2/19/15

Was Jesus Married? by Dave Miller, Ph.D.

http://apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=10&article=4519

Was Jesus Married?

by Dave Miller, Ph.D.

The parade of alleged gospels that purport to alter the foundational doctrines of the Christian religion is endless. Most recently, a papyrus fragment written in Coptic that dates to the fourth century has created a stir. Among its eight badly faded lines are two phrases, “Jesus said to them, ‘My wife...’” and a second provocative clause that is believed to say, “she will be able to be my disciple” (Goodstein, 2012). No matter how tentative and flimsy the evidence, liberal scholars and atheists glory in any item that might discredit Christ and Christianity. Yet, even the lead expert on the fragment, historian at the Harvard Divinity School, Karen King, repeatedly cautioned that it “should not be taken as proof that Jesus, the historical person, was actually married. The text was probably written centuries after Jesus lived, and all other early, historically reliable Christian literature is silent on the question” (Goodstein, emp. added).
Many Christians and non-Christians fail to grasp the fact that the legitimacy and credibility of Christianity does not finally depend on archaeological discovery. If the Bible can be proven to possess the attributes of inspiration, demonstrating its divine origin, then no artifact will ever be discovered that will contradict that truth. If any manuscript or artifact appears to do so, it is being misinterpreted and misconstrued. Since we know that the Bible is the inspired Word of God (based on a careful and thorough analysis of its internal attributes—see the category “Inspiration of the Bible” at apologeticspress.org), then we know that Jesus never married just as the New Testament represents. [NOTE: That is not to say that the Catholic notion of celibacy finds biblical support—it does not. SeePinedo, 2008, pp. 60ff.]
Furthermore, the truth of the matter is that the textual basis of the New Testament was settled and fully authenticated many years ago. The longstanding discipline of Textual Criticism has yielded abundant evidence for the trustworthiness of the text of the New Testament. Over the last two centuries, the manuscript evidence has been thoroughly examined, resulting in complete exoneration for the integrity, genuineness, and accuracy of the Bible. Prejudiced university professors refrain from divulging to their students that the vast majority of textual variants involve minor matters that do not affect salvation nor alter any basic teaching of the New Testament. Even those variants that might be deemed doctrinally significant pertain to matters that are treated elsewhere in the Bible where the question of genuineness is unobscured. No feature of Christian doctrine is at stake. When all of the textual evidence is considered, the vast majority of discordant readings have been resolved (e.g., Metzger, 1978, p. 185). One is brought to the firm conviction that we have in our possession the Bible as God intended.
The world’s foremost textual critics have confirmed this conclusion. Sir Frederic Kenyon, longtime director and principal librarian at the British Museum, whose scholarship and expertise to make pronouncements on textual criticism was second to none, stated: “Both the authenticity and the general integrity of the books of the New Testament may be regarded as finally established” (Kenyon, 1940, p. 288). The late F.F. Bruce, longtime Rylands Professor of Biblical Criticism at the University of Manchester, England, remarked: “The variant readings about which any doubt remains among textual critics of the New Testament affect no material question of historic fact or of Christian faith and practice” (1960, pp. 19-20). J.W. McGarvey, declared by the London Times to be “the ripest Bible scholar on earth” (Brigance, 1870, p. 4), conjoined: “All the authority and value possessed by these books when they were first written belong to them still” (1956, p. 17). And the eminent textual critics Westcott and Hort put the entire matter into perspective when they said:
Since textual criticism has various readings for its subject, and the discrimination of genuine readings from corruptions for its aim, discussions on textual criticism almost inevitably obscure the simple fact that variations are but secondary incidents of a fundamentally single and identical text. In the New Testament in particular it is difficult to escape an exaggerated impression as to the proportion which the words subject to variation bear to the whole text, and also, in most cases, as to their intrinsic importance. It is not superfluous therefore to state explicitly that the great bulk of the words of the New Testament stand out above all discriminative processes of criticism, because they are free from variation, and need only to be transcribed (1964, p. 564, emp. added).
Noting that the experience of two centuries of investigation and discussion had been achieved, these scholars concluded: “[T]he words in our opinion still subject to doubt can hardly amount to more thana thousandth part of the whole of the New Testament” (p. 565, emp. added).
Think of it. Men who literally spent their lives poring over ancient Greek manuscripts of the New Testament, devoting their lives to meticulous, tedious analysis of the evidence, conversant with the original languages, without peer in their expertise and qualifications, have concluded that the Bible has been transmitted accurately. No scrap of papyrus written 200+ years after the fact can overturn the last two centuries of scholarly investigation and validation—let alone the Bible’s own inspired testimony to the contrary.

