The Difference Between 'Mrs. Jesus' and Mmes. Muhammad

By Andrew M. Greenwell, Esq.
10/8/2012
Catholic Online (www.catholic.org)

In short, Dr. King suffers from Catholicophobia. The bias of Dr. King went largely unmentioned in the press.

Nothing in the press suggested that Dr. Karen L. King's crazy theories about Jesus should be suppressed or that she was a Catholicophobe. But the press was full of righteous indignation that Mr. Bacile's movie about Muhammad should be suppressed and that he was an Islamophobe. Why should an attack against one religion based upon speculation be good and protected, and the attack against another religion based upon historical reports be bad and squelched? The only seeming way to explain these apparent inconsistencies is that some men and women are moved by the spirit of Christ and others moved by the spirit of the anti-Christ.

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CORPUS CHRISTI, TX (Catholic Online) - The founders of two of the great religions on this earth, Jesus and Muhammad, have recently been in the news as subjects of great controversy.

In mid-September, Christians were treated to the historical and theological hogwash of Professor Karen L. King, who holds herself out as an objective Church historian at Harvard Divinity School.

Dr. King claimed that a small fragment of supposed 4th century papyrus (it has not been dated by carbon dating) approximately one and a half inches by three inches inches--about the size of your typical business card--which includes the words in ancient Sahidic Coptic text, "Jesus said to them, 'My wife . . . .'" is "authentic." She announced that this new find provides a narrative about Jesus that is at odds with the four canonical Gospels, but which has equal validity and right of hearing.

Rather tendentiously, Dr. King has called this gospel-on-a-business-card-sized-papyrus the "Gospel of Jesus' Wife." It seems rather grandiose to promote this business-card sized scrap of papyrus to the dignity of a "gospel." It would be sort of like calling Ogden Nash's poem "Fleas" a novel along the lines of Tolstoy's War and Peace.

Here's the entirety of this so-called "gospel."

not [to] me. My mother gave to me li[fe]
The disciples said to Jesus,
deny. Mary is worthy of it
Jesus said to them, "My wife
she will be able to be my disciple
Let wicked people swell up
As for me, I dwell with her in order to
an image.

The press, always eager for a chance to debunk the Catholic Church, went wild, and publicized the "fact" of Jesus' supposed wife in the "Gospel of Jesus' Wife" as if "authentic," and therefore true. So we were treated to such burlesque (and ultimately blasphemous) headlines referring to "Jesus' Wife" or to "Mrs. Jesus." Christians suffered all sorts of speculation by non-Christians on what this would mean for orthodox Christianity, for the Church's teachings on Jesus, on the celibate and all-male priesthood, on marriage. Yada, yada, yada.

Dr. King exuded with undisguised glee the view that this small scrap of questionable text is "part of" the "vociferous debates about sexuality and marriage" in the early Church. This is a debate, clearly, the gnostiphile Professor wants re-opened since it accords with her heterodox beliefs.

Dr. King has, in a word, an agenda against the Catholic Church. She is a Catholicophobe. As Ariel Sabar in an article in the Smithsonian magazine described it, Dr. King's "scholarship has been a kind of sustained critique of what she calls the 'master story' of Christianity," i.e., what Catholics call "the Faith." In short, Dr. King suffers from Catholicophobia.

The bias of Dr. King went largely unmentioned in the press. Unmentioned, for example, was the fact that Doctor King is a member of the Jesus Seminar, a sort of rag-tag group of self-anointed, self-ordained would-be illuminati who vote on what parts of the Gospels are historically true by voting with red, pink, gray, and black beads. I'd be curious to know how many parts of the authentic canonical Gospels the gnostic Gospel loving Dr. King black-balled as historically untrue.

Among other rather questionable beliefs, the Jesus Seminar has taken positions that Jesus was a mere mortal man, was not virginally conceived, had no miracle-working power, his death was not understood to be a substitutionary death for sinners by his disciples (i.e., Jesus was not the redeemer of mankind), and his body did not rise again from the dead.

In short, Dr. King is an enemy of faith in Jesus as the Catholic Church proposes it, and, indeed, as most Christian churches and ecclesial bodies outside the Catholic Church propose it.

Dr. King also displays a marked animus against the Catholic Church's teaching and disciplines regarding the all-male priesthood, celibacy, and marriage. In her efforts to undermine orthodox Christianity and its teachings (such as marriage and the all-male priesthood) and disciplines (such as priestly celibacy), Dr. King has devoted her talents and her life to translating and promoting a number of the heretical Gnostic writings that were for historical and theological reasons rejected by the Church, including the so-called Gospel of Mary Magdala, the so-called Gospel of Judas, and the Secret Revelation of John. She promotes them as alternative and authentic Christianities, refusing to see them as "heretical" or even "gnostic."

