The siblings of Jesus?

[AllyCat]

A book I'm reading talks matter-of-factly about the half brothers and sister of Jesus. Their mother was Mary, but their father was Alpheus, not Joseph. I have to admit, I'm no longer a practicing Christian (although I love the original teachings and acts of Jesus and what they meant to his age), but I NEVER remember hearing about siblings.

The book goes on to theorize that Barrabas, was actually his brother with a misspelling of his name (it was actually Barnabas or Barsabas, can't remember which). Pilate traded a brother for a brother as a traditional Passover "gift" to release a prisoner of the people's choice.

Also talks about how half of the twelve disciples were family members, either brothers or cousins.

Anyone know more about this and can you suggest some readings, Biblical or otherwise, that would shed some light on this theory, valid or not?

Thanks!

[bos1]

1. Hey Bro

The Bible never gives an exact count, but Jesus’ siblings are mentioned in several Bible verses. Matthew 12:46, Luke 8:19, and Mark 3:31 say that Jesus’ mothers and brothers came to see Him. Jesus had four brothers: James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas (Matthew 13:55). Jesus also had sisters but they are not named or numbered (Matthew 13:55-56). In John 7:1-10, His brothers go on to the festival. In Acts 1:14, His brothers and mother prayed for Him. Later in Galatians 1:19, it mentions that James was Jesus’ brother. The most natural conclusion of these passages is to interpret that Jesus had actual blood siblings. There is no Biblical reason to believe that these siblings are not the actual children of Mary and Joseph. They were obviously born after Jesus, because Jesus was born of a virgin (Isa 7:14; Luke 1:26-38).

http://www.gotquestions.org/Jesus-siblings.html

[AllyCat]

2. Thanks!

figures the girls' names would be left out. Love how the Word of the Lord got filtered through the patriarchy as usual and thus we have the actual Word of God that doesn't include women, a group Jesus taught all to embrace.

[catbert836]

3. Well, I'm not a Christian either.

But I do remember from Catholic Sunday school that the Protestants clearly say that yes, Jesus had siblings. Catholic doctrine teaches that Jesus didn't have any siblings, and references to his brothers and sisters were referring to his cousns instead. Apparently the Aramaic word for brother and cousin were the same or something like that.

[AllyCat]

4. Maybe that's the problem.

I grew up Catholic too. Never remember hearing about siblings so I was floored how this bit was put in the book on British history like it was common knowledge.

When I read "brothers" in the Scriptures, I thought it just meant like "spiritual brothers" not the real ones.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

5. The only reason for denying that Jesus had siblings is

the Catholic doctrine that Mary remained a virgin all her life. I believe that this doctrine came into being after Christianity became tinged with Stoic philosophy and dualism, the idea that the spirit was good and the body was bad.

If Mary didn't remain a life-long virgin (and that seems more likely), then the non-existence of birth control in those days virtually guarantees that Jesus had siblings.

[tjwmason]

6. There is a Biblical passage which speaks of his 'brothers'

The problem is that it is used in a less strict manner than would now be the case. As others have said, the Catholic Church teaches the perpetual virginity of the Blessed Virgin - which obviously rules out any actual siblings.

I haven't heard of the theory about another father (I would warn you that there are many many theories which are floating around with evidence to support them thinner than tissue).

A number of traditions hold that Joseph was a widower at the time of his betrothal to Our Lady, and that she was more of a cook house-keeper figure than wife in the traditional sense (this to account for her perpetual virginity). Under this tradition Jesus' 'brothers' were actually the children of Joseph from his former marriage.

[H2O Man]

7. James was an Essene

and was a leader in the religious movement that Jesus was involved in. He was opposed to Paul's false teachings. There are a number of interesting writings about this divide.