September 23, 2012:

Was Jesus Married?

          A newly revealed papyrus fragment written in the fourth century contains the words “Jesus said to them, ‘My wife . . . ‘” Karen King, a scholar of early Christianity, described this fragment in a paper she presented to a Coptic Studies conference sponsored by the Roman Catholic Church.  Dr. King said that this text is the only extant Christian writing where Jesus is described as having been married.  She believes the fragment was first written in Greek and then translated into Coptic, an Egyptian language, spoken by Coptic Christians, one of the earliest branches of Christianity. It still exists.

          Dr. King released a statement from Harvard noting that “Christian tradition has long held that Jesus was not married, even though no reliable historical evidence exists to prove that claim.”

          Let’s pause here and notice that Dr. King is basing her comments on the fact that the Early Church did not say that Jesus was not married.  This is the fallacy of trying to prove a negative.  None of the earliest Christian documents, Gospels in the Bible or not, writings of all early Christian leaders, suggest or imply that Jesus was married.  To suggest that he was reminds me of “The Da Vinci Code,” a work of fiction that made this claim.  Was there some sort of diabolical plot by the earliest Christians to suppress Jesus’ marriage?  A conspiracy of that magnitude boggles the mind.

          Dr. King goes on to say in her paper that “This new gospel doesn’t prove that Jesus was married but it tells us that the whole question came up as part of vociferous debates about sexuality and marriage.”  Really?  How could she possibly know where, how, when, by whom, and for what purpose this papyrus was written?

          It is striking that this fragment has come to light at a time when there is a real debate in every part of the Christian Church about sexuality and marriage.  Should clergy in every part of Christianity be allowed to marry?  What about divorce and same-sex marriage?  These are serious issues which deserve careful study and response.  This little piece of papyrus will not affect those discussions at all.  There are far better biblical and theological reasons for supporting the right of all people, without exception, to be married if they choose and divorce if they must.

        Love,

        Dave