The Jesus had a wife thing...

[Bluesky]

A forgery.. but some were oh so eager to believe it...

http://on.wsj.com/1koR1zy

[Anapeg]

Why is it such a big deal whether He was or was not married? Does religion as we know it fall apart with the wrong answer?

[The Left Sock]

They have to hang on to the idea that Jesus was supernatural. To have a wife would make him too human, and they don't want that.

That's what the Crusades were all about. Get into the Holy Land, clean up any loose ends, and make sure history will reflect the narrative that keeps you in power.

[Barry Morris]

They have to hang on to the idea that Jesus was supernatural. To have a wife would make him too human, and they don't want that.

That's what the Crusades were all about. Get into the Holy Land, clean up any loose ends, and make sure history will reflect the narrative that keeps you in power.

If you want to turn Jesus into a liar, then, yes you might agree with this.

Sorry, makes no sense.

[Bluesky]

Why is it such a big deal whether He was or was not married? Does religion as we know it fall apart with the wrong answer?

He was never ever portrayed as having been married. It's not the Christians who make this a big deal. It's the deniers of Christ who want to portray Jesus in any way that contradicts what Christians have held to as truth for 20 centuries. If the Bible says Jesus had 5 fingers on each hand, the antagonists will find m****cript evidence that he had six on each hand.

[The Left Sock]

If you want to turn Jesus into a liar, then, yes you might agree with this.

Sorry, makes no sense.

It wouldn't be Jesus that would be turned into a liar, based on this. It would be the people who wrote the Bible a hundred years later, or those who manipulated it throughout the ages, who would be guilty of dishonesty, in that case.

[Anapeg]

He was never ever portrayed as having been married. It's not the Christians who make this a big deal. It's the deniers of Christ who want to portray Jesus in any way that contradicts what Christians have held to as truth for 20 centuries. If the Bible says Jesus had 5 fingers on each hand, the antagonists will find m****cript evidence that he had six on each hand.

This is all well and good but what does it matter should He have married or not? Does the fact He may have been henpecked make Him anything less than what the Christians claim? I had assumed it had more to do with Catholicism and celibacy than anything else. I have seen debates as to the validity of Mary Magdalene as his wife and whether or not she was a working girl or not discussed heatedly as though His choice would have had a world impact. How does any of this colour what Christians believe?

[The Left Sock]

"He was never ever portrayed as having been married. It's not the Christians who make this a big deal."

Well, the next time you start a world religion, may I suggest that you actually chronicle the life of your deity, instead of only including details of his birth, and last three years of life?

That would help a lot, to weed out the 'deniers' out there.

[The Left Sock]

Countless millions of lives have been ruined, and others victimized, to sustain the idea that celibacy is somehow linked to holiness.

To go back now, and admit the possibility that Jesus might have in fact been married, would render the Church the most monstrous entity in all of human history.

So, I think they are going to defend their idea that Jesus was a virgin, until the bitter end.

[The Berean]

It wouldn't be Jesus that would be turned into a liar, based on this. It would be the people who wrote the Bible a hundred years later, or those who manipulated it throughout the ages, who would be guilty of dishonesty, in that case.

So little logic.

[The Left Sock]

Really? That's it, that's all you have?

If Jesus was a real person, he either got married, or didn't. Jesus didn't write the Bible, other people did, roughly a hundred years later.

So, if the Bible was edited or altered to reflect a different truth than the one that really occurred, how could that possibly make 'Jesus a liar'?

You should really check out what logic means, before trying to quantify it. Perhaps some old episodes of Star Trek would help. Focus on the bits where Spock shares his wisdom.

[Aristotle]

Countless millions of lives have been ruined, and others victimized, to sustain the idea that celibacy is somehow linked to holiness.

Do you have a source for this? That's quite a statement.

[Aristotle]

Countless millions of lives have been ruined, and others victimized, to sustain the idea that celibacy is somehow linked to holiness.

Celibacy (brahmacariya) is the practice of abstaining from sexual intercourse. Buddhist monks and nuns must be celibate as are lay people during the time they practise either the eight or the ten Precepts. During the Buddha’s time some of the more serious lay men and women chose to be celebate while still living with their spouses (M.I,490). While sex can give a great deal of pleasure and emotional fulfilment, it can also stimulate excessive fantasizing, intense desire, frustration and physical and emotional turbulence.

A person trying to develop mental calm and clarity through meditation may find this a hindrance to their practise and choose to minimize it by becoming celibate, at least for certain periods. The Buddha would have agreed with the Bible where it says that sex even within marriage can be a distraction to spiritual pursuits. `I desire to have you to be free from cares. He who is unmarried is concerned for the things of the Lord, how he may please the Lord; but he who is married is concerned about the things of the world, how he may please his wife.' (1 Corinthians 7,1-35).Thus, Buddhism’s advocacy of celibacy is not because it sees sex as dirty, animalistic or sinful, but for purely practical reasons.

- See more at: http://www.buddhisma2z.com/content.p....lzfrW3Ej.dpuf

[The Left Sock]

There have been a plethora of threads dealing with abuse by Catholic priests. Consult any one of those for proof of my claim.

[Aristotle]

There have been a plethora of threads dealing with abuse by Catholic priests. Consult any one of those for proof of my claim.

The Shocking Scandal at the Heart of American Zen

Even Zen masters can be deviants. Inside the new book that unearths a disturbing pattern of affairs at the top of one of the largest Buddhist communities in the U.S.

http://www.thedailybeast.com/article...rican-zen.html

[The Left Sock]

Yeah, the Buddhist position on celibacy is a guideline. It is a personal choice, based on how far you are willing to go toward enlightenment.

They aren't goofy enough to suggest that people must abstain from sex their whole lives, in order to be considered holy.

The Buddha himself was married. Buddhist history doesn't try to hide or distort this fact, and it has done nothing to diminish those who adopt Buddhist beliefs. And ironically, all 80 years of the Buddha's life are clearly chronicled. It isn't just a birth scene, with a three year nugget tagged on to the end.

[Anapeg]

There have been a plethora of threads dealing with abuse by Catholic priests. Consult any one of those for proof of my claim.

Catholic Priests, carpenters, boy scout leaders, cops, every walk of life. The reason Catholicism gets a bad rap is for fighting against the allegations in the face of so much undeniable proof. The moving and enabling the pedofilic Priests to prey on kids in a variety of Parishes. This is wherein lays the venom. I do not deny others tried the same or similar tactics but not to the depth or for the extent of time of the Pope and his boys.

[Igor]

Countless millions of lives have been ruined, and others victimized, to sustain the idea that celibacy is somehow linked to holiness.

Celibacy is not hereditary!

[The Left Sock]

Don't think I said it was.

Traditional, yes - hereditary, no.

[Anapeg]

As a young man when experiencing a stretch of "celibacy" my ability to focus seemed so greatly diminished as to be non existent. Hallucinations were a definite possibility but have one stuck in the chamber did nothing for me meditatively.