Jesus: A family man?

Last updated on: March 7, 2007 at 10:41 am by Lynn Hayes

Jesus: A family man? 2007-03-07T10:41:00-05:00 Lynn Hayes

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

I finally watched the documentary produced by Titanic director James Cameron connecting ossuaries found in a tomb in Talpiot Israel to the family of Jesus of Nazareth. I confess to having a predisposition to believe the story because it aligns nicely with my own thinking and with what I have expected from Pluto’s final travel through Sagittarius before entering Capricorn next year. Pluto creates chaos and upheaval in whatever sign it moves through, and since 1995 when it entered Sagittarius we have seen this kind of chaos in religion (including an amplification of religious wars) , travel (including attack (Pluto) with planes (Sag) areas of life that are ruled by Sagittarius.

Pluto also reveals secrets, and one of the biggest mysteries in our world today concerns what actually happened in Jerusalem 2000 years ago. Scriptures have been retranslated and edited over the last 2000 years in order to fit the theological fashion of the day, and the actual history has been erased forever.

Long before the DaVinci code, my reading had convinced me that Jesus and Mary of Magdala would have had to be married. Jesus was a nice Jewish boy and a rabbi, and as a Jewish boy with a Jewish mother he would have been under enormous pressure to be married. The whole concept of celibacy among priests did not become a rule until the early fourth century CE; previous to that time the first pope, St. Peter, is known to have been a married man and subsequent popes and bishops were married, many with children. This became a problem as the early church began amassing property since children become heirs and inherited the priestly property. It was only after the early fourth century that church writers began to expound on the horrors of women and their sexuality.

There is no evidence of any celibate Jewish priests during the time of Jesus. Christian writers like to quote Jesus’s words as indicating a preference for celibacy when he said, “there are those who have renounced marriage for the sake of the kingdom of heaven.” But earlier translations reveal this quote to actually be “some have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 19.12 This is a good example that shows how retranslating the bible has twisted all of the original meaning out of the story in order. The eunuch statement follows a strict teaching about the sanctity of marriage and equates divorce to adultery, after which the followers of Jesus say “then it is better never to marry.” Jesus then makes the statement that some are born eunuchs and some become eunuchs by their own hand.

At the time that Jesus was teaching, the goddess cult of Cybele encouraged and may have required their priests, called galloi, to castrate themselves in order to appear more feminine. It seems likely that rather than espousing celibacy for his followers, Jesus is saying that only for those who are born eunuchs or impose this condition on themselves is celibacy an option.

Which brings me back to the Lost Tomb of Jesus and the criticism that has erupted since its announcement of the film last week. I have been listening carefully for a solid argument against the premise of the film, but so far it appears the main objections of the scientists and archaeologists interviewed are that there has not been enough research or criticizing the techniques of the filmmakers. The overwhelming critical response is not surprising: there are more Christians (33% of the world population) than any other religion, and Christianity is based on the bodily resurrection of Jesus. Yet the arguments against the idea that Jesus had a family are typically like this one: “Jacobovici and Cameron would apparently have us to ignore all the well-rehearsed arguments against a case like theirs. If Jesus was married, Paul would have said so in 1 Corinthians 9:5.”

One of the more interesting points of the film was the likelihood that Mary of Magdala may have become a respected priestess of Jesus’s teachings after his death, a concept that rehabilitates Mary’s reputation from the whore of the bible to a woman with spiritual power. Long before the DaVinci Code the Nag Hammadi scrolls included a Gospel of Mary, indicating that she was in fact one of the apostles with her own story to tell. If this is true, it is a major turnabout in the entire Christian epic that forces a question of the story as a whole.

Before anyone accuses me of being anti-Christian, I am a big fan of the teachings of Jesus. It is the religion that developed after his death, that enslaved and murdered millions of people over 2000 years, that I question. I am an equal opportunity critic of any religion that sets itself up to be The One for the sake of accumulating power in the world.

Religion

Previous Post

March 5, 2007

Britney Spears and the Meltdown of Rage

Next Post

March 7, 2007 Ann Coulter redux

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category 2012 Age of Aquarius Astrology Astrology in my world Astrology in the news Astronomy Business Celebrities Consciousness Conspiracy Crime Death Ecology Events Fate Favorite posts Featured posts Financial Markets Future Shock Generations Health & Healing Holidays Inspiration Jupiter in Leo Lessons Life Lynn's favorite posts Mercury retrograde Miscellany Money and markets Moon Mysteries People Planetary cycles Planets Podcast Politics Popular Culture Predictions Psychology Relationships Religion Saturn in Scorpio Saturn Return Science Signs Skywatch Sports Sun Sun signs Technology Uncategorized Uranus square Pluto Wonders of the universe

Select a Month September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 August 2000

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What does "Immanuel" mean?

Select your answer to see how you score.

God rules God redeems God with us God leads