Was Jesus Really Married?

I first read the book, The DaVinci Code, back in 2003.  A friend I worked with let me borrow so I could see for myself what all the fuss was about.  I read it-and then promptly dismissed it.  There were so many holes and fabrications in Dan Brown's work that it was laughable.  That is, until the general public started believing it to be serious academic work instead of what it really was-entertainment fiction.  The sad thing about it was Brown started believing he was a serious scholar and attributing factual claims to his book that did not stand up.  Several years later came the movie starring Tom Hanks-I really liked him up to that point.  Just when I thought we had put all these unfounded claims to rest, here it rears back it's ugly head.

Karen King, a Harvard divinity professor, has been given a small fragment of a papyrus written in Coptic from around the 4th century.  It is presumed the fragment is Egyptian in origin, and is translated, "Jesus said to them, my wife.."  Dr. King is now saying this fragment is part of a larger papyrus scroll still yet to be found.  She has dubbed this fragment, "The Gospel of Jesus' Wife."  Well, I am just a simple country preacher.  I don't teach at Harvard.  However, I do have a little common sense.  At least that is what my wife tells me occasionally.  So, let us look at the facts of this "gospel."

• The fragment is the size of a business card.  
• The fragment is from the middle of a larger papyrus scroll-which means you lose the context in which it was written all together.
• The papyrus is dated to the 4th century.  That is more than 400 years after Jesus' death and resurrection.
• The texts we have in the Bible were written much earlier.  Epistles like 1 Corinthians were written around 55-56 A.D.-just a mere 22-25 years after Jesus' passion.  The last gospel written, John, was composed around 90 A.D.
• Karen King has an agenda.  Read this article:
•  http://www.examiner.com/article/karen-king-needs-jesus-to-have-a-wife-so-her-career-can-have-a-future.

The bottom line is:  if you are a Christian, the Bible you have is the most tried, tested, and authenticated source of Jesus' life on the planet.  Don't lose sleep over this.  Have confidence.  Just my take on this whole deal.

Blessings,
Bryan