(Image source: The New York Times )

 

BY CHRISTINA HARTMAN

 

We recently told you about a Harvard professor’s discovery from an ancient, faded piece of papyrus.

“Just eight lines, but translated it reads, Jesus said to them, my wife, and later says, she would be able to be my disciple.”

The fragment’s text, written in the Coptic language and supposed to have been written in the fourth century, reignited the provocative debate over whether Jesus was married, because of the translated phrase, “Jesus said to them, my wife.”

It cuts off after that, because the fragment’s owner only has a portion of the document. All of which inspired some teasing from Comedy Central’s Jon Stewart.

“Let me see if I can fill that sentence out for you. Jesus said, my wife, if I ever find one. Or how about this: My wife? Question mark. No, I’m not married.”

And after the high of the headline came down a little, observers began weighing in — with some even suggesting the document could be a fake.

The Guardian newspaper quotes a New Testament scholar who writes, “I would be very surprised if it were not a modern forgery, although it is possible that it was composed in this way in the fourth century.”

Dr. King and fellow researchers say they were convinced by the fragment’s ink fading, with one researcher telling reporters the words would be “impossible to forge.” But Francis Watson, that New Testament scholar we just quoted, says the actual words appear influenced by modern printed books rather than the fourth century. But even Dr. King herself didn’t present her findings as conclusive.

When the discovery was announced, The New York Times reported, “[King] repeatedly cautioned that this fragment should not be taken as proof that Jesus, the historical person, was actually married.”