is already in the world. You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world. They are from the world; therefore they speak as from the world, and the world listens to them. We are from God; he who knows God listens to us; he who is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.”
Blah, blah, blah, blah...
Why do you believe that crap?
You realize you talk to an imaginary friend who happens to be a zombie that does magic tricks, right? There are medications available now, talk to your doctor about them.
TRANSLATION: Believe only what you want to hear.
OG-No
Not sure about Laura but for me I had to reach a place where only a miracle could work. Even then it was not me but God who in put a Bible under my seat and then revealed what I could never see before. Without that personal experience I would never have believed. Without my life being transformed I would never have continued to believe or follow what Christ said.
In short God will give everyone an opportunity to accept or reject the invitation to trust that which cannot be seen.
Sooo...God is an optometrist? Does he give discounts on contact lenses?
Fred, you've given us your tale of woe many times and always get to the same point. By your own words you are a weak person who believes you need a god (despite admitting you have no evidence for any god) when you would actually be better off getting medical help with your delusions and getting out of your cult.
OG-No
I think you hit it on the head there OG ! Those who do not need God cannot see God. There are many reasons a person rejects God. The use of Science to reject God is a non starter so any scientific excuses are simply a tool of denial to the atheist or agnostic. A life of sin and immorality is typically the greatest reason to seek out reasons to trash the Bible and God. Since pride is a sin I did not separate that one out however it is the biggest of them all. There are also a small minority that cannot comprehend God simply because of biological (neurological mostly) abnormalities. The good news for all non believers is that God does take into account the cards you were dealt at the End of Days. My hope is that we are cut more of a break than we deserve.
Post by 'fred' consists mainly of the Secret Decoder Ring fallacy, a veiled form of ad hominem.
http://www.fallacyfiles.org/glossary.html
101 spotter
Sorry but your off that one as their is nothing secret about how to seek God.
Awww fred forgot to put in the part where there is no evidence for god, and the entire thing relies on blind faith. Don't forget the "believe and you'll get the evidence" bullshit believers tend to pull (confirmatory bias anyone?).
hawaiiguest
Perhaps you should rent Miracle on 34th street to gain wisdom about what const-itutes proof that Santa is alive and well? Even if Santa delivered toys you would not accept Satna unless he arrived on a rooftop with Dancer, Prancer, Donner and Blixon….. does his stomach need to shake like a bowl full of jelly and does he need to dawn a white beard in a red outfit?
The entire scientific community would not bother with attempting to apply science to the spirit of Christmas or existence of Santa. Yet, the atheist in you demands scientific proof of God. How about you ask the simple question; how is that which is self evident not self evident to you?
Why do you demand proof when Jesus flat out said no proof will be given to you except the sign of Jonah? Could it be you do not understand the sign of Jonah or do you have a heart of stone as did the Sanhedrin that demanded a sign from Jesus. If you do not understand God will be fair with you. If you have a heart of stone then there will be an accounting.
The fairy tale of the atheist claims there is no existence after this lifetime. Prove to me that your tale of the afterlife has more validity than mine.
Okay, half man, half the arousal, single, no concubine...
Thou hast eyes, but can not see… (TRANSLATE: you see it but refuse to accept it).
John 13:23 – Now there was leaning on Jesus' bosom one of his disciples, whom Jesus loved. John 13:22-24
John 19:26 – When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by, whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son! John 19:25-27.
John 20:2 – Then she runneth, and cometh to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and saith unto them, They have taken away the LORD out of the sepulchre, and we know not where they have laid him. John 20:1-3.
John 21:7
Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved saith unto Peter, It is the Lord. Now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he girt his fisher's coat unto him, (for he was naked,) and did cast himself into the sea. John 21:6-8
John 21:20
Then Peter, turning about, seeth the disciple whom Jesus loved following; which also leaned on his breast at supper, and said, Lord, which is he that betrayeth thee? John 21:19-21.
You forgot :
Mark 14:51-52 Now a young man, followed him, wearing nothing but a linen cloth about his body. They seized him, but he left the cloth behind, and ran off naked.
(a fragment/remnant from the Secret Gospel of Mark, in which Jesus WAS gay).
