Two years after the discovery of a papyrus that includes the phrase “Jesus said to them, ‘my wife,’” researchers have announced that the fragment is not a forgery and was likely written in the Middle Ages, though it does not necessarily prove Jesus had a wife. What do you think?
American Voices respond.
it would have been unusual for a Jewish man around 30 years old to not have a wife. This authentic appearing document shows no evidence of having been written with even a century of when Jesus lived.
It most likely shows that there was a group that believed Jesus had a wife, but it doesn’t shed much light on whether there was any truth to the underlying alleged fact. I haven’t read anyone suggesting that it offers any proof of anything other than the existence of a group’s belief.
It will be interesting to read more analysis on the text as it becomes available. But, it doesn’t have much significance to my life one way or another.
The Onion’s response is as good as any.