For the RECORD! Although I am diplomatic when discussing religion I am a standard Christian with all the trimmings. Problem is I'm also a writer who knows all the bells and whistles. The Bible was constructed over 1000 years by many authors. The story line flows from Genesis to Rwvelation. The New Testament supporting the Old. The Pauline letters draw distinct lines of correlation between the announcement of Jesus to the advent.
The Council of Nicea pulled the canon together. It wasn't so much that they were censoring out certain book as they were separating the wheat from the shaft. In the three hundred sum odd years since the crucifixion, dozens to gospels were written. They expounded every idea from Jesus was a man who lived and died to He was never really here at all, but just an idea, or a spiritual presence. The Bishops had to wrestle with who was Jesus, WHAT Jesus was, and what did He mean to mankind as a whole. They settled upon certain criteria. First, and foremost, a gospel had to have been written by someone who had actually SEEN Jesus. Didn't have to be an Apostle. Mark and Luke were not Apostles, but Mark's mother arranged the upper room for the Last Supper, and was the young man who ran out of his clothes during Jesus' arrest. Luke was Paul's doctor. Since Paul was stoning Christians right after the death of Christ, and Luke was his Doctor, we can safely assume that when such a man as Jesus came to town Luke HAD to have been in the crowd.
Luke worked with Paul's eyes. After being blinded and cured Paul had a mark left by the experience and put it into some of his letters. He didn't personally write his epistles. He used a scribe. Most likely Mark. He mentions his eyesight in at least two. He would sign the letters, but jokingly mentioned how large he made his letters. That's because he had scars on his retinas. When Nero demanded Paul deny Christ it was kind of hard for the old man to say he hadn't seen the resurrected Christ when he still had spots before his eyes.
Luke was a doctor, as I've said. He examined the miracles, trying to find a medical explanation, and wrote about them in his book. Both men knew Mary. And it doesn't matter if you believe the Catholic Mary, or a more refined Madonna, common sense tells you she talked about her boy! Mary DID share the cross in the fact that she, and Mary Madeline knelt at the cross. The younger Mary figures predominately in the early church, but we were dealing with Jews, and women took a submissive role. That Mary was the one who washed Jesus' feet and put the oil on his head. She kept that empty vessel and constantly refilled it with water, anointing the sick her entire life. Catholics swear by holy water, but it would break their jaws to ascribe it to the Madeline.
Both women led secluded lives and we have found no graves or relics of either. When you study the genealogies in both Matthew and Luke you will not find Mary, only Joseph. Same thing here. Remember, we're dealing with a bunch of old Jews. In those days it was understood that villages were tribal. The gospels say that Joseph had to return to his tribal home to be taxed, with MARY! She was somehow connected to him at least with ONE strand of DNA so Joseph's linage had to be HER linage, but that is not in the Bible. You gotta DIG! The Bible states that if all the things about Jesus were written down the books would fill the whole world. Mary was a young, beautiful Israelite. She was also intelligent, but that wasn't fashionable in 4 AD. Joseph was a carpenter. He worked night and day supporting his family. Mary raised the kids. That's right KIDS! That's where I deviate from Catholic dogma. The Bible states directly that He had brothers and sisters among them. The Catholics insist that Jesus was an only child yet acknowledge His brother was an early leader of the church and tradition handed down tells us he was referred to as "Old Camel Knees" because of his endless hours of prayer. Jesus was a reader. This was unusual. If Joseph was minding the store, just who do you suppose taught Him to read? He had a highly developed respect for women. Unfortunately this did not pass down to the Apostles, and while Jesus most certainly included women in his inner circle, Mary Madeline's input was suppressed by the early church fathers, even referring to her as a whore. She was not a whore, but she was a successful woman, and that was repulsive to the orthodox Jewish mind. When Constantine legalized the church he brought in the Roman style of view of woman. That took Mary, Jesus' mother, from simple respect for her role, all the way up to almost deification. Mary's role has never changed. Lead, and point to Christ. Her words recorded in the Bible was at the wedding at Cana. "Do what He tells you!" She also began his public ministry. When she asked him to make some more wine, Jesus was very vocal, asking her basically, "Do we have to do this right NOW?" She knew Jesus could make that Pinot Noir, and she KNEW that that very act would generate some local press! She literally called the Son of God out! Pretty good day's work for a cute kid from Nazareth. As far as the "Arc" thing, the Arc of the Covenant held the Word of God. Mary, also held the Word of God.
With the advent of women in Jesus' life there have been modern theories about a possible marriage between Him and Mary Madeline. Let's look at that. First off, Jesus was a Rabbi. A Rabbi was expected to marry. The logic is simple. How can you run a Synagogue if you can't run your own house. If Jesus had been married it would not have been a state secret. The Apostles would have waved that in the Pharisee's faces as a badge of honor. There is no mention of this anywhere in the Bible. In fact it is dodged. When told his mother, family were waiting outside for him there wasn't even a whisper about a wife, or children. Now, if Jesus were not married, and having an affair with some camp follower, don't you think the Sanhedrin would have sized upon that? They wouldn't have had to crucify Christ. They would have stoned Him! Jesus was a single man a full one hundred and eighty degrees from Rabbinical tradition!
Neither Mary did any miracles either during life or in any of the "visions" of the last two thousand years. Rule remains the same, lead and point to Christ. The history of the Catholic Church is one of contradiction. Jesus was an only child, yet tradition recognizes His brother, James. Mary was a mortal woman, yet assented bodily to heaven. A debate between Catholics and non Catholics invariably centers around Mary. Poor little Mary only said, "Do what He tells you,"
Jesus recognized the authority of politicians. He also demonstrated the futility of politics. He stood in mute amusement as Pilate did everything he could to spit that Pharisitticral hook on Good Friday. In modern English He finally told the Roman Governor, "Just give it up. We both know where this is going." We know that the trail of Jesus was a gross miscarriage of justice, but it was something more. It was a clear demonstration of the application of the law being inadequate and the spirit of the law was preferred, and that, brothers and sisters, was EXACTLY what Jesus came to town to say!
The understanding of the difference between Jesus of Nazareth and the risen Christ is one that wise men have struggled with for centuries. We will never resolve the debate. Man simply does not have the neurons in his brain to take it in. In the end Mary's voice comes to us one more time. "Do whatever He tells you!"
From a Simple Ol' Boy From Austin
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