Brad: According to a recent article in the Toronto Star Sept 20,2012 a Harvard Scholar discovered a fourth century fragment of papyrus providing possibly evidence that Jesus might have had a wife!

The text written in Coptic and then translated from a second Greek text, contains dialogue in which Jesus gives reference to having a wife whom he identifies as Mary.

Christian tradition has long believed that Jesus was unmarried. The Harvard scholar claims that there is no real evidence to support that theory. A professor of Coptology who reviewed the 2006 discovery of the Gospel Of Judas says the text accurately quotes Jesus as saying ”My Wife”.

But one is to  question whether the document actually is authentic according to Stephen Emmel who is a professor at the University of Muenster.

There are various opinions about these discoveries of course, and it is the first case upon discovery of the papyrus document that have Christians claiming that Jesus did in fact have a wife.

It must be noted that upon this discovery that Jesus was married or had a female disciple it could have a ripple effect during the current debates over the role of women in the church!

Ray: This is a fallacy. The giveaway is the fact that it is fourth century information. In the fourth century there were over 50 extra non-canon scriptures written by enemies of Christianity that wished to invent non-truths in order to disprove the truth of the Word of God. The New Testament is a collection of writings by eye witnesses to the events or close to eye witnesses from the first century not the fourth century. What you have here is a classic “Skeptic quoting from Skeptic reasoning here. Circular reasoning in other words.” Because someone from the fourth century did not believe the claims made in the first century they wrote extra ficticious gospels such as the gospel of Judas, gospel of Mary Magdeline and the gospel of Barnubus as works of fiction in an attempt to counter the truth of the eyewitness accounts which were widely circulated four centuries earlier. The people who did this are known as gnostics. The worst gnostic example we have today is the religion of Mohammed wherein a gnostic falicious document was written in the sixth century which contradicts the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. And sadly there is a large following of non-believers in Christ as Messiah and the son of God today which we call Muslims.

As interesting as fallicious and circular arguments are that are based on imaginations of people who lived four centuries after the time of Jesus we should pay attention to the truth of the facts that were reported by the Eyewitness who wrote the Bible and ignore these imposters and all the Skeptics today that would rather follow imposters.

Luke 1 – 1 SINCE many have taken in hand to set out in order a declaration of those things which are most surely believed among us, 2 even as the ones who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the Word, delivered them unto us; (SKJV)

2 Peter 1 – 16 For we have not followed cunningly devised fables (Gk:mythos), when we revealed to you the power and coming of our LORD Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His majesty. 17 For He received from God the Father honour and glory, when there came such a voice to Him from the excellent glory, “THIS IS MY BELOVED SON, IN WHOM I AM WELL PLEASED.” (SKJV)

Fragments of the New Testament have been found which date to the early 2nd century and some into the first century, which verify that these statements about being eyewitness are viable statements, whereas evidence for the ficticious deuterocanonical gospels of the gnostics cannot be found prior to the fourth century.

I have no doubt that this fallicious gospel makes the claim that it does but it is a late claimant to have an opinion about it as it was written many centuries after the fact.

Also you might notice the professor is a professor of Coptology. Coptic Christianity is prevalent in Egypt. The false gospels were written in Alexandria Egypt.  Another clue is that this false gospel was written on papyrus, the writing method of Egyptians. If you want to follow true Christianity you will base your knowledge from Bible lands. The writings of the Bible from these lands are on parchment (leather). The First Christian missionaries were sent out from Antioch and a second Antioch was the first non-jewish location that received the gospel. It is located near Istanbul. Istanbul is the place were early church historian Eusebius said the original copies of the New Testament Scriptures were kept.  (Not Alexandria Egypt). The Bible warns heavily against Egypt. It asks can anything good come out of Egypt?

Jesus did have woman disciples but not apostles. We are all called to be disciples of Christ both men and women. However Christ did do much to advance the cause of women. Women are created equal to men however the Bible is very clear that women have differing roles than men, including they are not allowed to teach men in religious instruction.

1 Timothy 2 – ¹¹ Let the woman learn in quietness with all subjection. ¹² But I do not allow a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in quietness. ¹³ For Adam was first formed, then Eve. ¹⁴ And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression. (SKJV)