EXPOSED!!!

You may well wonder why so much time has been spent analyzing the biblical and the non-biblical evidence for the alleged marriage of Jesus, etc, etc. Couldn't it have been dismissed in a few summary observations, thus saving the time it took to write this stuff and you the time it took to read it?

It's so easy to call the whole thing as fictional nonsense. But this wouldn't be help the person who, having just read The Da Vinci Code, is sure that the non-canonical gospels are really full of hidden evidence about what really happened in Biblical times. Given the sustained popularity of Dan Brown's novel , these issues is a live one today and will continue to be for quite a long time. Many people, both Christians and non-believers, have begun doubting about the facts they've known all their lives. They take Dan Brown's historical fiction as gospel-truth, so to speak.

Now you have seen the evidence, and you know how to respond. You have more direct exposure to the non-biblical gospels than 99.9% of the population.

So when someone states confidently that the non-canonical gospels reveal Jesus' marriage to Mary, you can respond, "Well, have you ever studied what the non-canonical gospels actually say about Jesus and Mary?"

To which the answer will almost always be "No."

To which you can add, "You know, I've actually looked at this evidence, and there is nothing there. Mary appears rarely in the non-canonical gospels, and when she does appear, it's usually as a close disciple of Jesus, and sometimes as one who reveals special knowledge that Jesus revealed first to her. That's it."

Most proponents of the aforementioned "theories" have an agenda. They are trying to strip Jesus of his uniqueness, and especially his deity. They want a Jesus who was a mere human being, one with spiritual insight, but otherwise ordinary. The supposed marriage of Jesus is taken by many to be proof that he really wasn't God in the flesh, but only a mortal man.

Along with Christians throughout the ages, I believe that Jesus was fully God and fully human. To be sure I can't fully comprehend or explain this mystery, but I believe it nevertheless. Jesus *could* have married and maintained his sinless, human-divine nature. But the fact is that he didn't do this. We can speculate about the reasons, but at ground zero level, it is an unchangeable, true fact.

Christianity isn't a figment of the imagination. It's not wishful thinking. It's based upon what God has done in history, most of all through Jesus Christ. Thus we should make every effort to find out what really happened. We should look at the best evidence we have when we make our historical judgments. Wild theories that depend on unreliable evidence produced centuries after an event might make for entertaining fiction, but they aren't the stuff of genuine faith.

The most important question posed at the end of it all, which TDVC does not answer (at all, if not correctly) but the Bible does, is:

"Who is Jesus?" (Searching for an answer?)

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The Compiler's Note:

Personally, I've noticed that the more I research, the clearer the picture that comes into my mind. At the end of it all, I have no idea what TDVC is trying to convey, as there is nothing right with the "facts" it suggests. All I can say is:

Oh my goodness. The truth is SO OBVIOUS! And now that I'm done here, lemme go read my Bible. :P

P.s. I think Dan Brown is good as a writer - but only as long as he sticks to story-telling, not fact-disproving.