Way Truth Life Apologetics

Several days ago I read an article shared on facebook which addressed Saddleback church ordaining several women pastors. I don’t agree with this move on Scriptural reasons (1 Tim 3:2, 12, Titus 1:6) however that is another topic for another day. The focus of this post is to address one of the people who commented on the article and made a claim I wholly disagree with, also on Scriptural reasons. The back-and-forth exchange highlighted the level of biblical illiteracy this individual appears to suffer from. If we claim to be Christians, it behooves us to have at least a basic knowledge of what our Holy Book declares, as well as some of the nuances within it.

   In all honesty, there’s really no excuse for someone who has been a Christian for a number of years to still be shallow in their understanding of Scripture, doctrine, and the tenants of the faith. Over the course of our lives, as Christians, we are to learn and grow deeper in our understanding of God and His revelation to us. With that, let’s look at this situation I introduced above.

   A person commented on the article by denouncing Rick Warren’s Purpose Driven Life then added, “and Warren thinks Mary had other biological children after Jesus” (screenshots from the conversation provided below). Most times I ignore comments I do not agree with on facebook; it is quite a challenge to hold a civil, productive discussion / debate online due to the nature of the media being used, it is easy to get upset and viciously argue which does not look good to other readers. However, there are occasions where I feel compelled to engage rather than let something go by. As one who desires to spread truth, there are moments where misunderstanding and lies need to be addressed and countered. **Note: out of courtesy I have covered the individual’s name as he doesn’t follow this blog & won’t be able to defend his position**

   I responded that Mary did have children after Jesus. James (epistle writer & bishop of the church in Jerusalem) and Jude (epistle writer) were Jesus’ half-brothers. My confidence in this assertion stems from and is supported by numerous scholars and theologians, including the early church fathers who attribute the books of James and Jude to those two individuals, and note that they were siblings of Jesus through Mary. The original commentor pushed back stating, “incorrect. Look at the verses again; James and Jude had a different mother than Jesus.” At this point in the discussion, no Scripture verses had yet been cited so I wonder what verses he is referring to? Additionally, what Scripture would he cite that states James and Jude had different parentage than Jesus?

   I suggested he take a look at Matt 12:47 and Luke 8:20 which both record an event where Jesus was teaching in a house and “His mother and His brethren” arrived but could not get close to Him so someone inside the house alerted Jesus to their presence. The Greek word “ἀδελφός” translates to brothers / brothers and sisters (i.e. sibling family members) who would logically be traveling with their mother to find their half-brother, Jesus. I provided a screenshot of this information as well as another screenshot from Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary’s entry about the author of the Book of James which identifies “James the half brother of Jesus, a younger son of Mary and of Joseph. Of the three, James the brother of the Lord is the most likely choice. Tradition of the early church fathers universally ascribes the letter to James, the pastor of the church in Jerusalem.^[1]” The main point in this reference is to show scholarship affirming Jesus had siblings.

   In spite of this, the response was, “nice try but consider these verses. Note how no siblings are mentioned” and Luke 2:41-50 were copied (without reference to book and chapter). I replied, “so, you’re arguing from silence because the author didn’t record Jesus’ siblings being among the group traveling? My reference directly states Jesus had siblings; I’m arguing from Scripture recording that fact of His life.” When I allege this individual is making an argument from silence I mean, “Similar to the fallacy of an appeal to ignorance, the argument from silence is a fallacy of weak induction that treats the absence of evidence as evidence itself.[2]“ Simply, he claims that because the Luke 2 passage makes no mention of Jesus having siblings, therefore Jesus didn’t have any siblings. This is insufficient to support his claim. Regardless, he retorted, “no. I’m arguing Mary couldn’t have had any other children besides Jesus because no verse supports that idea if read close enough.”

   Having provided scholarly evidence to support my position regarding Jesus having siblings, I was not about to allow another claim to go without challenge. If you re-read above, he claims that “Mary couldn’t have had any other children besides Jesus.” This fascinated me because there is no verse of Scripture which attests that Mary remained a virgin throughout her life and marriage to Joseph after Jesus was born. Again, the Greek word for “brethren” used in the Matt 12 and Luke 8 passages translates to brothers / brother and sisters. Thus, he is setting up another argument from silence, when he denies he has done.

   At this point (without asking to confirm my suspicions) I presumed this individual to be Catholic in his theological leanings. “Most Protestants claim that Mary bore children other than Jesus. To support their claim, these Protestants refer to the biblical passages which mention the “brethren of the Lord.” As explained in the Catholic Answers tract Brethren of the Lord, neither the Gospel accounts nor the early Christians attest to the notion that Mary bore other children besides Jesus. The faithful knew, through the witness of Scripture and Tradition, that Jesus was Mary’s only child and that she remained a lifelong virgin.[3]” I believe this teaching to be the foundation for my discussion opponent’s viewpoint. I’m curious as to what “Tradition” this appeals to, as a previous citation I used states, “Tradition of the early church fathers universally ascribes the letter to James, the pastor of the church in Jerusalem^[4], this same James who is credited as being Jesus’ half-brother.

