FW: Re: FW: Re: Jesus, his brother and his nephew

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John Parsons

FW: Re: FW: Re: Jesus, his brother and his nephew

Legg inn av John Parsons » 20 nov 2004 00:11:01

See Rosemary Hale, "Joseph as Mother: Adaptation and Appropriation in the
Construction of Male Virtue" in *Medieval Mothering*, ed. B. Wheeler & J.C.
Parsons (New York, 1996), pp. 101-16. The medieval evolution of about
Joseph parallells that in the same time period on the appropriate age for
men to sire children, since the "Ages of Man' literature long proclaimed
that older men must surely father weak or feeble-minded children (i.e.,
"progeny recapitulates ontogeny").

In early Christian art, Joseph was depicted as an elderly man to accomodate
the thesis that he had been previously married and had children by an
earlier wife. Old age also supported the notion of a chaste marriage as an
elderly man might be supposed to be impotent. Closely linked to this image
of Joseph was the legend that he was marked as Mary's future husband when
his dry staff suddenly put out green shoots and burst into bloom--the
"flower from the Rod of Jesse."

In the later medieval period, the artistic image of Joseph changed radically
to that of a virile younger man, probably in response to the growing
economic & social prominence & prestige of middle-class townsmen:
craftsmen, artisans, merchants and, um, those involved in the building
trades. This development brought about changes in theologians'
descriptions. A younger Joseph became more attractive to the theologians as
better suited to protect and support Mary and her Child, while the image of
a younger man voluntarily pledged to the ideal of celibacy carried greater
weight than that of an old man who might well be presumed chaste by
necessity rather than by choice.

As far as I have been able to determine, this remains the "official" Roman
Catholic view of Joseph.

Regards

John P.


From: WJhonson@aol.com
To: GEN-MEDIEVAL-L@rootsweb.com
Subject: Re: FW: Re: Jesus, his brother and his nephew
Date: Fri, 19 Nov 2004 14:20:22 -0500

"Roman Catholic theologians have insisted that these references are really
to "cousins." Most Protestant theologians accept them at face value,
since as far as the Incarnation is concerned it is important only that
Mary was a virgin at Jesus' conception & birth; thereafter she could
have had other children by Joseph--who could have had children by an
earlier wife. (The Catholic Church continues to represent Joseph as a
lifelong celibate & Mary, of course, as perpetually virgin.)"

Sorry, the Catholic church believe that Joseph had children from an earlier
marriage and he remained a celibate from the time of Jesus forward, not
backward.
I believe it's the Infancy Gospel of James or the one of Mary that
explains this.

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