'Gospel Of Jesus' Wife' Is Not Forgery, Harvard Journal Says: Did Jesus Have A Wife?

There are many theories on whether Jesus was married. Some people think his wife was Mary Magdalene, but these are just theories. A controversial papyrus scrap made a suggestion and it dates to the eighth century A.D., they point to earlier Christian beliefs. Harvard University announced that an ancient papyrus fragment appears to quote Jesus Christ discussing his wife and it is real.

The document is written in Coptic which is a language of ancient Egyptian Christians. It is made up of eight mostly legible dark lines on the front and six barely legible faded lines on the back. Scientists have concluded that fragment dates back to at least the sixth to ninth centuries, And maybe as far back as the fourth century.

Harvard Divinity School professor Karen L. King said that the document was never meant to prove that Jesus was married. It’s just meant to state that some early Christians may have believed that Jesus was married. Debates over sexuality and marriage discussions about Christianity. The Catholic Church cites Jesus’ celibacy as one reason its priests must not have sex or marry.

"The main topic of the fragment is to affirm that women who are mothers and wives can be disciples of Jesus -- a topic that was hotly debated in early Christianity as celibate virginity increasingly became highly valued. This gospel fragment provides a reason to reconsider what we thought we knew by asking what the role claims of Jesus' marital status played historically in early Christian controversies over marriage, celibacy, and family," King said.

The lines that can be read on the front of the artifact seems to be a broken conversation between Jesus and his disciples. The fourth line says, “Jesus said to them, my wife.” Line 5 says “she will able to be my disciple,” the line before the one where it says wife, has Jesus quoting “Mary is worth of it” and line 7 says “As for me, I dwell with her in order to …”

Brown University Egyptology professor Leo Depuydt says the fragment is fake. He wrote in a paper, "There is no doubt in my mind whatsoever that the text … is a patchwork of words and phrases from the published and well-known Coptic Gospel of Thomas. It is therefore clear that the Text is not an independent literary composition at all."