Mary’s Virginity

A Christian doctrine that has been heavily attacked is whether Jesus was born of a virgin: in other words, that he had no human father but was divinely conceived. According to two of the canonical (official) gospels, Matthew & Luke, God donated a sperm, directly, to his mother Mary—through the Holy Spirit, “the giver of life” (The Nicene Creed). Jesus thus qualified, literally, as the ‘Son of God.’ Indeed, in one of the undisputed Pauline letters, Galatians, we read, “It pleased God … to reveal his Son in [to (ESV)] me.” (Galatians 1:15–16, KJV, emphasis mine) Now, recall that Paul was a contemporary skeptic of Christianity and persecuted Christians prior his conversion; so there is enough reason to believe what he says here. Moreover, according to the New American Bible, Galatians was possibly written as early as around 50 CE (p. 283); it is therefore one of the most reliable New Testament scriptures. Furthermore, even though the Jews kept track of the male descendants of King David (and Levites, i.e., priests), there’s hardly any doubt that Jesus’s father is unknown. But what if Mary was raped, say, by a Roman soldier, as detractors of Christianity claim? One must admit that if the father is unknown, it is much more likely that the mother was raped rather than that a virgin conceived a child: in practice, the latter case requires nothing less than a ‘miracle.’

Jesus’s Virgin Birth

In Luke’s gospel, we read that Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit’s donating a sperm to Jesus’s mother, Mary; we read,

“The angel [Gabriel] said unto her [Mary], ‘Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name Jesus. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest ….’ Then said Mary unto the angel, ‘How shall this be, seeing I know not a man [have no husband (WNT)]?’ And the angel answered and said unto her, ‘The Holy Ghost [Spirit] shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing [offspring (WNT)] which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.’” (Luke 1:30–32, 34–35, KJV)

Assuming this was the case, I presume Jesus’s mother, Mary, would eventually have told him about all this. So, I wouldn’t be surprised that Jesus may have considered himself to be literally the ‘Son of God,’ and probably thought that he should do something about it. Incidentally, Mary’s acceptance of such a role (Luke 1:38) was breathtaking: note that, in those days, adulterers, especially women, were stoned to death (see John 8:5).

Now, is there any historical evidence supporting this belief—Jesus’s virgin birth or divine conception—outside the gospels? One must admit that there is hardly any evidence for it; in fact, there is evidence against it. In the Jewish Talmud, which is a collection of rabbinic discussions completed around 500 CE, we read that Mary conceived Jesus of a Roman soldier named Tiberius Julius Abdes Panthera (or Pantera). However, according to historian, Christian apologist, editor, and academic Edwin Yamauchi, this was only the result of a false ‘rumor.’ Still, in a strange kind of way, it suggests that there was something unusual about Jesus’s birth. It seems to be a case of “methinks thou doth protest too much.” (Shakespeare, Hamlet, Act III, Scene II) As investigative journalist and author of several books Lee Patrick Stroble rightly points out in his book The Case for Christ, had everything been normal, regarding Jesus’s birth, there would have been no such controversy. So, we only have indirect evidence supporting Jesus’s supposed virgin birth (Strobel, p. 86). Let us now take a closer look at this contrary evidence.

In his book The Bible Fraud, author of several other religious books Tony Bushby writes,

“The Talmud writers mentioned Jesus’ name twenty times and quite specifically documented that he was born an illegitimate son of a Roman soldier called Panthera, nicknamed the ‘Panther’. Panthera’s existence was confirmed by the discovery of a mysterious tombstone at Bingerbrück in Germany. (Bushby, “Just Who Were the Parents of Jesus,” accessed November 23, 2021) The engraving etched in the headstone read:

“Tiberius Julius Abdes Panthera, an archer, native of Sidon, Phoenicia, who in 9AD was transferred to service in Rhineland (Germany).” (Smith)

