NBC News Roundup of the ‘Jesus’ Wife’ Papyrus

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In an essay titled ‘Reality Check on Jesus and his ‘wife’‘ you’ll find the following towards the end:

The debate over the papyrus fragment’s authenticity and the meaning of the Gospel of Jesus’ Wife is likely to play out for a long time among scriptural scholars — and among “Da Vinci Code” fans as well. For now, here are links to background material and the initial blog reactions:

  • The news release from Harvard Divinity School points to a Web page about the papyrus and to the manuscript that King has prepared for publication in January’s issue of Harvard Theological Review.
  • James Tabor, a scriptural scholar at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and the co-author of controversial books about Jesus and his family, notes King’s research — and says Witherington and other scholars should “reconsider the question” surrounding Jesus’ marital status.
  • Michael Heiser, a scholar in biblical languages, says on his PaleoBabble blog that he tends to agree with the view that church leaders have “manipulated the testimony of Mary Magdalene” — but he warns against reading too much into the discovery.
  • Jim West, a biblical scholar at the Quartz Hill School of Theology and pastor of Petros Baptist Church, says on the Zwinglius Redivivus blog that “without more context, both historically and archaeologically, the snippet is valueless.”
  • James McGrath, a New Testament scholar at Butler University, also voices caution on the Exploring Our Matrix blog but adds that there’s no reason why people should find the idea that Jesus was married “inherently unbelievable.”
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