Is James Jesus' half-brother?

[sparkielee]

A lot of Christians claim that James is Jesus’ half-brother. Where do they get that idea? It seems contrary to my Catholic thinking.

I believe in the teaching that Mary remained a virgin all her life, not just before the birth of Jesus. And I haven’t seen anything in the Bible about Joseph being widowed before marrying Mary. Couldn’t James be a childhood friend, a cousin, or a neighbor of Jesus?

And how do I tell my Protestant friends (especially when they don’t want to listen)?

-sparkie:shrug:

 

[Leonie_Ambrose]

sparkie,

The following links should assist you in better understanding the Catholic Church’s teaching on Mary’s perpetual virginity. If you have any further questions or concerns that are not answered by these links, please [contact Catholic Answers (http://www.catholic.com/home/contact.asp) directly.

**Recommended Reading:
**

• Doesn’t Scripture imply that Mary had children other than Jesus?
• ** Did Jesus have brothers?**
• ** Perpetual Virginity: Why is this important?**
• ** Mary: Ever Virgin**
• ** Why should any doctrine not explicitly referred to in the Bible, be listened to?**
• ** How do you respond to “Everything you need to know is in the Bible”?**
• ** How can we know a doctrine is true if it’s not in the Bible?**
• ** How do we know that the Protoevangelium of James is credible?**
• ** Does Church Tradtion exist only to interpret Scripture?**
• ** Non-Canonical Writings…**
• ** Oral Traditions not found in the Bible**