Maybe he was gay. I mean, hanging out with 12 guys all the time?...
Timothy
Be careful and slow to speak when it comes to the MESSIAH, JESUS CHRIST because the word of GOD says Matthew 12:36
But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment GOD BLESS THE BELIEVERS
September 19, 2012 at 1:54 pm | Report abuse | Reply
He likely didn't exist, but the guy in the book is definitely fruity.
@Athy You to can give your life to CHRIST . Stop being so mean. Could i be in the 8th grade or could i be the last hope for you before JESUS comes back for his church.
why don't people think Adam was our god, since he was the first person on earth! people say Jesus was son of God becuase he had no mother.. HOw about Adam? we don't even know who his mother was.. He was decended from heaven so he must be the son of god! why not?
Why not, indeed!
Shan ADAM was GOD son but the bible tells you thru GENESIS and 1st JOHN that Jesus was here before the foundation of the earth
SEAN do you know death came into the world because of one mans sin(ADAM) SEAN thats why JESUS had to come to earth in human form and die on the cross for our sin so that we could be reconciled back to GOD. Mankind was seperated from GOD because of ADAM and that is why we can only have eternal life thru JESUS CHRIST. SEAN dont worry ADAM is in heaven with our father.
Actually you are wrong. We are all Sons of God. Everyone on Earth. And God CREATED adam with the SOIL and God's breath and he was the Father and Creator of Adam and all the sons of Adam and Eve are all sons of God. So we are all Gods? Now Jesus came here, cured people, and died for us and was our savior. Adam did not do any of that. Jesus gave the gospel to the people and told everything. Adam did not do that. You would make a better chance questioning Moses with Jesus. But Moses was not born from a Virgin. and Neither was Adam because Adam's creation was only between God.
And you know In the old testament in Micah 5:2 they talk about Jesus being born in BETHLEHEM. Adam was created in garden of Eden if i'm not mistaken. And in the Old testement it also says that he was born from a Virgen. That was not the case with Adam OR Moses and Only Jesus
if that were the case then there would have been no reason for Jesus to come, being that he was God in the flesh. Adam was the first man, that is if he had been God he would not have been refered to as man, also who was it then that gave him commandments as to the garden of Eden, in other words who was talking to him in the cool of the evening? Why also would he have eaten the fruit that caused him to be removed from Eden. There are so many on here making light of the TRUTH, there is a time of tribulation coming and an end for those who have blasphemed and refused the gift of God, His son Jesus Christ the Messiah. The world needs to repent of our ways and seek His face, for He is coming wether we believe or not.
@Eric Maripodi,
Please correct.
"Published here for the first time is a fragment of a fourth-century CE codex in
Coptic containing a dialogue between Jesus and his disciples in which Jesus speaks of
“my wife.”"
(http://news.hds.harvard.edu/files/King_JesusSaidToThem_draft_0917.pdf)
Sorry @Marrapodi
(إِذْ قَالَ اللّهُ يَعِيسَى ابْنَ مَرْيَمَ اذْكُرْ نِعْمَتِي عَلَيْكَ وَعَلَىَ وَالِدَتِكَ إِذْ أَيّدتّكَ بِرُوحِ الْقُدُسِ
تُكَلّمُ النّاسَ فِي الْمَهْدِ وَكَهْلاً وَإِذْ عَلّمْتُكَ الْكِتَابَ وَالْحِكْمَةَ وَالتّوْرَاةَ وَالإِنْجِيل
َ وَإِذْ تَخْلُقُ مِنَ الطّينِ كَهَيْئَةِ الطّيْرِ بِإِذْنِي فَتَنفُخُ فِيهَا فَتَكُونُ طَيْراً بِإِذْنِي وَتُبْرِىءُ الأكْمَه
َ وَالأبْرَصَ بِإِذْنِي وَإِذْ تُخْرِجُ الْمَوتَىَ بِإِذْنِيِ وَإِذْ كَفَفْتُ بَنِيَ إِسْرَائِيلَ عَنكَ إِذْ جِئْتَهُمْ
بِالْبَيّنَاتِ فَقَالَ الّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ مِنْهُمْ إِنْ هَـَذَا إِلاّ سِحْرٌ مّبِينٌ)
[سورة: المائدة – الأية: 110]
[5.110] When Allah said: '(Prophet) Jesus, son
of Mary, remember the favor upon you and on
your mother; how I strengthened you with the
Holy Spirit (Gabriel), to speak to people in
your cradle and of age (when he descends
and dies); how I taught you the Book and
Wisdom, the Torah and the Gospel; and how,
by My permission, you fashioned from clay
the likeness of a bird, and breathed into it so
that, by My permission, it became a living
bird. How, by My permission, you healed the
blind man and the leper, and by My
permission you brought the dead forth; and
how I protected you from the Children of
Israel when you brought them clear signs;
whereupon the unbelievers among them
said: "This is nothing but plain magic".
