Originally posted by DoubleMeatWhopper+Feb 16 2005, 07:18 PM--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(DoubleMeatWhopper @ Feb 16 2005, 07:18 PM)</div><div class='quotemain'><!--QuoteBegin-hungthick@Feb 15 2005, 03:16 AM
Jesus was the human incarnation of God and he remained a virgin his entire lifetime.
Why do you assume that Jesus was a virgin? Early Christian tradition had it that Mary Magdalene was the wife of Jesus. It was also popular tradition that Jesus fathered three children by her: a daughter named Tamar, and two sons named Jesus and Joseph. There are apocryphal gospels dating back to the first century A. D. that specifically referred to Mary Magdalene as his wife. And look at the story of the wedding at Cana: Jesus gave orders to the servants concerning the serving of wine and they obeyed without question. Who was the only person at a first century Jewish wedding with authority to deal with the servants at a banquet? The groom ... and
only the groom. The wine was the groom's responsibility. Some scholars believe that the wedding of Cana was Jesus's own wedding. And we know that the apostles were married, so why wouldn't we expect Jesus to be married as well. Except for the Essenes, the Jews of Jesus's day were expected to marry.
Now about the Shroud of Turin: I have studied quite a lot about the Shroud. If it is a forgery, it is the most brilliant forgery ever produced. The forger had anatomical knowledge that was not available in medieval times. If it is a forgery, it's a bigger mystery than what it's purported to be. For my part, the more I read about the Shroud of Turin, the more I believe it to be genuine. And I believe that the Shroud, the Mandylion and the Image of Edessa are one and the same thing.
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I am going to Turin (Torino) in October to play a recital and I plan to go see the Shroud while I'm there. I waffle back and forth about it's authenticity, but this year I have decided to do some study on it and have some solid background before I go.