Brothers or sisters?

[claymore]

Did Jesus have any brothers or sisters?

[jackthehat]

If he did I should think they could only claim to be half-siblings............

[jno]

yes, he had a brother called James

[woofgang]

Oh there are LOADS of answers to that. One is no because the BVM stayed a BVM all her life. Another is yes because it would have been unusual, therefore documented if he hadn't...I think that James the Disciple may be someone who is cited as a possible sibling. Assuming you believe the bible, Jesus led a dangerous life so it wouldn't have been surprising if the identity of any siblings was disguised or suppressed for their safety...also and more controversially the identity of his wife ;-)

[naomi24]

He had several brothers and sisters.

[jno]

Matthew 13:55 :“Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t his mother’s name Mary, and aren’t his brothers James, Joseph, Simon and Judas?"

Matthew 13:56: "Aren’t all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?”

[woofgang]

ooh jno, you shame me!

[ponjee]

i believe not. ive never read a bit in the bible that says that Jesus hass siblings. bt Mary only had one child, JESUS, which was a gift from GOD. Because mary was n sdill is a virgin.

[woofgang]

so what about jno's references ponjee?

[naomi24]

ponjee, you've never read the bit in the bible that says Mary is still a virgin either, because it isn't there.

[woofgang]

mmm I understand that one explanation of the virgin birth is a mix up in the greek translation..the word translated as "virgin" actually means "young woman"

[Ankou]

depends which bible you read

[woofgang]

https://www.appliedla...d_red_underpants.aspx

[naomi24]

Woofgang, yes, but I think ponjee means that Mary had no other children and is still a virgin right now - as the Catholic church believes.

[Ankou]

nah, some bibles actually include the word 'virgin'.

[jno]

oh goodness yes, the red underpants... is that holy or holey, though?

[Ankou]

if they aren't holey you'd never get your legs through.

[jno]

then you'd have to get them over, I suppose. My own underpants bear the sacred name of St Michael, particularly appropriate when I visit Kiev.

[Ankou]

mine bear the symbol fcuk which is pretty helpful when remembering why i took them off.

[mike11111]

Just as brothers and sisters can mean siblings, so also can they refer to a group of people bonded by a mutual affinity, e.g. monks, nuns, Freemasons &c so the Bible isn't really a help on this score.

[jno]

well, maybe, mike, but if you say 'his mother's Mary and his brother's James', as per Matt 13:55, it's stretching it a bit to suppose the first name is intended to be literal and the second one metaphorical.