The 3-inch-long piece of papyrus translated by a Harvard scholar as “Jesus” talking about “my wife” doesn’t prove he was married, but it raises the question, “What if?”
This provocative scrap, if established as authentic, runs counter to traditional Christianity. Yet local theologians say it’s unlikely it would be a game-changer for women in the Church — not even in Catholicism.
“This very small papyrus proves nothing, and it flies in the face of everything we know about (the life of Jesus),” said Andre Villeneuve, associate professor of Sacred Scripture at St. John Vianney Theological Seminary in the Catholic Archdiocese of Denver.
And, Villeneuve said, entertaining a hypothetical about “what if Jesus were married” was like wondering how the U.S. would be different if “George Washington were a woman.”
It’s not provable that Jesus was married because, he said, Jesus wasn’t.
The discovery of the papyrus, made public by Harvard Divinity School historian Karen L. King on Tuesday at the International Congress of Coptic Studies in Rome, does reignite for some a centuries-old debate about Jesus’ marital status and wife, perhaps Mary Magdalene — a “Mary” is mentioned among the fragment’s few lines, written in Coptic.
The fragment, apparently from the 4th century, contains another partial line: “She will be able to be my disciple.”
“If authentic, this tiny damaged fragment provides tantalizing glimpses into issues about family, discipleship, and marriage that concerned ancient Christians,” according to a Q&A on the Harvard Divinity School website.
On Wednesday, though, skepticism toward the papyrus mounted among scholars — with some bluntly declaring it “a forgery” or “suspicious,” The Associated Press reported from Rome.
“(The papyrus,) even if a genuine 4th-century document, is likely a deliberate invention and distortion by an unorthodox Christian group 400 years later,” said Craig Blomberg, Denver Seminary’s distinguished professor of New Testament.
Yet if this “tiny little fragment of data” were ever reinforced by other more substantial evidence, Blomberg said, it would be “a novel idea, but it wouldn’t create any problems for Protestantism.”
A significant number of Protestant denominations, though not yet a majority, offer identical opportunities to women and men within the church.
“There is nothing in Protestant thought that would prohibit Jesus being married,” Blomberg said.
Nor would having women identified as disciples — still outside the circle of 12 Apostles — threaten Catholic teaching on gender roles and female priests, Blomberg said.
However, he believes Catholics would face an issue regarding their practice of priestly celibacy.
“It’s hard to make that out to be a higher life calling for priests if Jesus himself hadn’t exemplified it,” Blomberg said.
Villeneuve disagreed. He said priesthood celibacy is a long-held and beautiful Catholic tradition, “a gift,” allowing priests to consecrate their entire lives to serving God.
Ann Graham Brock, affiliate professor of New Testament studies at Iliff School of Theology, earned her doctorate at Harvard University and studied with King.
“I think at this point it would be a bit shocking to many Christians to consider the possibility that Jesus could have been married,” Brock said. “If we did find incontrovertible evidence that Jesus had been married, I think Christianity could handle it. After all, Scripture says that God took human form to dwell among us to experience what it is to be truly human, and who knows, perhaps being married could have been part of that embodiment.”
Blomberg said one thing that fascinates him that he hasn’t seen discussed is that “the Coptic word for ‘wife’ is the same word for ‘woman.’ ” Jesus’ saying “my woman” wouldn’t have meant then what it means now.
“He could have been talking about his mother,” Blomberg said.
The origins of the fragment are unknown. The current anonymous owner, a collector of papyri, reportedly acquired the fragment in 1997. King has said she was first approached by this collector in a 2010 e-mail.
The few experts in papyrology and Coptic linguistics she first consulted had concluded it is most likely not a forgery, but King says she welcomes more study.
Electa Draper: 303-954-1276, edraper@denverpost.com or twitter.com/electadraper
