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What are the fringe theories around Jesus Christ?
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Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene

Early copies of the Bible refer to Mary as Christ's "partner". This is evidence that his union with his controversial follower was widely known and accepted.
Christianity Conspiracy Religion
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Context

In the fall of 2014, an article was written about a document reported to be 1,500 years old that was unearthed in the British Library. This document, known as "The Lost Gospel", was translated by Professor Barrie Wilson and writer Simcha Jacobovic from Aramaic to English. "The Lost Gospel", according to Wilson and Jacobovic, reveals that Jesus had married Mary Magdalene and fathered two children with her. [1]

The Argument

The most important aspect of the Bible to keep in mind is that it is a book that is a reflection on the theological and personal biases of the men who both compiled the stories and then radified the book. Any revisions to the Bible is meant to reflect upon the views of the different sects of Christianity at the time. It is also important to note that the Gosepls (representations of both God and Jesus's word) that make up the New Testament were written after the death of Christ. Because of this, the Gospels in the New Testament were simply written on second and third-hand heresay. The Bible is meant to conform to whatever interests certain religious factions were vested in and the idea of Jesus being married to Mary Magdalene conflicted with these interests. [2] While many critics have maintained that the Bible does not explicitly state that Jesus married Mary Magdalene, there is also no explicit mention of Jesus not being married in the final version of the Bible in 367 AD. There is evidence that Jesus did not preach celibacy, unlike the Catholic Church, and that many of his disciples were married; Matthew 19:4-5 also suggests that Christ was ultimately in favor of marriage. There is also the matter of Judaic customs during Biblical times. According to these customs, it was mandatory that an adult Jewish male be married. For Christ to have been an adult man at this time and be unmarried and celibate would have been seen as freakish and would have been widely condemned. Both his training and status as a rabbi in the Jewish community would have ensured that Jesus was married as the Jewish Mishanic law would have commanded it. [2] Mary Magdalene was one of Christ's most influential followers, though that role is considered controversial amongst the different branches. The Western Catholic Church considers Mary Magdalene as a former prostitute and has downplayed her role as one of Jesus's follwers, specifically how devout and influential she was. The Eastern Orthodox Church, however, honors Mary Magdalene in her role as a devoted follwer to her teacher. In fact, they consider her as an apostle to the apostles. The Gospel of John, for example, names her as the one that Jesus called on to tell his followers about his resurection. The Gospel of Luke also names her as being closely involved with the ministry and following Christ from village to village. [3]

Counter arguments

There is no credible evidence that Christ was ever married or ever had children. The Bible contains no mention of Christ's wife or any children that would have come from the marriage. What the Bible does contain are quotes speaking to Christ's lack of family; for example, Hebrew 7:3 states that Christ is a person without a geneology, showing that he is a true Son of God. While the Bible does maintain that Mary was Jesus's mother and also aknowledges that Mary and Joseph most likely did have children before Christ, there is very little Biblical or evidence outside of the Bible to suggest that Christ was married or had children as their have been few credible secular historians that have found any evidence to suggest such allegations. [4]

Premises

Rejecting the premises

References

  1. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/news/jesus-married-mary-magdalene-and-had-children-according-to-ancient-manuscript-9849839.html
  2. https://www.donaldwatkins.com/post/the-royal-bloodline-of-jesus-and-mary-magdalene
  3. https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/people-cultures-in-the-bible/people-in-the-bible/was-mary-magdalene-wife-of-jesus-was-mary-magdalene-a-prostitute/
  4. https://www.patheos.com/blogs/christiancrier/2015/09/13/are-there-known-relatives-of-jesus-living-today/
This page was last edited on Thursday, 29 Oct 2020 at 11:39 UTC

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