My Opinion on the Fourth Century Papyrus Revealing Jesus Had a Wife

Different angles on the same story:

Discovery News
Jesus' Wife and Other Bible Rewrites >

Fox News
Mrs. Jesus? >

But here's a little level-setting from the San Francisco Chronicle (quoted below):
Harvard claim of Jesus' Wife papyrus scrutinized >

Stephen Emmel, a professor of Coptology at the University of Muenster who was on the international advisory panel that reviewed the 2006 discovery of the Gospel of Judas, said the text accurately quotes Jesus as saying "my wife." But he questioned whether the document was authentic.

"There's something about this fragment in its appearance and also in the grammar of the Coptic that strikes me as being not completely convincing somehow," he said in an interview on the sidelines of the conference.

Another participant at the congress, Alin Suciu, a papyrologist at the University of Hamburg, was more blunt.

"I would say it's a forgery. The script doesn't look authentic" when compared to other samples of Coptic papyrus script dated to the 4th century, he said.

 

My thoughts: If someone someday uncovers even a fraction of the conspiracy theories our generation is so fond of (the moon landing hoax, 9/11 was planned by George Bush, Hale-Bopp was an alien envoy - add your own), I certainly hope the most they'll conclude is that some folks at some point believed some of these things.

We trust enlightened teachers, scientists, doctors, politicians, philosophers (and yes, theologians) to sift out the nonsense. The nonsense still has something to say - all physical, tangible objects have a story to tell - but sometimes it's just insight into the psychology of the storyteller, not the story.

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Will that make a difference to the millions of viewers that heard the story on NBCs Today Show while brushing their teeth?

No. But most of them probably owe their theology to Dan Brown anyway and will appreciate the affirmation.

c0

Started: 2012-09-19