Historian says piece of papyrus refers to Jesus' wife

sermonindex Sep 19, 2012

A historian of early Christianity at Harvard Divinity School has identified a scrap of papyrus that she says was written in Coptic in the fourth century and contains a phrase never seen in any piece of scripture: "Jesus said to them, 'My wife …'"

The faded papyrus fragment is smaller than a business card, with eight lines on one side, in black ink legible under a magnifying glass. Just below the line about Jesus having a wife, the papyrus includes a second provocative clause that purportedly says, “she will be able to be my disciple.”

The finding is being made public in Rome on Tuesday at an international meeting of Coptic scholars by the historian Karen L. King, who has published several books about new Gospel discoveries and is the first woman to hold the nation’s oldest endowed chair, the Hollis professor of divinity. ...

sermonindex Sep 19, 2012

I believe in the end times there are going to be great delusions given by the enemy to try and shake the faith of even the most mature saint. We must stand firm in our faith in our precious Lord and not be shaken by these false reports.

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ginnyrose Sep 19, 2012

Sounds like some folks are desperate for attention...

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TMK Sep 19, 2012

If a person's faith is shaken by a 4x8 cm piece of parchment, their faith is on very shaky ground indeed.

My guess is that "bride" was mistranslated "wife" but of course that is all speculation and I don't really care because it is so ridiculous.

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Ebedmelech Sep 19, 2012

That Christ is the Bridegroom, having the Church as His bride, from which spiritual children were to be born.

/.../cyprian/three books of testimonies against the jews/19 that christ is the.htm
http://christianbookshelf.org/cyprian/three_books_of_testimonies_against_the_jews/index.html

sermonindex Sep 19, 2012

One highly incomplete manuscript written 4 centuries after the fact will I'm sure be enough evidence in some peoples' minds to disbelieve the THOUSANDS of Gospel accounts dating earlier that say plenty to the contrary. This type of stuff is only ammo for the desperate.

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ccchhhrrriiisss Sep 19, 2012

I read this article in the New York Times yesterday. My wife commented that the little fragment lacks context. From this tiny and incomplete scrap of papyrus taken some 300-500 years after the crucifixion, we can't know if someone was quoting the Biblical Jesus, mentioning Jesus in context of their own life (as in a prayer for the writer's wife) or quoting Jesus in a parable. And, of course, there were already false gospels being spread in the 1st Century A.D. as well as the 4th Century A.D.

One argumentative person was trying to compare this with the history of the Pilgrims. My wife explained that the difference is that there were complete accounts -- including autobiographies, contemporary biographies, public ledgers, etc... -- upon which the Pilgrims' history could be based. That is a far cry from a small 1.5 inch x 3 inch piece of papyrus.

And, of course, there are some scholars who are now saying that this might even be a forgery.

http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/lifestyle/2012/09/19/jesus-wife-papyrus-under-scrutiny/

One thing is certain: Some people are LOOKING for reasons to not believe in the Lord. Some are desperately looking for confirmation of their own prejudices and will cling to anything -- no matter how small or even fraudulent -- to ease their conscience regarding the existence of God or the eternal consequences of their souls.

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brothagary Sep 19, 2012

to me it sounds like nothing but a another fragment of a gnoctic gosple probable refuring to mary magdelen ,,,acent herecy

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twayneb Sep 19, 2012

Hey, wait a minute. Jesus is in my Algebra Class this year.

Actually he is a young hispanic man, but the name Jesus, Yeshua or roughly transliterated Joshua, is not all that uncommon a name. That is why He was called Jesus Christ (Jesus the one who was anointed by God). To me this is a little bit like saying that since I found a scrap of paper while on a trip to Colorado that says, "Jim murdered his first wife.", that my friend Jim in Missouri is a murderer who remarried. Never mind the fact that there are lots of men named Jim in both states. The reference to a disciple notwithstanding. Disciple is not an odd term, and many, many teachers had them.

When we seek to deny God exists and discredit Jesus Christ at every turn, we will turn to silliness to do it.

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Sree Sep 19, 2012

A believer should not lose his faith on this as well as not get offended by such News. It is our personal relationship with Jesus that matters and not what the world thinks about him.

sermonindex Sep 20, 2012

One thing is certain: Some people are LOOKING for reasons to not believe in the Lord. Some are desperately looking for confirmation of their own prejudices and will cling to anything -- no matter how small or even fraudulent -- to ease their conscience regarding the existence of God or the eternal consequences of their souls.

Exactly.

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proudpapa Sep 20, 2012

I sometimes wounder how many of of the so called early manuscripts are even authentic, many could and most likely are the works of men like Constantine Simonides.

sermonindex Sep 20, 2012

Could actually be legit. Same word for wife may be translated "Bride". That's us. Anyone who's faith could be shaken or destroyed by this report probably isn't anyways. My 2 cents

sermonindex Sep 20, 2012

I don't subscribe to this nonsense. In this day and age, anything that comes out of these institutions who once stood for righteousness, cannot be trusted now. The world is doing everything they can to discredit, remove, obliterate the name of Jesus from text books, from history, even from our Churches.

In the fourth century, from the time of Christ until then, many people could have named their Children 'Jesus'. They do it in Muslim countries. Everyone it seems either has a first or middle name of Mohammad. And if you look in the phone directory in Brazil, the name of Jesus is littered throughout. This 'Jesus' could have been anyone if it is indeed genuine.