Most modern historians preclude the possibility of miracles; but, as I show in my book Is God a Reality?, miracles do happen—albeit rarely. (Attard, Is God a Reality?, pp. 283–324) New Testament scholar and pastor, Ben Witherington, reviewing religious studies professor James Tabor’s book The Jesus Dynasty, deplores this assumption by modern historians; he writes,

“I must confess that one of the things that bothers me about some modern historical reconstructions of the life of Jesus is that there is no openness at all to what we would call the miraculous, or it might be better to call it divine irregularity. I see no reason why divine intervention should be ruled out of the equation ‘ab initio’ (i.e., from the beginning). It is not a good historical principle to rule out causes of events in advance of examining the evidence (Witherington, accessed November 23, 2021).

Of course, he adds, we should not go to extremes and interpret everything supernaturally; as, for example, attributing every ailment or disease to an evil spirit: all evidence should be evaluated critically but with an open mind. He continues,

“I might add as well that the assumption ‘miracles cannot happen and therefore do not happen’ is equally a faith assumption. It is not based on empirical evidence or a careful study of history. There are thousands of credible testimonies to the contrary even in our own era. (Witherington, accessed November 23, 2021)

Witherington then proceeds to challenge the above calumny against Jesus’s mother, Mary; he writes,

“[The] story first appears in a work written by a Greek philosopher named Celsus (circa A.D. 178) … [and] the earliest Jewish [Talmud] text which includes this idea is … certainly not a first century text at all, and indeed it was written at a time when the polemics between early Christianity and early Judaism were in high gear. The same can be said about the text from Celsus, only in that case the debating partner is a pagan. … These stories about Pantera are the later rebuttals to the claim that Jesus was born of a virgin. … The names Tiberius Julius suggest that this soldier was a slave who became a freedman and a soldier. [Emperor] Tiberius came to rule in A.D. 14 so he [Pantera] cannot have received this name before that time. Presumably he received the name and the Roman citizenship for his service in the army, which again places that service after A.D. 14. Now the gravestone also mentions that this soldier’s unit was the first cohort of archers and we also learn that this man served some 40 years in the army, dying at the age of 62. … This in turn would mean he became a soldier at the age of 22.” (Witherington, accessed November 23, 2021)

Now, according to historian Adolph Deissman, Pantera died around 50 CE; if this be the case, Pantera would have been born around 12 BCE. So, Panthera was only about seven years old when Jesus was born around 5 BCE. Witherington concludes,

“Pantera was not a Roman soldier in 2-6 B.C. the period in which Jesus was born …. If indeed this Cohort of archers went to Dalmatia in A.D. 6 and then on to the Rhine in A.D. 9, as Tabor avers (p. 69), then our man Pantera was not even yet with them it would appear, or if he was, he had only just become a solider in the first decade of the current era [A.D. 1–10/1–10 CE], not in the period 2-6 B.C. In other words, the calculations are off by a least a decade if not more. … I would say there are too many weak links in this whole line of thinking …. What is troubling about this suggestion in any case is that it ignores that Mary grew up in a strict honor and shame culture and every indication we have is that she was exceedingly young when she became betrothed and pregnant—probably, as Tabor suggests, barely a teenager.” (Witherington, accessed November 23, 2021)

Naturally, this begs the question of how a thirteen-year-old girl could have met Pantera in a different province, Phoenicia, forty-odd miles away when he was not yet a soldier. But then, some skeptic might still argue that it might have been another Roman soldier who impregnated Mary. It is not unheard of that Roman soldiers raped Jewish women in the first century CE. However, still, young girls, in those days, were watched very closely and never allowed to be alone with a strange man—let alone a pagan.

