Book claims Jesus had children

Another new book is coming out with false claims about Jesus and the gospels:

November 11, 2014

A new book claims even Jesus had his secrets.

It’s called “The Lost Gospel” and it’s based off of manuscripts found in British Library dating back more than 1,400 years written in Syriac – the language spoken by Jesus himself. It claims Jesus had a secret family made up of two sons and a wife.

The mystery woman is none other than Mary Magdalene – one of his closest followers, who attended his crucifixion and burial.

Their alleged romance has been suspected before. A writer for the Daily Mail points out in the ’50s, the book “The Last Temptation Of Christ” suggested that they married after Jesus was taken down from the cross. Martin Scorsese turned the idea into a film in 1988.

The significance of this latest book is that it’s based off of manuscripts. The authors studied it for six years and believe it has an “embedded meaning” and that they’ve uncovered a missing fifth gospel.

Experts are already lining up to dispute the controversial assertions that are being compared to the fictional storyline created by Dan Brown for his novel, “The Da Vinci Code.”

Mark Goodacre, a professor of religious studies at Duke University, told ABC News, “I don’t think that there is any credibility in these claims at all. There is simply no evidence in this text or anywhere else that Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene, much less that they had a couple of children.” http://www.aol.com/article/2014/11/11/book-claims-jesus-had-a-wife-and-kids/20991803/?icid=maing-grid7%7Chtmlws-main-bb%7Cdl21%7Csec1_lnk3%26pLid%3D561654

Later update:

This week two authors came out with a book about a newly translated ancient text — a “Lost Gospel,” as the book calls it. The text has been in the possession of the British Library since 1847 but only in recent years attracted scholars’ attention. It suggests that Jesus was not only married but had two children, and that Mary Magdalene — long viewed as a close friend of Jesus — was indeed the Virgin Mary.

The text described in this newest “Lost Gospel” is said to be a translation from an original Greek manuscript, according to a letter dating to the sixth century that accompanied the Syriac text in the British Library, says a Daily Mail article on the book.

The Syriac story isn’t even directly about Jesus. It’s written in code, centering on a man called Joseph, a kind of Jesus substitute. His wife is called Aseneth and is said to stand in for Mary Magdalene. In this tale, Joseph is called the “son of God,” and there are passages that seem to parallel the language of Holy Communion.

Joseph and Aseneth are married by the Egyptian pharaoh, who pronounces at their wedding: “Blessed are you by the Lord God of Joseph, because he is the first-born of God, and you will be called the Daughter of God Most High and the bride of Joseph now and for ever.”

It’s worth recalling that many gospels were composed in the decades, even centuries, after Jesus — not only the four that Christians acknowledge. http://www.cnn.com/2014/11/12/opinion/parini-new-text-jesus-married-with-kids/

The Bible does not teach that Jesus went to Egypt as an adult or that he got married. The Bible also teaches that Mary Magdalene was not the same person as Jesus’ mother Mary (John 19:25). There was no such thing as ‘holy communion’ then as that term did not originate until later.

Others have claimed that the gnostic ‘gospels’ teach Jesus was married.

As far as an “embedded meaning” goes, the following is all that I have seen from the false Gospel of Mary Magdalane that mentions “two” anything:

5:10) I said to Him, Lord, how does he who sees the vision see it, through the soul or through the spirit?

5:11) The Savior answered and said, He does not see through the soul nor through the spirit, but the mind that is between the two that is what sees the vision and it is […]

There are some mentions of “two” in the false Gospel of Philip, which also does not state Jesus had two children. The false Gospel of Philip is sometimes cited as ‘proof’ Jesus was married (see also The Da Vinci Code: Some Good, Most Bad). That ‘gospel’ was not written by the Apostle Philip, nor does it claim to be.

Jesus was not married to any human female and did not have human offspring while on earth. In addition to the fact that the Bible does not teach that He was married, when He was dying, He made provisions for the Apostle John to take care of His mother Mary:

25 Now there stood by the cross of Jesus His mother, and His mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. 26 When Jesus therefore saw His mother, and the disciple whom He loved standing by, He said to His mother, “Woman, behold your son!” 27 Then He said to the disciple, “Behold your mother!” And from that hour that disciple took her to his own home. (John 19:25-27)

If He was married to Mary Magdalene and/or He had young children, Jesus obviously would have tried to make provisions for them, but He did not. Jesus did not have any children nor was He married to Mary Magdalene nor was she the same person as His mother. The gospels record that people like Peter had a wife, and it would be logical that if Jesus had one that this would have been mentioned.

