I saw the story about the fragment in the newspaper after we discussed it in class. It had seemed like from the onset that the fragment was most likely fake. Nowhere else is there a mention about Jesus' wife; it would not make sense for every other gospel or piece written about Jesus to have omitted that major detail. It makes me wonder about the effect that a finding like this would have had if the fragment were proven authentic. Jesus has been built up to be a cultural and religious icon. Many portrayals of Jesus are almost superhuman, however, maybe Jesus really was a normal guy with a wife. I wonder what other details about Jesus have yet to be uncovered.
Thanks Anonymous, I should point out that Jesus is presumed married in the Gospel of Philip. But your point is an important one when nuanced: There is no presumption of a wife of Jesus in our earliest and best historical sources.
I thought Jon Stewart had the best line on this one, "My wife [would really have to love Thai food if I ever find one]."
ReplyDeleteJoel has the full clip over at Unsettled:
http://unsettledchristianity.com/2012/09/jon-stewart-on-the-gospel-of-jesus-wife/
I saw the story about the fragment in the newspaper after we discussed it in class. It had seemed like from the onset that the fragment was most likely fake. Nowhere else is there a mention about Jesus' wife; it would not make sense for every other gospel or piece written about Jesus to have omitted that major detail. It makes me wonder about the effect that a finding like this would have had if the fragment were proven authentic. Jesus has been built up to be a cultural and religious icon. Many portrayals of Jesus are almost superhuman, however, maybe Jesus really was a normal guy with a wife. I wonder what other details about Jesus have yet to be uncovered.
ReplyDeleteThanks Anonymous, I should point out that Jesus is presumed married in the Gospel of Philip. But your point is an important one when nuanced: There is no presumption of a wife of Jesus in our earliest and best historical sources.
ReplyDeleteI absolutely loved that clip from the Daily Show. Leave it to Jon Stewart to poke fun at this.
ReplyDeleteI found it interesting how the article suggests this image of Jesus was created to balance the Jesus from Smith's Secret Gospel.
Personally, both images are quite challenging for me to accept. I guess I'm more of a conservative Catholic than I thought.