Joseph May Had Further Children And Lived To The Age Of 111
When Joseph met Mary, he was an elderly widower with several previous children, according to some stories. Others claimed that he lived to the age of 111 before dying in 18 or 19 A.D. However, such stories are apocryphal and are not included in the Bible. The apocryphal books, which include the “History of Joseph the Carpenter” and the “Gospel of the Nativity of Mary,” were mostly composed in the fourth century. These books contain a slew of historical inaccuracies, but they do mirror the mainstream theological discourses of the time. Some apocryphal traditions, for example, suggest that Mary was nurtured by priests in the Temple of Jerusalem, confirming the church’s assertion that Mary was a pure and spiritual entity.
Mary May HaveBeen A firebrand
Mary has frequently been portrayed as the epitome of feminine obedience – a kind and generous soul exalted by her tenderness and motherly love. However, other scholars believe that the genuine, historical Mary was a combatant and a revolutionary. The image of a fierce and feisty woman who advocated for the rights of the poor contrasts with the gentle Mary typically depicted by artists. Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a theologian who was later killed by the Nazis, made the case for a fiery Mary to his congregation in 1933. “The song of Mary is the oldest Advent hymn,” he remarked. This song lacks the lovely, nostalgic, or even playful tones found in many of our Christmas carols. It is instead a rough, forceful, unstoppable song about toppling thrones and humbled kings of this world, about God’s power and humankind’s impotence.”