What I think clinches this argument is the Nazoreans website’s pointing to a couple of anachronisms in the engraving on Panthera’s headstone; it has,

“The term AD [i.e., anno Domini] was not in use until Pope Gregory XIII (1502–1585) and the term Rhineland was not in use during that time frame [first century CE].” (Nazoreans, accessed November 24, 2021)

The anno Domini (Latin for “in the year of the Lord,” i.e., Jesus) time-scale was conceived by a sixth century CE monk; that is, five-hundred-odd years later. (Wikipedia s.v. “Anno Domini,” accessed November 24, 2021) The engraving, therefore, must have been a fake. The Nazoreans website opines further,

“The inscription may have been made by someone during the Middle Ages who had knowledge of the true identity of the Gospel Jesus garnered [collected] from Jewish documents burned by the Church during the 15th century.” (Nazoreans, accessed November 24, 2021)

The Talmud, therefore, only repeats Celsus’s calumny that Mary had an illegitimate child; but that was one-hundred-and-eighty-odd years later: at a time when there were probably no more records in existence.

Now, the Jews despised the ruling Romans extremely; so, the Talmud authors did not just say that Jesus was illegitimate, but that he was the son of a Roman soldier: to denigrate him even further in Jewish eyes. In other words, it has the ring of a fabrication: recall that Jews and Christians were enemies for centuries. Of course, the raping and impregnating of Jewish girls by Roman soldiers were quite common in first-century Israel: so, it was easy to sell without one’s asking for more evidence. Still, this calumny against Mary did not arise until late in the second century CE: thus, it seems to have been merely an attempt to combat the concept of a virgin birth given in the gospels.

Now, according to Pastor Wayne Jackson, there seems to be compelling evidence that genealogy records were kept in the Jerusalem Temple, at least for the descendants of Levi, (the priests because they could only inherit their offices) and for the descendants of David (since the Messiah was supposed to have Davidic ancestry). The Jews did not seem to keep track of women—only men. However, these records seem to have all been destroyed in 70 CE: that is, when the Romans destroyed most of Jerusalem including its temple by fire. (Jackson, accessed November 24, 2021) Still, if this be the case, then up until 70 CE, the records should have shown whether Joseph was Jesus’s father or not because Joseph was of the line of David. Apparently, the records did not show that Joseph was Jesus’s father; so, no one could come up with a name for Jesus’s father at the time of Jesus or a few decades later. That is why, earlier in this article, I pointed out that there seems to have been something unusual about Jesus’s birth.

In fact, both Matthew’s (1:1–17) and Luke’s (3:23–38) gospels give us a genealogy of Jesus even though they were written significantly later, namely, around 80 CE and 90 CE respectively (NAB pp. 10, 96): that is, about three generations after Jesus’s birth. Apparently, these records the evangelists referred to did not show that Joseph was Jesus’s father; unless, of course, they were both lying through their teeth.

Despite this, so-called negative evidence, I am still willing to concede that such evidence is not strong enough to prove, without the shadow of a doubt, that Jesus was conceived directly by the Holy Spirit. So then, why do I still believe that he is truly the Son of God?

There is compelling evidence for Jesus’s ‘divine’ conception and his resurrection from the dead in Paul’s undisputed letters as well as Jesus’s reputation of a miracle-worker in first-century-CE historian Josephus’s writings—as I have shown in my book, Is God a Reality? (Attard, pp. 306–24) To me, this triple evidence proves, satisfactorily, that Jesus was a special person—by God’s standards, that is. This is where, in my opinion, faith parts from reason: when there is enough compelling evidence. If you personally see a miracle, do you still not believe it is a miracle? However, most of the time, our faith is what we’ve been told even though it goes against reason, and if you look closely, it boils down to superstition.

Donating a special sperm so that Mary could conceive Jesus is not such a big deal in the grand scheme of things: God can perform much greater miracles; take, for example, the ‘Miracle of the Sun’ near Fatima, Portugal (Attard, pp. 284–95). I do believe that the Jesus’s virginal conception did indeed happen and that, therefore, Jesus is the Son of God, literally—the same way a human father conceives a son. But then I do not believe that Jesus is also God, or that he existed before his birth—as most of Christianity tends to believe. I think there is only one God, and Jesus was only human. Technically, we are all ‘sons of God’ since God created all of humanity (directly or indirectly); but Jesus is the ‘Son of God’ par excellence.