God bless you Mohamed, May the lord Jesus and god keep blessing your life..
Your my brother regardless of race, color, religion... My lord jesus say we are all his sons so there for i consider you my brother, when can we sit in peace and have a cup of coffee to share our views relating to Jesus and Mohamed?
Thanks. I forgot how much he stole, when he assembled the Qur"an.
Many stories in the Qur'an were "borrowed" from surrounding cultures, and well known circulating myths, and cultural historians know exactly where they came from :
1. Moses and the Fish, (came from Babylon/Ugarit/the El myths),
2. Solomon listening to the ants, common fairy tales, existing all over the Ancient Near East,
3. Jinns, (genies) working for Solomon, both common fairy tales, existing all over the Ancient Near East,
4. Mary in the temple, (stolen from one of the proto gospels),
5. Jesus talking in the crib, (from the known Proto Gospel after Jacob)
6. The Egyptian child stories, (from the Arab Child Gospel, and The Thomas' Child Gospel), both just made up fairy stories.
7. Jesus making birds from clay, (known source, .."The Child Gospel after Thomas vs 1-4),
8. Mary and the Palm, was taken from the Proto Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 20.
9. Mo's Night Journey to Heaven, taken from either the Hebrew Merebah, or the well known Gnostic "Enoc's Journey to Heaven", which is identical to to Ibn Ishaq’s story after Abu Said al-Chudri)
10. The Sleepers in the Cave, straight from the fairy story from Ephesus, (Mo got the dates wrong, but the story is right),
11. Alexander the Great, (Surah 18), (straight plagiarism), AND there was NO place in the world with enough iron blocks to close off a whole valley in 330 BC.
12. The myth about Ad. Straight from Arab folk tales.
13. Thamud – same as 12.
14. Median – copied from Arab folk tales.
The second century is quite early, and I think this provides support that Christianity was a much more diverse religion than we are often taught today. The traditional Christian message is probably far from the truth, and the more one learns about the Gnostic Gospels, the more one begins to feel this has to be the case. I would also be willing to be that this text does not directly support Jesus is married, but rather this is a literary device used to explain Jesus' relationship to the church. According to the Gnostics, we could probably even say that it means the Christ (individual) and his or her relation to the ONE (God)
http://www.spiritofthescripture.com
@ Joshua: so, 2000 years after the fact, you choose to go with the less attested, repeatedly repudiated, clearly later (as in over 100 years after the originals) Gnostic copycat of the sources. Before you go with put your faith in your opinions, you might want to check some of the scholarship...
The Bible is the most read, most scrutinized book in history. And yet the scholarship still attests to these accounts.
here's a good overview:
http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/justintaylor/2012/03/21/an-interview-with-daniel-b-wallace-on-the-new-testament-manuscripts/
And He shall come again, with Gloria. And she ain't happy....
Who's Gloria???
Don't know, but the last I heard she'd been in a cell six days, oh......maybe seven....
I predict that within one week this piece of papyrus will be declared a hoax...the owner is just trying to enhance its value because he's trying to sell his collection to Harvard. This doesn't pass the smell test...
Of course if there is a scratch and sniff strip we know it is modern.
Ew, it probably smells like sweat, camel dung, and stinky sandals.
Jesus' wife was previously mentioned in the Gospel of Philip, one of the Nag Hammadi scrolls dated to the third century. That doesn't change the fact that the New Testament is a collection folktales that were intermingled with real life politics and intended for an audience of jewish xenophobes.