REFERENCES

Brigance, L.L. (1870), “J.W. McGarvey,” in A Treatise on the Eldership by J.W. McGarvey (Murfreesboro, TN: DeHoff Publications, 1962 reprint).
Bruce, F.F. (1960), The New Testament Documents: Are They Reliable? (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans), revised edition.
Goodstein, Laurie (2012), “A Faded Piece of Papyrus Refers to Jesus’ Wife,” The New York Times, September 18, http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/19/us/historian-says-piece-of-papyrus-refers-to-jesus-wife.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=edit_th_20120919&moc.semityn.www.
Kenyon, Sir Frederic (1940), The Bible and Archaeology (New York, NY: Harper).
McGarvey, J.W. (1956 reprint), Evidences of Christianity (Nashville, TN: Gospel Advocate).
Metzger, Bruce M. (1978 reprint), The Text of the New Testament (New York, NY: Oxford University Press), second edition.
Pinedo, Moises (2008), What the Bible says about the Catholic Church (Montgomery, AL: Apologetics Press), http://apologeticspress.org/pdfs/e-books_pdf/wtbsatcc.pdf.
Westcott, B.A. and F.J.A. Hort (1964 reprint), The New Testament in the Original Greek (New York, NY: MacMillan).

From Mark Copeland... "CAN WE TRUST THE BIBLE?" Regarding Its Inspiration By God?


                       "CAN WE TRUST THE BIBLE?"

                   Regarding Its Inspiration By God?

INTRODUCTION

1. Christians accept as their "canon" the 66 books of the Bible...
   a. The 39 books of the Old Testament
   b. The 27 books of the New Testament

2. They view the Bible as "inspired" of God...
   a. Literally, "God-breathed" (Gr., theopneustos)
   b. That its scriptures were given by the Holy Spirit, and are not
      simply the words of men

3. The Bible claims such inspiration...
   a. It speaks of scripture inspired of God - 2Ti 3:16-17
   b. It tells of men speaking as they were moved by the Holy Spirit - 2Pe 1:20-21
   c. It contains claims by those who spoke words revealed by the Spirit - 1Co 2:9-13

[But what evidence is there that Bible is actually inspired of God?
There are several which we will briefly enumerate...]

I. THE UNITY OF THE BIBLE

   A. THE BIBLE CONTAINS 66 BOOKS, WRITTEN...
      1. Over a 1600 year span
      2. Over a period of 40 generations
      3. By approximately 40 authors from every walk of life; e.g.:
         a. Moses, political leader trained in the universities of Egypt
         b. Peter, fisherman
         c. Amos, herdsman
         d. Joshua, military general
         e. Nehemiah, cup bearer to a king
         f. Daniel, prime minister
         g. Luke, a physician
         h. Solomon, king
         i. Matthew, tax collector
         j. Paul, tentmaker and rabbi
      4. In different places
         a. Moses in the wilderness
         b. Jeremiah in a dungeon
         c. Daniel on a hillside and in a palace
         d. Paul inside prison walls
         e. Luke while traveling
         f. John in exile an the isle of Patmos
         g. Others in the rigors of military campaign
      5. At different times
         a. David in times of war
         b. Solomon in times of peace
      6. During different moods
         a. Some writing from the heights of joy
         b. Others from the depths of sorrow and despair
      7. On three continents:  Asia - Africa - Europe
      8. In three languages:  Hebrew - Aramaic - Greek
      9. Which subject matter includes hundreds of controversial topics
         a. The origin of man and the universe
         b. The nature of God
         c. The nature of sin and man's redemption

   B. YET THERE IS HARMONY AND CONTINUITY...
      1. For example:
         a. "The Paradise Lost of the book of Genesis becomes the Paradise Regained of Revelation"
         b. "Whereas the gate to the tree of life is closed in Genesis,
            it is opened forevermore in Revelation." -- Geisler and Nix
      2. Compare the continuity of the Bible with any other such writings of man
         a. Imagine what you would have if you just took ten authors...
            1) From one walk of life, one generation, one place, one
               time, one mood one continent, one language
            2) Speaking on one controversial subject
         b. You would have a conglomeration of ideas, not harmony!

[The reason for the unity of the Bible?  The writers were all moved by
the same Holy Spirit (2Pe 1:20-21), providing evidence that the Bible is inspired!  There is also...]

II. THE SCIENTIFIC FOREKNOWLEDGE OF THE BIBLE

   A. THE NATURE OF THIS ARGUMENT...
      1.  In the Bible there are scientific truths
         a. Unknown by man with all his wisdom and resources
         b. Stated as facts hundreds of years in advance of the discovery of these truths by men
      2. The writers of the Bible could have known these facts only through inspiration
         a. They could not have known such things on their own
         b. They must have had divine help, i.e., inspiration from God

   B. A FEW EXAMPLES...
      1. The roundness of the earth - Isa 40:22
      2. The suspension of the earth in space - Job 26:7
      3. The currents in the seas - Ps 8:8
      4. The springs in the seas - Job 38:16
      5. All nations of one blood - Ac 17:26

[Such things were not known or confirmed by man until modern times, with
the aid of scientific instruments.  Yet such knowledge reveals the
Omniscient Mind that moved the writers of the Bible! More evidence of inspiriation...]