Mary’s Perpetual Virginity

When one uses the term ‘virgin birth,’ one refers to Jesus’s virginal conception through the miraculous action of the Holy Spirit. When one uses the term ‘perpetual virginity,’ one refers to Mary’s subsequent virginity after the birth of Jesus, her firstborn (Luke 2:7). In his book Papal Sin, Catholic historian Garry Wills tells us that around the end of the fourth century, both Christian theologians Augustine and Jerome cast a dark shadow on sex: almost everything sexual became taboo—a kind of necessary evil. Consequently, celibacy and virginity became the ideal way of Christian life. Mary, presumably being the perfect Christian, was therefore claimed to be a virgin too—a perpetual virgin, of course. In the Middle Ages, Christians even claimed Mary’s hymen was miraculously unbroken in giving birth to Jesus: thus preserving also her physical virginity. (Wills, p. 209) But by virginity one also normally means never having had sexual intercourse, and this is the only meaning I shall adopt in this article.

Although it is a Catholic ‘dogma’ (obligatory belief), the problem with the concept of Mary’s perpetual virginity is that the New Testament does not seem to support it. Following are several quotes saying that Jesus had brothers and sisters. The word used in the Greek original is adelphos.

“When the sabbath day was come, he [Jesus] began to teach in the synagogue: and many hearing him were astonished, saying, ‘From whence hath this man these things? And what wisdom is this which is given unto him, that even such mighty works are wrought by his hands? Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother [adelphos] of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon? And are not his sisters [adelphai] here with us?’ And they were offended at him.” (Mark 6:2–3, KJV, emphasis mine; see also Matthew 13:54–57)

“While he [Jesus] yet talked to the people, behold, his mother and his brethren [adelphoi] stood without, desiring to speak with him. Then one said unto him, ‘Behold, thy mother and thy brethren [adelphoi] stand without, desiring to speak with thee.’” (Matthew 12:46–47, KJV, emphasis mine; see also Luke 8:19–20)

“After this he [Jesus] went down to Capernaum, he, and his mother, and his brethren [adelphoi], and his disciples: and they continued [stayed (ESV)] there not many days.” (John 2:12, KJV, emphasis mine)

“After these things Jesus walked [went about (ESV)] in Galilee: for he would not walk [go about (ESV)] in Jewry [Judea (ESV)], because the Jews sought to kill him. Now the Jew’s feast of tabernacles was at hand. His brethren [adelphoi] therefore said unto him, ‘Depart hence, and go into Judaea, that thy disciples also may see the works that thou doest. For there is no man that doeth any thing in secret, and he himself seeketh to be known openly. If thou do these things, shew thyself to the world.’ For neither did his brethren [adelphoi] believe in him.” (John 7:1–5, KJV, emphasis mine)

Even Paul confirms this in his undisputed letters.

“Then after three years I [Paul] went up to Jerusalem to see Peter, and abode with him fifteen days. But other of the apostles saw I none, save James the Lord’s brother [adelphon].” (Galatians 1:18–19, KJV, emphasis mine)

“Have we [apostles] not power to lead about [take along (ESV)] a sister, a wife, [a Christian sister as our wife (WNT)] as well as other apostles, and as the brethren [adelphoi] of the Lord, and Cephas [Peter]?” (First Corinthians 9:5, KJV, emphasis mine)

Besides confirming it in his gospel, the evangelist Luke confirms it in his Acts of the Apostles.

“When they [the apostles] were come in, they went up into an upper room, where [they (ESV)] abode both [?] Peter, and James, and John, and Andrew, Philip, and Thomas, Bartholomew, and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon Zelotes [the Zealot (ESV)], and Judas the brother [son (ESV)] of James. These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren [adelphois].” (Acts 1:13–14, KJV, emphasis mine)

So, in my opinion, there is hardly any doubt that, according to the New Testament, Jesus had four brothers and at least two sisters (plural); it seems, therefore, that Mary had at least six more children after Jesus.

