Christ ‘May Have Been Married’
(N.Z. Press Assn. —Copyright) ELKINS (West Virginia), March 18. Jesus may have been married and the father of children, according to a Presbyterian minister, a professor. Dr William Phipps, writing in the “Journal of Ecumenical Studies,” said that failure to marry and reproduce was regarded as a serious sin in Biblical times. If Jesus had been a bachelor, Dr Phipps contends, the Bible surely would contain some record of his being criticised for it.
He said Jesus probably was not married during the last three years of his life that are recorded in the New Testament but it was logical to infer that he had been married earlier and was a widower. Dr Phipps said that in Greek translations of the Bible there was no difference in the word for “wife” and “woman,” and the Bible often mentioned Jesus being with a woman.
“Under Talmudic law, a man could not be considered righteous—in fact, couldn’t even be considered a complete
man—if he didn’t marry and have children,” Dr Phipps writes.
"The Talmud asserts very strongly . . . that it's almost the same as committing murder not to reproduce.” Professor Phipps is a minister and professor at Davis and Elkins College.
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Bibliographic details
Press, Volume CIX, Issue 31942, 20 March 1969, Page 15
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203Christ ‘May Have Been Married’ Press, Volume CIX, Issue 31942, 20 March 1969, Page 15
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