Friday March 29th, 2024
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Did Jesus Have a Wife?

After originally being denounced by the Vatican, academics vouch for the authenticity of an ancient document.

Staff Writer

Jesus could turn water into wine and manifest fish out of fin air, naturally that makes him quite the eligible bachelor. A scrap of ancient Egyptian papyrus which referred to Jesus having been married has been found to be authentic, much to the glee of Dan Brown fans.

Harvard academic Karen King was tasked to find evidence whether the document was forged or not. According to an article in the Harvard Theological Review it was subjected to intensive testing by chemists and biologists which included matching the document to other papyri from around at the same time, but was still swiftly denounced as a fake by both the Vatican when presented in a conference in Rome and King's academic peers.

The words "Jesus said to them, My wife . . . she is able to be my disciple . . ." are written on the center of the fragment. Initially dated by King to the fourth century.

“None of the testing has produced any evidence that the fragment is a modern fabrication or forgery," said King.