# Be advised: Jesus had a wife. Or, at least, Harvard & CNN think so.



## reaganmarsh (Sep 19, 2012)

Greetings, PB brethren, 

You may have already seen this article about "The Gospel of Jesus' Wife." But for those who haven't, you should at least be aware of its existence. This story was posted on CNN.com yesterday.

CNN's story (brief): Newly revealed Coptic fragment has Jesus making reference to 'my wife' – CNN Belief Blog - CNN.com Blogs 

Harvard Divinity School info page (Q & A format): The Gospel of Jesus' Wife: A New Coptic Gospel Papyrus | Harvard Divinity School 

The Harvard Theological Review's scholarly paper: http://news.hds.harvard.edu/files/King_JesusSaidToThem_draft_0917.pdf 

So far one of the most interesting things to me is that the scholars used PhotoShop to enhance the ink so they could read it. I understand that it was an aid to determining what it actually said. However, my gut reaction was, "It figures." The tone of the scholarly paper is speculative at best (though I am only halfway through reading it at present). 

Bottom line, TGOJW is apocryphal. The scholars who are arguing for its acceptance are the same ones who think that the early church conspired to remove the Gospel of Thomas from the canon (a la "Da Vinci Code"). 

The Gospel Coalition has a helpful followup article: http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/tgc/2012/09/19/the-far-less-sensational-truth-about-Jesus-wife/

Grace to you all as you stand on the inerrant Word this evening.


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## MarieP (Sep 19, 2012)

"The Bible absolutely supports the claim that Jesus had a wife. She goes by 'the Church' (Ephesians 5:22-33) and 'New Jerusalem' (Rev. 21:2)" -Nick Batzig


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## Somerset (Sep 19, 2012)

If we need to know - would the Bible not tell us? This has become a hot topic on several of the more general internet forums over here - yawn.


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## Rufus (Sep 19, 2012)

Based on a single text written a few hundred years after Christ by people who didn't know anybody alive at the time of Christ who were already dismissed as Gnostics.


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## reaganmarsh (Sep 19, 2012)

Totally agreed, y'all. Not advocating for its truthfulness. Only attempting to keep you "in the know" so that you may be prepared to give an answer.


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## Berean (Sep 19, 2012)

http://www.puritanboard.com/f63/assertion-Jesus-married-75939/


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## Zach (Sep 19, 2012)

MarieP said:


> "The Bible absolutely supports the claim that Jesus had a wife. She goes by 'the Church' (Ephesians 5:22-33) and 'New Jerusalem' (Rev. 21:2)" -Nick Batzig


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## Bill The Baptist (Sep 19, 2012)

Here is a good response from James White A Note to the Secular World: Do Your History


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## Brother John (Sep 19, 2012)

I'm confused... Last time I checked critical scholars said that there never was a historical Jesus... They seem to be confused by a scrap of a gnostic writing.


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## VRH (Sep 19, 2012)

It is the way of liberal academia -- the eager pursuit of the unorthodox, the novel, the preposterous. It is how position, tenure, and fame may be procured in such circles. That tends to be lucrative for the 'researcher' as well as the institution for which he works.

Here's a post by Professor of Church History and Historical Theology at Westminster Seminary California, Dr. R. Scott Clark, discussing this 'novelty': Was Jeusus married? Nothing to see here.


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## R. Scott Clark (Sep 19, 2012)

This is not news. There were all sorts of bizarre texts and ideas in 4th century Egypt. There are many similar Gnostic texts that attempted to revise the canonical account of our Lord's life and the teaching of the apostles. There's a distinct possibility that the text fragment is not authentic. Details on the HB

Was Jesus Married? Nothing to See Here. | Heidelblog


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## R. Scott Clark (Sep 20, 2012)

UPDATE: There are three updates on this since yesterday. Scholars are quite skeptical about this fragment. See the HB post for the latest.



R. Scott Clark said:


> This is not news. There were all sorts of bizarre texts and ideas in 4th century Egypt. There are many similar Gnostic texts that attempted to revise the canonical account of our Lord's life and the teaching of the apostles. There's a distinct possibility that the text fragment is not authentic. Details on the HB
> 
> Was Jesus Married? Nothing to See Here. | Heidelblog


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## reaganmarsh (Sep 20, 2012)

Thanks for all the responses and links, folks. Permit me to emphasize that I was merely making my fellow PB'ers aware of the fragment's existence and the conversation it was generating; I was not endorsing the conspiracy theory that seems to be the theme of much of the conversation! 

I had a church member ask me an earnest question about this yesterday afternoon, and it was the first time I'd encountered news of this particular fragment. Our church is slowly awakening to the life of the Christian mind (praise God!), and all sorts of questions are beginning to enter our conversations. There's my context. Please pray for me and our officers that we might guide them faithfully to Scripture and to Christ. 

I certainly agree with Dr. Clark that "there were all sorts of bizarre texts and ideas in 4th century Egypt" -- that fact is abundantly documented, and as Dr. Mohler pointed out, this "scholarship" is largely novelty. Scholarly skepticism certainly seems to be well-warranted in this case.

In the OP, I intended only to serve the brethren here, not beat a dead horse (read: annoy the Board) or seem to advocate the theory. The PB is the only message board I engage, so I was not aware that it was already being discussed _ad nauseum_ elsewhere. I sincerely apologize if I have transgressed on either count. 

Grace to you all.


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