Still, the Catholic Church denies this, saying that Jesus had cousins or relatives not brothers and sisters. Yet, one can clearly see in the above quotes, that the Greek original uses adelphoi (sing. adelphos) and adelphai (sing. adelphe) respectively for the English words ‘brothers’ and ‘sisters.’

Now, according to the (Catholic) New American Bible, in Semitic languages, the words ‘brother’ and ‘sister’ not only apply to full-siblings but also to half-brothers, half-sisters, nephews, nieces, and cousins. (NAB, Mark 6:3n; see also Genesis 14:16, 29:15 & Leviticus 10:4) Although one should not explain away an unusual usage of a Greek word by referring to its Semitic usage, there is some justification in taking such latitude in meaning because the Septuagint (a Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible) often renders the Hebrew ’āh as adelphos (e.g., the Old Testament verses cited above). Still, the New American Bible ends its note with,

“The question of meaning here would not have arisen but for the faith of the church in Mary’s perpetual virginity.” (NAB, Mark 6:3n)

In other words, the Catholic Church is stretching the meaning of the Greek word adelphos to conform to its dubious doctrine, which, incidentally, the Protestants no longer adhere to, although the Orthodox Church still does.

There are several passages in the New Testament where the Greek word adelphos most probably means full-siblings, which no one questions. For example,

“Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren [adelphous], Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother [adelphon], casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers. … And going on from thence, he saw other two brethren [adelphous], James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother [adelphon], in a ship with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and he called them.” (Matthew 4:18, 21, KJV).

However, in all fairness, the Greek adelphos is also used for half-siblings, even in the New Testament.

“Abraham begat Isaac; and Isaac begat Jacob; and Jacob begat Judas and his brethren [adelphous].” (Matthew 1:2, KJV)

Jacob (or Israel) had twelve male children (the twelve tribes of Israel) through four wives/concubines (Wikipedia s.v. “Jacob,” accessed November 25, 2021); so the word adelphous is also used for half-siblings in this New Testament text. Similarly,

“Herod [Antipas] himself had sent forth and laid hold upon [seized (ESV)] John, and bound him in prison for Herodias’ sake, his brother [adelphou] Philip’s wife: for he had married her.” (Mark 6:17, KJV)

Philip the tetrarch was the half-brother of Herod Antipas. (Wikipedia s.v. “Philip the Tetrarch, accessed November 25, 2021)

On the other hand, in the New Testament we find a different Greek word for ‘cousin,’ namely, anepsios. (Douglas Jacoby, accessed November 25, 2021) In Colossians, we read,

“Aristarchus my [Paul’s] fellowprisoner saluteth you, and Marcus, sister’s son [cousin (ESV)—anepsios] to Barnabas, (touching [concerning (ESV)] whom ye received commandments [instructions (ESV)]: if he come unto you, receive him).” (Colossians 4:10, KJV)

I think this last verse clinches the argument that the above quotes concerning Jesus’s brothers and sisters are not talking about cousins but of full-siblings or half-siblings. Technically, they could only be half-siblings since Jesus was presumably conceived by the Holy Spirit, and they can only be Mary’s children—not Joseph’s. In other words, if one believes the Bible is God’s Word and that it is infallible, they must be Mary’s children. But if, for the sake of argument, they were half-siblings to ‘outsiders,’ so to speak, for Mary to remain a virgin, they must have been Joseph’s children. If they were Joseph’s children from a previous marriage, they would all have been older than Jesus since Jesus was Mary’s ‘firstborn’ (Luke 2:7). Naturally, if they were Mary’s children through Joseph, they would all have been younger than Jesus.

