Izzy wrote: > What significance do you think this find has for us > as Christians, if any? I wish it could be proved > that this was the actual, physical brother of Jesus > --at least that would put an end to all this Virgin > Mary worship, wouldn't it?
I don't think a find like this would impact Mariolatry. People can rationalize just about anything they want to. Just look at how Glenn justifies a little sin in the life of Christians! Even now, critics are calculating the probability of how many families might have Joseph as the father with James and Jesus as brothers. In other words, the attack right now concerns whether or not the Jesus mentioned is the Jesus of Christianity. :-) For those of us who are less inclined to explain away evidence like this, I think this is a major archaeological find. It adds independent evidence for the date that Josephus assigns for the date that James was martyred, as well as independent evidence for the relationship between Joseph, James, and Jesus. I don't read Aramaic, so I am waiting for the next issue of BAR to hopefully learn more from the experts concerning the exact Aramaic words used and their range of meanings. Peace be with you. David Miller. ---------- "Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer every man." (Colossians 4:6) http://www.InnGlory.org If you do not want to receive posts from this list, send an email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] and you will be unsubscribed. If you have a friend who wants to join, tell him to send an e-mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] and he will be subscribed.
