Global Post – AFP, 10 April 2014
A ancient
piece of papyrus that contains a mention of Jesus' wife is not a forgery,
according to a scientific analysis of the controversial text, US researchers
said Thursday.
The
fragment is believed to have come from Egypt and contains writing in the Coptic
language that says, "Jesus said to them, 'My wife...'" Another part
reads: "She will be able to be my disciple."
Its
discovery in 2012 caused a stir. Since Christian tradition has long held that
Jesus was not married, it renewed long-running debates over celibacy and the
role of women in the church.
The
Vatican's newspaper declared it a fake, along with other scholars who doubted
its authenticity based on its poor grammar, blurred text and uncertain origin.
Never
before has a gospel referred to Jesus being married, or having women as
disciples.
But a new
scientific analysis of the papyrus and the ink, as well as the handwriting and
grammar, show that the document is ancient.
"No
evidence of modern fabrication ("forgery") was found," the
Harvard Divinity School said in a statement.
The
palm-sized fragment likely dates to between the sixth and ninth centuries, and
could have been written as early as the second century CE (common era), said
the study results published in the Harvard Theological Review.
Radiocarbon
dating of the papyrus and a study of the ink using Micro-Raman spectroscopy was
done by experts at Columbia University, Harvard University and the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
"The
team concluded the papyrus' chemical composition and patterns of oxidation are
consistent with old papyrus by comparing the GJW (Gospel of Jesus' Wife)
fragment with a fragment of the Gospel of John," said the study.
"Current
testing thus supports the conclusion that the papyrus and ink of GJW are
ancient."
Anonymous
origins
The origin
of the papyrus is unknown. Karen King, a historian at Harvard Divinity School,
received it from a collector -- who asked to remain anonymous -- in 2012.
King, a historian
of early Christianity, said the science showing the papyrus is ancient does not
prove that Jesus was married.
"The
main topic of the fragment is to affirm that women who are mothers and wives
can be disciples of Jesus -- a topic that was hotly debated in early
Christianity as celibate virginity increasingly became highly valued,"
King said in a statement.
"This
gospel fragment provides a reason to reconsider what we thought we knew by
asking what the role claims of Jesus's marital status played historically in
early Christian controversies over marriage, celibacy, and family."
The
fragment measures four by eight centimeters (1.6 by 3.2 inches).
King said
its late date -- written centuries after Jesus's death -- means the author did
not know Jesus personally.
Its crude
appearance and grammatical errors suggest the writer had no more than an
elementary education, she added.
Leo
Depuydt, a professor of Egyptology at Brown University, wrote an article, also
published in the Harvard Theological Review, describing why he believes the
document is fake.
"The
papyrus fragment seems ripe for a Monty Python sketch," he wrote.
He noted
grammatical errors and that the words "my wife" appear to be
emphasized in bold letters, which are not featured in other ancient Coptic
texts.
"As a
student of Coptic convinced that the fragment is a modern creation, I am unable
to escape the impression that there is something almost hilarious about the use
of bold letters," he wrote.
King
published a rebuttal to Depuydt's criticisms, saying in part that blotted ink
was common and that the letters below "my wife" are even darker.
 |
This Sept. 5, 2012 photo released by Harvard University shows a fourth century
fragment of papyrus that divinity professor Karen L. King says is the only existing ancient text that quotes Jesus explicitly referring to having a wife. King, an expert in the history of Christianity, says the text contains a dialogue in which Jesus refers to "my wife," whom he identified as Mary. King says the fragment of Coptic script is a copy of a gospel, probably written in Greek in the second century. (AP Photo/Harvard University, Karen L. King) |
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Vatican paper weighs on 'Jesus' Wife' scrap: fake (27 Sep 2012)
Question: Dear Kryon, did a person named Jesus actually exist, or was it a group with the Christ energy that the church made into a person?
Question: Dear Kryon, I’ve looked at birth charts for Jesus over many years and found one which I believe, if not real, is the most intriguing. Therefore, I ask: Can you please reveal the exact date and time of Jesus Christ’s birth? And which DNA layer is the "astrology layer" that you’ve mentioned? I really believe that this may help in realigning astrology with the energy you’ve talked about
Question: Dear Kryon, when Jesus came here, did he know of our eternal work of Universe building? Does he know how much we love him?
Question: Dear Kryon, I’m not a Christian, but am curious as to whether the story of Jesus is accurate. Did he die by crucifixion, or was he spared to live a full life with a family of his own, elsewhere?
Question: Dear Kryon, was Jesus nothing more or less than a Crystal Child? Did he possess something that simply wasn’t understood during his time? Did he have different DNA or advanced DNA? This time is so exciting, and things have become so clear, that I want to be able to tell others what I now understand.
Answer: Dear ones, we posture this answer with great respect for those who love this Human master. It serves no purpose to give information that would be detrimental to any study or search for the divine by any Human alive. This is why we often do not give you the actual history of some of the masters who walked this earth. We see the search for the divine as the most important thing a Human can do. Even if the facts of history are incorrect, sometimes the benefits of the search still bring the Human into the light and into the realization that God is inside us all.
Jesus was a real person. His birth and death were far different than have been reported, but he walked the earth as an enlightened soul whose miracles and teachings were the beginning of a new dispensation. He taught unity, and the principle that all men could speak personally to God. He said, "You can be just like me!" and that is what our message is, also . . . that master-hood is within each of you. If you really want to know more about the real history, it’s very clearly in the scrolls, but it’s not in your scriptures!
If you feel that Jesus might have had a special consciousness, as many of the new children do, you’re right! His DNA was without some of the restrictions that you have, but had those that you’re now learning about. The astrological layer of his DNA (the layers that respond to other planetary energy movements) were void and neutral. (This particular layer will be exposed this year for you, along with a name.)
And yes, he knows of your love, and all the things that your divinity knows. Like all of you, he is multidimensional, and is in many places at the same time. Did you know that you are, too?
Spiritual enlightenment is not about following any Human Being or any entity in the Universe. It’s about knowing that God resides within you, and that you’re an eternal part of His universal plan. This information has been brought to you from many masters and is within many cultures throughout the history of the earth.
Jesus, as well as other masters who walked the earth, not only gave you messages of empowerment, but then "walked the walk" so you could see that a Human Being could actually do what he said could be done. Many of you are poised on the edge of realizing this same thing.
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