In its article “Was Joseph Married before Mary?” the Got Questions website unequivocally opines,

“The suggestion that Joseph was married previous to being mentioned in Scripture as Mary’s betrothed is completely fictional. … There is no scriptural evidence, or even a subtle suggestion, that Joseph was married to anyone but Mary.” (Got Questions, accessed November 25, 2021)

I think the article also makes a good case that the scriptural evidence strongly suggests the opposite. Let me try and follow it here. The article first refers to the verse,

“But he [Joseph] did not consummate their marriage until she [Mary] gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name ‘Jesus.’” (Matthew 1:25, NIV, emphasis mine)

The article contends that the word “until” in this verse implies “a change to the first action” (Got Questions, accessed November 25, 2021): in other words, that their marriage was consummated afterwards.

The website also contends that the verse,

“she [Mary] brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger,” (Luke 2:7, KJV)

suggests that Mary had more children than one.

However, the New American Bible argues that,

“The Greek word translated ‘until’ does not imply normal marital conduct after Jesus’ birth, nor does it exclude it.” (NAB, Matthew 1:25n)

And the phrase “first born son” does not necessarily imply that Mary had other children after Jesus was born; it only happens to be a legal description indicating that Jesus possessed the rights and privileges of a firstborn son. (NAB, Luke 2:7n)

Where, I think, the website article wins the argument is the circumstantial evidence we find scattered in the Gospels.

(1) First, had Joseph any children, they would most probably have been mentioned in the couple’s trip to Bethlehem mentioned in Luke’s gospel (Luke 2:1–20); although, according to Wikipedia Joseph’s children did not have to be present, but then neither was Mary’s presence required.

“Every paterfamilias [Latin for ‘father of the family’] had to appear in person before the [Roman] censors. … First he had to give his full name … and that of his father … and he was likewise obliged to state his age. He was then asked, ‘… do you have a wife?’ and if married he had to give the name of his wife, and likewise the number, names, and ages of his children, if any.” (Wikipedia s.v. “Roman Censor,” accessed November 25, 2021)

Still, Luke ‘makes’ Mary, despite being close to delivering baby Jesus, go for the census with Joseph: thus enabling Jesus to be born in Bethlehem (c. 158 km away) as supposedly prophesied by Micah (5:2, KJV).

(2) Second, in Matthew, we read about the couple’s flight into Egypt:

“When they [the magi/wise men] were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, ‘Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for [King] Herod will seek the young child to destroy him.’ When he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt: and was there until the death of Herod. … But when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeareth in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, saying, ‘Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and go into the land of Israel: for they are dead which sought the young child’s life.’ And he arose, and took the young child and his mother, and came into the land of Israel.” (Matthew 2:13–15, 19–21, KJV)

The article points out that there is absolutely no mention of any children in this passage (Got Questions, accessed November 25, 2021); they could not possibly have been left behind alone for several years if Joseph was their father: such a scenario is implausible, to say the least.

The final possible scenario is that Joseph married his first wife when he was very young, at age fifteen, say; had six children, and his wife died at the last childbirth: this brings Joseph to age twenty-one, say. Allowing fifteen-odd years for all his children to reach adulthood and leave home, brings Joseph to about thirty-six years of age when he was betrothed to Mary, who was about fifteen years old, say. It was not unheard of, in those days, that older men married much younger women, so I must concede that this scenario is plausible.

However, according to John’s gospel, we read that right after the wedding at Cana,

“He [Jesus] went down to Capernaum, he, and his mother, and his brethren [adelphoi], and his disciples: and they continued [stayed (ESV)] there not many days.” (John 2:12, KJV)

Had Jesus’s brethren been living with their wives in their own homes for some thirty-odd years, why would they go to Capernaum with their mother/step-mother for a few days? Their wives are not even mentioned here either. I think the text implies they were still living with their mother.

On the other hand, the account also makes one conclude that Joseph was not around any longer; meaning, he was probably dead: which suggests that he either was somewhat older than Mary or that he died quite young.

According to Wikipedia, the doctrine of Mary’s perpetual virginity stands on “shaky scriptural foundations,” consequently most modern Protestants reject it. (Wikipedia s.v. “Perpetual Virginity of Mary,” accessed November 25, 2021).