  I relayed all that to emphasize this point: there is no excuse to be Biblically illiterate as a Christian. It is commanded for Christians to know the Word of God and be able to communicate its truths (2 Tim 2:15, 1 Pet 3:15). I was born in the United States in the 20^th Century. I have no experiential knowledge of the culture, customs, (and just a hint of language) from 1^st Century Israel / Palestine. Other than what I read in the Bible, and in this instance, I understand the word “brethren” to be a literal reference to Jesus’ family members, I rely on scholarship from reputable sources to obtain a deeper understanding of the text, i.e. the proper context of what is being relayed in Scripture. I do not personally know this individual; however, it is hard for me to take seriously the arguments he has put forth because he does so without providing sources for me to investigate and critically assess.

   From this point, the conversation ceased for approximately two days. I figured he had no response to my supported position, but I was wrong. He chose to re-engage and attempted to respond to my inquiry regarding evidence that Mary could not have had other children besides Jesus with the following:

1. Jesus is called “the son of Mary.” If there were siblings, shouldn’t it read “a son of Mary?”

2. When Joseph and Mary are looking for 12 year old Jesus, how come no siblings are mentioned?

3. If these others are His brothers, why did Jesus entrust His mother to John, even though there’s no indication John is his brother and Jesus would have violated Jewish law by doing so?

4. Acts 1:15 said there were 150 people gathered. Not counting Mary, that makes it 119. We know 7 of the disciples are from different families so that gives us 112. Am I supposed to believe these 112 are all Jesus brothers?

I answered each of these in turn:

1) why would the writer choose ‘a’ instead of ‘the’ to describe Jesus as ‘son of Mary?’ The focus is on Jesus, not His siblings, and this is just semantics on your part.

2) same as above, the author focused on Jesus; whatever His siblings were doing at the time was of no importance. It also didn’t list the other people traveling in the group; I could speculate Elizabeth & John the Baptist may have been there, too. Your argument is from silence as I stated earlier.

3) please cite the Jewish law that would be violated. Jesus told John to care for His mother; do you care for people not related to you? Isn’t everyone made in the image & likeness of God & also defined as our ‘neighbor’ by Jesus in the parable of the Good Samaritan? The text says nothing about the disposition of Joseph, Mary’s husband. If he was still alive at the time, his primary duty as a husband is to care for his wife. Jesus was giving John an assignment.

4) you’re reaching on this one. In no way did I imply that Jesus’ half-siblings were that many. Do you have any record of a woman having 112 children? That is absurd!

   This is the end of that online debate and as of this post it has been 2 days since anything was added to the discussion. There was other mention as to the possible identity of James as being the son of Alphaeus (with the added note that no record of Mary being married to Alphaeus exists). He also stated that Jude identifies himself as the brother of James, but does not say he’s the brother of Jesus, ergo Jude is not a brother to Jesus (another argument from silence). Perhaps Jude saw no need to identify his familial ties with Jesus, beyond linking himself to James, Bishop of the Church in Jerusalem, who was a half-brother to Jesus.

   I have no intention to respond further, should this individual break his silence again and push his idea(s) on the topic. I feel that I have addressed what I need to address and have done so with evidence to support my viewpoint. It is unlikely he would give me reason to rethink my belief and in the face of what I’ve used to substantiate my position, he does not seem inclined to rethink his either. We are at an impasse as all too often seems to be the case. What is of most import is Biblical understanding and proper handling of the text. I feel I have done so as I’m sure he does as well. Looking at this logically, we both cannot be correct in our views: Jesus either had half-siblings through Mary OR He was an only child (law of non-contradiction).

   My challenge to you, the reader, is this, read and study the Bible. When you have questions, confusion, or uncertainty, seek out a reputable scholar / theologian / commentator, and research what they have to say on the subject. None of us has the time or resources to become a subject matter expert in every facet of Christianity so we often rely on the published work of others who have devoted their lives to being experts in a particular area of Christian theology. At the end of the day, if you are confident in your understanding of Scripture and have additional evidence to support your viewpoint, that should be enough. What is unacceptable is having an opinion, trying to fit that opinion into the Biblical text (eisegesis), and making bold claims without evidentiary support. “Foundations” of belief built upon that mindset are unstable, easy to defeat with scholarship, and do not project a level of spiritual maturity for the Christian. We cannot sustain ourselves on milk (shallow, infantile Christian understanding). We have to grow, mature, and move onto the meat of the Bible.

~In Christ!

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^[1] Patterson, P. (2003). James, Letter From. In C. Brand, C. Draper, A. England, S. Bond, E. R. Clendenen, & T. C. Butler (Eds.), Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary (p. 867). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.

[2] The Argument from Silence | SES

[3] What the Early Church Believed: The Perpetual Virginity of Mary | Catholic Answers

^[4] Patterson, P. (2003). James, Letter From. In C. Brand, C. Draper, A. England, S. Bond, E. R. Clendenen, & T. C. Butler (Eds.), Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary (p. 867). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.