JESUS’ WIFE

There is a controversial papyrus known as “Gospel of Jesus’s Wife,” suggesting that some people believed Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene. New research on the papyrus’ ink points to the possibility that it is authentic, researchers say, while newly obtained documents may shed light on the origins of the business-card-sized fragment. Debate about the credibility of the “gospel” began as soon as Harvard University professor Karen King reported her discovery of papyrus in September 2012. Written in Coptic (an Egyptian language), the papyrus fragment contains a translated line that reads, “Jesus said to them, My wife …'” and also refers to a “Mary,” possibly Mary Magdalene. King had tentatively dated the papyrus to the fourth century, saying it may be a copy of a gospel written in the second century in Greek. Analysis of the papyrus, detailed last year in the Harvard Theological Review journal, suggested the papyrus dates back around 1,200 years – somewhere between the sixth and ninth centuries – while the ink is of a type that could have been created at that time. These findings have led Professor King to support the text’s authenticity. However over the past year many scholars have come to the conclusion that the papyrus is a modern-day forgery, though King and a few other researchers say they are not ready to concede this. Researchers at Columbia University are running new tests on the ink used on the papyrus. Initial tests published by the Columbia University team in 2014 indicated the ink could have been made in ancient times.
* So what you’re saying is, if you want it to be true, you have to believe it to be true. Interesting.
* Wait – isn’t all religion like that?
* Not only does the fragment say Jesus had a wife, but she wanted him to re-do the kitchen.
* Jesus was married? Didn’t He suffer enough?
* Sure, someone wrote a “Gospel of Jesus’s Wife” because men back then were so respectful of women they would figure she deserved it.
* Could you imagine how steamed his wife would be when he brought the apostles over to hang out?
* I mean some wives get mad if you bring 2 or 3 buddies home so how about 12?
* Oh well, at least Judas wouldn’t show up so that’s one less.
* I could just see them all sitting there in Jesus’s man cave.
* Don’t ask me about this. I know a lot of things but how to analyze papyrus isn’t one of them.