Looking through my RSS feeds I spotted the headline “Was There a Mrs. Christ? Probably Not”.
Then I saw the article was from Father James Martin S.J. at America Magazine. My first charitable thought was that maybe this was headline editing and didn’t match the story. No in his article he states:
But does this mean that Jesus was married? Probably not.
Though maybe a “probably not” is as strong of a defense we can expect from some quarters. He follows this up with another muscular statement:
It is more likely that Jesus was celibate.
He then engages in a little scriptural apologetics in regards to the question.
And what do the Gospels say? For one thing, the Gospel of Mark describes Jesus, who had settled in the town of Capernaum, on the Sea of Galilee, as receiving a surprise visit from his family, who had come from his hometown, Nazareth. “A crowd was sitting around him; and they said to him, ‘Your mother and your brothers and sisters are outside, asking for you.’ ” Why no mention of a wife?
Not bad, but it isn’t like this is the only example you could give. The total lack of a mention of a wife in the New Testament or any subsequent mention in historical texts from the Church Fathers and others just might be a clue. Please Father put the Dan Brown novel down and come up with a defense for this ridiculous assertion stronger than “probably not.”
Now I am no hater of Fr. Martin as I actually enjoyed a couple of his books, but this is not even his first apologetic fail. An article he did last year on Five myths of Christmas also was a weak-tea defense of the faith and even stated that it was a myth that Jesus was an only child. While you could nuance that statement to some extent relying on Joseph having been previously married – he only added to the confusion.
6 comments
(((Sorry Father, you are not helping)))
Jeff! Far is “IT” for me to try and stick UP for this father cause the only real spiritual Father I have is “MY HEAVENLY FATHER”.
Let me try to explain if “I” can! Needless to say, I’ve said “IT” often enough in my two first blogs and even in many comments that I’ve written in since I’ve close those last two blog and the last “ONE” was called “Undergo” and I’m almost sure that salvage has read some of “IT” because he never once picked on me……..
Get to the point Victor!
Sorry sinner vic, I just wanted them to know that I’ve spent four occasions in mental hospitals since 1991 and……
Enough of that Victor cause we all know that you died back then and were spiritually reborn so…….
Be nice, don’t be like that sinner vic or I’ll stop writing about you skitso!
Sorry Victor butt please get to the point cause people who follow gods just want to know what your so called 7% spiritual Jesus cells have to say cause human gods already know that we U>S (usual sinners) own 92% of the rest of your human body so get to “IT” NOW! Pretty Please?
OK! As “I” was about to say, some of my 7% imaginary Jesus brain cells told me that “Jesus” The Only Begotten SON of Our Heavenly Father never really had an earthly father like most of U>S have had and before “I” continue, I would like to say, “GOD bless my earthly Papa cause, although many taught he was crazy like an animal, those who loved him would strongly disagree.
Look Jeff! I could write a book on this but I still hate to write so I’m going to close by saying, We have “Faith” and/or we don’t and simply leave “IT” at that cause contrary to what sinner vic might think about “IT”, I’m not really dead yet but I do have a LOT of work to do on those 92% so called imaginary figment spiritual cells of my so called sinner vic that “I” created with and/or without “Jesus’s” and human cells help?
Go Figure!
Peace
Ahhhh. . .Jesuit. . ..choooooooo! Oh, excuse me.
Fr. Philip Neri, OP
That was my thought when I read this piece: “probably”? It makes me wonder what other settled truths of the faith he would answer with “probably”? The perpetual virginity of Mary? The assumption? Apostolic succession? Transubstantiation? I can’t understand why a Catholic priest, given a forum in a secular paper notoriously hostile to Catholics, would give such a weak reply. Some questions have clear answers. Give them.
I read newspapers written in Coptic; and the translation is as follows: “Obama and wife must go!”
America has been a dissenting magazine for years and Fr. Thomas Reese was removed by the CDF back in 2005, so I don’t listen or heed anything they write or say. Take it with a grain of salt. I just got a solicitation for a membership for their Magazine and I said NO. I just threw it in the garbage can. Jesus Christ has a bride and that bride (or wife) is the Church he established.
Rorate Caeli nailed this one quoting Rev 21.9: And there came one of the seven angels, who had the vials full of the seven last plagues, and spoke with me, saying: “Come, and I will shew thee the bride, the wife of the Lamb.”