Search Our SitesClaim #2: “Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene.”
The claim that Jesus and Mary Magdalene were married has always been a great way to sell books. Sex combined with conspiracy is a proven money-maker. But is really true? (To read more about Jesus and Mary Magdalene see http://y-jesus.com/was-jesus-married/).
Let’s examine the facts.
- Not one of over 24,000 ancient New Testament manuscripts even hint of a sexual relationship between Jesus and Mary Magdalene.
- Not one of the 36,000 Christian letters or documents outside of the New Testament supports the contention that they were married.
- Not one early secular historian mentions them as being married.
The assertion by Jacobovici and Wilson that Jesus and Mary Magdalene were married simply isn’t supported by the facts of history. Oxford Professor of Church History, Diarmaid MacCulloch, calls their interpretation of the manuscript, “implausible.”[15]
Professor Robert Cargill summarizes the opinion of most scholars regarding the claims set forth in The Lost Gospel.
I’m an agnostic. I have no dog in the fight of whether Jesus was married or not. He could be married and have 4 kids like me and I wouldn’t care. The problem is not a theological one, it is one of scholarship, methodology, and the (mis)use of evidence.
Scholars won’t reject Mr. Jacobovici’s claims because they want to defend Christianity, scholars will reject Mr. Jacobovici’s speculations because he engages in circular reasoning, lacks evidence, breaks any number of rules of textual criticism, and engages in…“speculation wrapped in hearsay couched in conspiracy masquerading as science ensconced in sensationalism slathered with misinformation” – all of which is designed to sell books and get viewers to watch the accompanying documentary in the weeks leading up to Christmas.
There is a reason that the scholars of the world are not paying any attention to this latest so-called “discovery”: there’s nothing there.[16]
Regardless of what scholars like MacCulloch and Cargill conclude about The Lost Gospel and its claims, the debate over who Jesus Christ is will continue. Was he just a man–or someone far greater?
The New Testament writers, who claim to have been eyewitnesses to Jesus, tell us what they saw and believed. Having been one of Jesus’ closest followers, John wanted early Christian believers to know what he and the others disciples had witnessed.
We are eye-witnesses of it, and are now writing to you about it. the very life of all ages, the life that has always existed with the Father, which actually became visible in person to us mortal men.[17]
Did Jesus really rise from the dead?
The most outlandish claim in the New Testament is that Jesus came back to life after his death on the cross and burial in a known tomb. Jesus’ disciples truly believed he had returned to life three days later. They were so convinced that their message eventually changed history.
In a New York Times article, Peter Steinfels cites the startling events that occurred three days after Jesus’ death:
Shortly after Jesus was executed, his followers were suddenly galvanized from a baffled and cowering group into people whose message about a living Jesus and a coming kingdom, preached at the risk of their lives, eventually changed an empire. Something happened … But exactly what?[18]
Several skeptics attempted to disprove the story of Jesus’ resurrection. See their stunning conclusions at http://y-jesus.com/wwrj/6-jesus-rise-dead/.
Click here to read “Did Jesus Rise From the Dead?”
.
.