Roman Catholics, generally, believe what they are told: namely, that Mary remained a virgin after Jesus was born, but the majority of biblical scholars think otherwise. The Gospels only say that Jesus was born of Mary through the Holy Spirit (not through Joseph) but they do not say that Mary and Joseph never had sexual relations despite being married. The indications in biblical texts, reading them candidly without any preconceived notions, are that Joseph and Mary had six or more children together after Jesus was born. Of course, whether Mary remained a virgin or not, does not mean that she did anything wrong, either way, since she was married to Joseph.

References

Attard, Carmel Paul. Is God a Reality?—A Scientific Investigation. Bloomington, IN: iUniverse, 2017. (ISBN: 9781532012228)

Bushby, Tony. “Just Who Were the Parents of Jesus?” Excerpts from: The Bible Fraud: An Untold Story of Jesus Christ. https://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/biblianazar/esp_biblianazar_7.htm.

Bushby, Tony. The Bible Fraud: An Untold Story of Jesus Christ. Brisbane, Queensland, Australia: Pacific Blue Group, 2001.

Catholic Online; Prayers: “The Nicene Creed.” https://www.catholic.org/prayers/prayer.php?p=495.

Celsus. On the True Doctrine. c. 178 CE.

Center for Online Judaic Studies (COJS): “Tosefta Hullin 2–24 Rabbi Eliezer and the Heretic.” http://cojs.org/tosefta-hullin-2-24-rabbi-eliezer-and-the-heretic/.

Douglas Jacoby: “Linguistic Insight: Adelphos,” posted 2000. https://www.douglasjacoby.com/linguistic-insight-adelphos/.

Got Questions: “Was Joseph Married before Mary?” last updated April 26, 2021. https://www.gotquestions.org/Joseph-married-before-Mary.html.

Holy Bible: New International Version (NIV). Colorado Springs, CO: Biblica, 2011.

Jackson, Wane. “The Importance of Messianic Genealogy” in Christian Courier. https://www.christiancourier.com/articles/1556-the-importance-of-messianic-genealogy.

Nazoreans: “Problems with the ‘Bible Fraud’ Timeline.” http://nazoreans.com/bible_fraud_timeline.html.

New American Bible: Revised Edition (NAB). Translated from the original languages, authorized by the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, and approved by the United States Confraternity of Catholic Bishops. Totowa, NJ: Catholic Book Publishing Corp., 2010. (ISBN: 9780899429519)

Shakespeare, William. The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. UK, c. 1600.

Smith, Morton. Jesus the Magician. New York, NY: Harper & Row, 1978.

Strobel, Lee. The Case for Christ. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1998. (ISBN: 0310209307)

Tabor, James. The Jesus Dynasty. New York, NY: Simon and Schuster, 2006.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (ESV). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016.

The Holy Bible: King James Version (KJV). Oxford, UK, 1769.

Weymouth New Testament (WNT). Translated by Richard Francis Weymouth, and edited by Hampden-Cook. New York, NY: Baker & Taylor Company and London, UK: James Clarke & Company, 1903. Revised by James Alexander Robertson in 1929.

Wikipedia s.v. “Anno Domini,” last edited November 21, 2021. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anno_Domini.

Wikipedia s.v. “Jacob,” last edited November 23, 2021. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacob.

Wikipedia s.v. “Perpetual Virginity of Mary,” last edited November 20, 2021. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perpetual_virginity_of_Mary.

Wikipedia s.v. “Philip the Tetrarch,” last edited November 4, 2021. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_the_Tetrarch.

Wikipedia s.v. “Roman Censor,” last edited August 16, 2021. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_censor.

Wills, Garry. Papal Sin: Structures of Deceit. New York, NY: Image Books, 2001. (ISBN: 0385494114) Witherington, Ben. “Did Jesus Found a Dynasty?—James Tabor’s New Book” in Beliefnet, posted April 13, 2006. https://www.beliefnet.com/columnists/bibleandculture/2006/04/did-jesus-found-a-dynasty-james-tabors-new-book.html.