Perhaps I should mentioned that I have read what was released in the past about the so-called ‘Gospel of Mary Magdalene” as well as many other false gospel accounts that have circulated. False gospel accounts were sometimes created in the second century by those that did not hold to Church of God doctrines.

There is a 10th-11th century Arabic Islamic manuscript that has one chapter that reports about those considered to be Judeo-Christians. Shlomo Pines translated much of that chapter into English. the translation of one section of it (the term “Christian” below refers to apparently Latin supporters) about something that seems to have happened in Jerusalem in the 130s A.D.:

(71a)…(And the Romans) said: “Go, fetch your companions, and bring your Book (kitab).” (The Christians) went to their companions, informed them of (what had taken place) between them and the Romans and said to them: “Bring the Gospel (al-injil), and stand up so that we should go to them.”

But these (companions) said to them: “You have done ill. We are not permitted (to let) the Romans pollute the Gospel. In giving a favourable answer to the Romans, you have accordingly departed from the religion. We are (therefore) no longer permitted to associate with you; on the contrary, we are obliged to declare that there is nothing in common between us and you;” and they prevented their (taking possession of) the Gospel or gaining access to it. In consequence a violent quarrel (broke out) between (the two groups). Those (mentioned in the first place) went back to the Romans and said to them: “Help us against these companions of ours before (helping us) against the Jews, and take away from them on our behalf our Book (kitab).” Thereupon (the companions of whom they had spoken) fled the country. And the Romans wrote concerning them to their governors in the districts of Mosul and in the Jazirat al-‘Arab. Accordingly, a search was made for them; some (qawm) were caught and burned, others (qawm) were killed. (As for) those who had given a favorable answer to the Romans they came together and took counsel as to how to replace the Gospel, seeing it was lost to them. (Thus) the opinion that a Gospel should be composed (yunshi`u) was established among them…a certain number of Gospels were written. (Pines S. The Jewish Christians of the Early Centuries of Christianity according to a New Source. Proceedings of the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities, Volume II, No.13; 1966. Jerusalem, pp. 14-15)

True Christians (called ‘companions’ above) did not create nor accept the false gospel accounts that ones influenced by Roman authorities did back then (see The New Testament Canon – From the Bible and History and also The Ephesus Church Era).

Anyway, there are no LOST GOSPELS that Christians need to believe are missing from the New Testament.

There are many who want to challenge the Bible and what it teaches about Jesus.

Some items of possibly related interest may include:

Jesus: The Son of God and Saviour Who was Jesus? Why did He come to earth? What message did He bring? Is there evidence outside the Bible that He existed? Here is a YouTube sermon titled Jesus: Son of God and Saviour.
The Old Testament Canon This article shows from Catholic accepted writings, that the Old Testament used by non-Roman Catholics and non-Orthodox churches is the correct version.
The New Testament Canon – From the Bible and History This article, shows from the Bible and supporting historical sources, why the early Church knew which books were part of the Bible and which ones were not.
The Da Vinci Code: Some Good, Most Bad Does The Da Vinci Code properly discuss Christianity? What does it have right and what does it have wrong about early Christianity and other gospel accounts?
The Gospel of the Kingdom of God was the Emphasis of Jesus and the Early Church Did you know that? Do you even know what the gospel of the kingdom is all about? You can also see a YouTube video sermon The Gospel of the Kingdom.
Where is the True Christian Church Today? This free online pdf booklet answers that question and includes 18 proofs, clues, and signs to identify the true vs. false Christian church. Plus 7 proofs, clues, and signs to help identify Laodicean churches. A related sermon is also available: Where is the True Christian Church?
Continuing History of the Church of God This pdf booklet is a historical overview of the true Church of God and some of its main opponents from c. 31 A.D. to 2014. A related sermon link would be Continuing History of the Church of God: c. 31 to c. 300 A.D. Marque aquí para ver el pdf folleto: Continuación de la Historia de la Iglesia de Dios.
The History of Early Christianity Are you aware that what most people believe is not what truly happened to the true Christian church? Do you know where the early church was based? Do you know what were the doctrines of the early church? Is your faith really based upon the truth or compromise?