Basra- wrote:Grant wrote:Definitely a controversial topic. However, in Jewish law, rabbis are necessarily married. Plus:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... veals.html
"To emphasise his belief that Mary of Magdalene was Jesus’s wife, he describes her decision to visit his body on the Sunday after the Crucifixion. ‘The gospels told us why she went there — to wash and anoint his body. She’s just a follower and yet she’s going to unwrap his naked body? Women do not wash rabbis or male bodies. Only males do it — unless you are the man’s wife."
Grant
I don't buy that. Mary Mag is a small part of Jesus life. She comes in to emphasize his prophecies. That is all. There are several similar "ex prostitute" stories along side prophets--Prophet Muhammed pbuh being one of them. The ex prostitutes serve an emblem or a symbol to showcase the divinity of the prophet in question. So---throw Mary Mag as wife theory out of the window. Try again.
Matthew 19:12
""For there are eunuchs who were born that way from their mother’s womb; and there are eunuchs who were made eunuchs by men; and there are also eunuchs who made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. He who is able to accept this, let him accept it," (Matthew 19:12).
This verse cannot be used to support the idea that people are born as homosexuals because of the three ways in which eunuchs are described in it as well as its overall context. First of all, Jesus is speaking about marriage and divorce, Matthew 19:3-10, not about homosexuality. Remember, marriage was a social expectation in the Jewish culture. Therefore, we must look at this in the context of Biblical marriage, which necessitates a denial of homosexuality as an acceptable lifestyle.
Consider also that the word, "eunuch," is used three times in the verse, which suggests three kinds of men who are not to marry. The first two usages were already familiar to the disciples. Jesus mentions those who are eunuchs from birth, that is, they were either incapable of marriage (i.e., physical deformity which prohibited having children) or have no desire to marry. The second is speaking of physical castration. Eunuchs were often used to guard the king's harems. The third is the new category: those who choose to be single "for the kingdom of God." In both cases there is not even a suggestion that people are born with homosexual orientation. If anything, the implication is to not be involved in marriage and sexual activity--which would negate homosexuality as an option.
Furthermore, consider what Paul says elsewhere.
"The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does; and likewise also the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does. 5 Stop depriving one another, except by agreement for a time that you may devote yourselves to prayer, and come together again lest Satan tempt you because of your lack of self-control. 6 But this I say by way of concession, not of command. 7 Yet I wish that all men were even as I myself am. However, each man has his own gift from God, one in this manner, and another in that, 8 But I say to the unmarried and to widows that it is good for them if they remain even as I. 9 But if they do not have self-control, let them marry; for it is better to marry than to burn. 10 But to the married I give instructions, not I, but the Lord, that the wife should not leave her husband 11 (but if she does leave, let her remain unmarried, or else be reconciled to her husband), and that the husband should not send his wife away," (1 Cor. 7:4-11).
The context is also about marriage. In verse 6, Paul was speaking of married couples and prayer. In verse 8, he speaks of unmarried widows. Verses 9-10 are again about marriage. Notice verse seven. Paul speaks of his "gift from God," the gift of his celibacy so that he might serve the Lord. This parallels what Jesus said in Matt. 19:12 about being a eunuch "for the kingdom of God." Furthermore, Paul is saying that being single and serving God and being married and serving God are gifts. If someone is dedicated to God in his singleness or even as eunuch from birth, then it is a gift from God for the service of God and cannot refer to "homosexual orientation."
Basra and Xplaya,
The notion that Mary was a prostitute was an early attempt to discredit women as leaders in the Church. Paul was a nut on the subject and did everything in his power to restore the dominance of men. This was acknowledged by the Catholic Church in 1969. In fact, Mary was a major producer and wealthy merchant in the dried fish coming from the Sea of Galilee. She financed many of the early missionary trips. Check out this site:
http://www.magdalene.org.uk/
Mary Magdalene: the
apostle to the apostles
This website is devoted to Mary Magdalene, companion of Christ and his closest disciple – called apostola apostolorum, or ‘apostle to the apostles’, by the early Church. It was in AD591 that Pope Gregory erroneously suggested Mary Magdalene was a prostitute, a slander not withdrawn until 1969, when the Roman Catholic church finally admitted there was no textural evidence anywhere to support the claim.
On the contrary, some scholars, including Elaine Pagels and Karen King, now believe Mary Magdalene was a leader of the early Church. Some people have put forward the idea that Mary might be the unidentified ‘beloved disciple’ referred to in the Gospel of John, while others even claim that she and Jesus were husband and wife.
The many references to Mary Magdalene in the Gospel of Thomas and the other so-called ‘gnostic’ gospels found at Nag Hammadi in 1946 show that she was certainly one of Christ’s leading disciples. There are even fragments of a gospel in her name. In the Pistis Sophia, her name is mentioned 150 times – compare that with just 13 times in Matthew, Mark, Luke and John combined.
We welcome contributions to the debate about this hugely influential figure, and her rightful place in the Christian story. Anyone who would like to send information or comment for possible inclusion should contact
info@magdalene.org.uk.
Hyper U r joyful. 
Spoken like a child of the 70s. 
Old man, of course u will love a long haired hippie man. He turns u on. 
