Question Author
Hazi-Hammenuhoth, another of Christianity’s necessary and convenient ‘tweaks’ to avoid awkward questions - but it doesn’t wash. For the Messiah to have been born heir to the throne of David his ancestry would have to be traced back through the male line. That’s how Judaism works - and let's face it - the people we're talking about were Jews. All of them. Therefore the claim that Luke’s version lists the unmentioned Mary’s genealogy is nonsense. Apart from the fact that a child born to a Jewish mother is always considered by Jews to be Jewish, Mary’s background is irrelevant.
(Incidentally, for what it’s worth my studies have led me to suspect that that’s exactly who Jesus was. Heir to the throne of David ….the rightful King of the Jews – and a bit of an agitator to boot).
I think gulliver must have been talking to you. Apart from a long-standing interest in the history of religion, its effect on the human psyche, and on society, I’m not in the least religiously inclined - so no radicalization here.