I’m sure you can see the weakness in that argument. “Knowledge” that the doctrine of the Trinity is true and other doctrines false is not to be compared, in terms of persuasiveness, with the factual, eyewitness testimony that a certain named person, living in a certain place at a certain time, the wife of a named husband, etc. etc., was the mother of four or five or six sons and daughters rather than just of an only son.
This is incorrect. They were not about the same age. Elizabeth and Zechariah were both “advanced in years” according to Luke 1:7. That is why the birth of John the Baptist was miraculous…Elizabeth was past child-bearing years, just like Sarah was when she gave birth to Isaac.
I am not sure of what parents you are referencing but if you mean those named as brothers of Jesus than you are incorrect each one of them are mentioned with other mothers and fathers. Since none of the sisters are named, it is impossible to say that their parents weren’t named.
.
Because of going towards more succintness when applicable. If indeed one is a brother from same parents why go away from that and say it just a relative, which is still true but away from succintness.
This is what I have heard Father Mitch say a number of times. Since he is fluent in 7 languages, including the above, I’ll accept his explanation.
mcq72 . . .
I don’t see how this would be more “succinct”. I do see how it could be wrong (for example, what if two of these “brothers” were “cousins” and two of them were “second cousins”?)
But the Greek does, and that is what is inspired, and certainly you would think the writers of the gospel understood whether or not Mary had other children or not, and would choose a Greek word accordingly.
Yes I do know that but thanks for bringing up even another dimension of “brothers” in the Hebrew sense.
Consider these explanationsI’ve heard the argument that the “brothers” of Jesus mentioned in scripture were not literal blood brothers, but were most likely akin to cousins and the like, because the language of the time didn’t have words for those other, familial terms.
How is it then that elsewhere in the Gospel, it describes Elizabeth as being Mary’s “cousin”?
Thanks in advance
The Greek wasn’t inspired. The author was inspired. So what does it mean to be inspired Fr. Hardin defined it this way
God doesn’t dictate what is written. He uses people. Referring to the bolded type, it means that God does not dictate what is written and the person just writes it down. The authors of the Bible might have written in Greek but their native language was not Greek. When they were confronted with the relatives of Jesus, they were not use to uncle, aunt, cousin, brother-in-law, sister-in-law. They wrote as they were accustomed to referring to these relatives. God inspired them in harmony with the their nature in the natural activity of their faculties.