Now, in the same month Dr. King was announcing her rather questionable views and the press eagerly promoting them though clearly anti-Catholic, a Coptic Christian with a checkered past, Sam Bacile, gained notoriety for his production of the movie "Innocence of Muslims," a short 14-minute ...

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1 - 10 of 11 Comments

Albert Lopez
5 months ago
People would rather believe that we descended from apes rather than created by God, in the same way they believe anything that attacks that belief in a God and treat it as an "enligtenment". . .poor creatures, they do not see that they are worth more that a million apes. . .they could not even prove that even one in a million apes could talk, or could think, or could reason. . .WE ARE NOT DESCENDED FROM APES. . .
Mark
5 months ago
What are you saying?! that video was absolutely not anti-catholic nor anti-christian every body agrees the thing is a fake!but your statements above that the Muslim prophet was as shown in the movie is speculation not printed fact and the thing was a video made on purpose while this lady only 'found' (I too highly question it's authenticity , the only question that remains is whether the thing was forged recently or during the 4th century) a shred of paper which could then be used to question Christianity it was no direct propaganda film made for ridicule?! if someone forged a fake Islamic book they too would not receive no violent threats (further more I would beg you not to judge your brothers in faith with a few that are violent as long as there is even one peaceful Muslim let us not tarnish the name while it is true that even one bad Muslim can prohibit us from making angelic comments about it so let us leave the actions of men behind and focus on the faiths themselves) your article speculates that what the blatant attacking video by the Bacile man was true simply because it could be possible. that is as much possibility as saying that archangel Michael has a purple pet octopus called fluffy!

I agree with mister Patrick Reynolds when he says that Christians are easier targets as there is no retaliation perhaps the extreme retaliation by the Muslim people has been successful in thwarting further attacks?

In hard times like these where faith in God is being attacked from all corners and as human society degenerates before our eyes ,it is not time to pick at one another and fight with our old allies and friend! I simply hope that all Christians, Muslims and Jews may come together to fight against the atrocities that plague our lands today. may God protect us Amen.
Judy Claar
7 months ago
Mr. Greenwell: Another superb article as usual! You show us by the different responses to your article below that we Catholics are indeed different. I enjoyed your article thoroughly! Hearing all the media news of the You Tube tape, and then your explanations, were truly enlightening! Let alone the infamous Dr. King and mesmerized media. Keep 'em coming! Sunday Blessings...
xan
7 months ago
most muslims are very fanatic and often use violence to defend their religion.. I feel sorry for muslims who applies their religion in the right way. We, Christians, are avoiding overload fanaticism and against violence :) we use love to defeat their anarchy
let us develop our faith more and more !!
isabel
7 months ago
it is very sad how the good doctor is using her qualification and supposed knowledge turn against the One who gave her the brains in the first place.
as the saying goes, the more educated you are, the more stupid you become......or something like that.

we should continue to hold onto our Faith because the Lord God Almighty will be the final judge.
Celia
7 months ago
Now why does that not surprise me. muslims have been literally drilled in the faith even the lapse ones would rise to the occasion. Maybe our Catholic faith would be a lot stronger if we had stuck to traditions of Vat I rather than try to keep up with modern times. I can't help but think if Vat Council II was a big mistake, we seem to be going steadily downhill although I do believe the gates of hell will not prevail as Christ promised.
Emerine
7 months ago
hi.. i'm a 17 yr old.. but i found this article very truthful and honest. Keep up the good work, Mr. Andrew. Just because we catholics are not holding rallies or violent strikes around the globe does not mean that we have nothing to defend ourselves with. Only God will and God should judge those who persecute us.

Praise God.

Amen,
Emerine
Patrick Reynolds
7 months ago
Because Catholics won't riot in the streets and advocate murder, so these people fear no reprisals. Our peaceful natures make us easy targets.
Mike
7 months ago
Its obvious our country is already anti-Christian, and especially anti-Catholic. The media magnifies it. It's a little ironic that our country was founded on Christian principles, and yet our country now wants to do away with anything Christian.

It doesn't help when we have leaders who say they're Christian and openly promote an anti-Christian agenda
Daniel
7 months ago
"The only seeming way to explain these apparent inconsistencies is that some men and women are moved by the spirit of Christ and others moved by the spirit of the anti-Christ." Wow!

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