III. THE FULFILLED PROPHECIES IN THE BIBLE

   A. THE NATURE OF THIS ARGUMENT...
      1. The prophecies foretold events in detail that were beyond the
         scope of human speculation
      2. How did the writers or speakers do it?
         a. They attributed it to God!
         b. And God declared that such evidence was a proof of His
            existence and superiority over men and all heathen gods - Isa 41:21-24; 42:8-9; 46:8-11

   B. A FEW EXAMPLES...
      1. The fall of Babylon, written two hundred years before it occurred - Isa 13:17-22
      2. The fall of Egypt, that it would be destroyed more by civil war than by outside forces - Isa 19:1-4
      3. The fall of Nineveh, with its utter desolation - Zeph 2:13-15
      4. The fall of Tyre, with its becoming a place for the spreading of nests - Ezek 26:1-5
      5. There are the prophecies concerning Christ - cf. Lk 24:44-45
         a. It has been stated there 332 prophecies fulfilled in Christ - Henry Liddon
         b. The mathematical probability that all could be fulfilled in
            one person by chance alone has been calculated as one in 84
            times ten to the 123rd power (84 followed by 123 zeroes)
         -- Cf. Introduction To Christian Evidences, Ferrell Jenkins,pp. 87-107
      6. There are prophecies by Christ, such as the destruction of
         Jerusalem
         a. Foretold in Matthew 24, Mark 13, Luke 21
         b. Fulfilled in A.D. 70, when Rome destroyed Jerusalem

CONCLUSION

1. This study barely touches the hem of the garment...
   a. Volumes have been written on the subject
   b. My purpose has been to summarize the evidence

2. We have examined objective evidence of inspiration, such as...
   a. The unity of the Bible
   b. The scientific foreknowledge of the Bible
   c. The fulfilled prophecies in the Bible

3. There is also the subjective evidence of inspiration that comes by
   simply reading and heeding the Bible - cf. Ro 10:17; Jn 7:16-17

There are some who question whether any can understand the Bible by
simply reading it.  That question we shall address in our next study...

Executable Outlines, Copyright © Mark A. Copeland, 2011

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From Gary... A sign for the times


Now, this is a sign;clear, concise, and very straightforward!!!  I you do not heed its instructions, it is because you do not WANT to.  America was founded by those who loved the Bible and yet we have not listened to it. That will be our undoing!!! Lack of a moral compass simply can not exist, for evil will fill whatever void we allow.  If we do not listen, this nation will eventually not continue as a nation.  

THE DO NOT....

Jeremiah, Chapter 6 (WEB)

 10  To whom shall I speak and testify, that they may hear? Behold, their ear is uncircumcised, and they can’t listen. Behold, Yahweh’s word has become a reproach to them. They have no delight in it. 11 Therefore I am full of the wrath of Yahweh. I am weary with holding in. 
“Pour it out on the children in the street,
and on the assembly of young men together;
for even the husband with the wife shall be taken,
the aged with him who is full of days.
  12 Their houses shall be turned to others,
their fields and their wives together;
for I will stretch out my hand on the inhabitants of the land, says Yahweh.”
  13 “For from their least even to their greatest, everyone is given to covetousness;
and from the prophet even to the priest, everyone deals falsely.
  14 They have healed also the hurt of my people superficially,
saying, ‘Peace, peace!’ when there is no peace.
  15 Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination?
No, they were not at all ashamed, neither could they blush.
Therefore they shall fall among those who fall;
at the time that I visit them, they shall be cast down,” says Yahweh.

  16  Thus says Yahweh, “Stand in the ways and see, and ask for the old paths, ‘Where is the good way?’ and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls. But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’  



THE LESSON...

Matthew, Chapter 5 (WEB)

1 Seeing the multitudes, he went up onto the mountain. When he had sat down, his disciples came to him.  2 He opened his mouth and taught them, saying, 
  3  “Blessed are the poor in spirit, 
for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven. 
  4  Blessed are those who mourn, 
for they shall be comforted. 
  5  Blessed are the gentle, 
for they shall inherit the earth. 
  6  Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, 
for they shall be filled. 
  7  Blessed are the merciful, 
for they shall obtain mercy. 
  8  Blessed are the pure in heart, 
for they shall see God. 
  9  Blessed are the peacemakers, 
for they shall be called children of God. 
  10  Blessed are those who have been persecuted for righteousness’ sake, 
for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven. 

  11  Blessed are you when people reproach you, persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely, for my sake.   12  Rejoice, and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven. For that is how they persecuted the prophets who were before you. 

  13  “You are the salt of the earth, but if the salt has lost its flavor, with what will it be salted? It is then good for nothing, but to be cast out and trodden under the feet of men.   14  You are the light of the world. A city located on a hill can’t be hidden.   15  Neither do you light a lamp, and put it under a measuring basket, but on a stand; and it shines to all who are in the house.   16  Even so, let your light shine before men; that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.


I can imagine no more stubborn people than the ancient Israelites. God was patient with them- patient beyond all understanding. Finally, they paid the price for their obduracy. There is a right way- listen to Jesus, and do it.  All else will eventually fail!!!  Spend some time with the beatitudes today, read them several times and think about them- what could possibly produce a better life? Just think about it!!!