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Angie_Rivas1
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| Joined: | Wed Oct 11th, 2006 |
| Location: | Downey, USA |
| Posts: | 110 |
| First Name: | Angie | | Gender: | Female | | Faith History: | Cradle Catholic |
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Posted: Tue Mar 6th, 2007 02:52 am |
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One more question in my quest to learn more about my faith. This may be a silly question to ask, but I need clarification.
God had made a promise to make Abraham the father of a great nation. Now Abraham and King David are ancestors of Jesus Christ, however Joseph is the one who is genetically related to them, not the Virgin Mary. Would not it make more sense if the Virgin Mary was related to them since Jesus has no genes from Joseph? It was my understanding that ancestors/lineage had something to do with same genetic traits.
Angie
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"Be not afraid" JPII
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Ali
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| Joined: | Sat Jan 6th, 2007 |
| Location: | Ohio USA |
| Posts: | 660 |
| First Name: | Ali | | Gender: | Female | | Faith History: | JW, finally fully Catholic |
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Posted: Tue Mar 6th, 2007 08:02 am |
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Interesting thought. Especially in Jewish culture, it was my understanding, that the linage came down through the mother. I'll do some research later on, if no one else gets to it yet.
Ali
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CajunRick
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| Joined: | Fri Sep 29th, 2006 |
| Location: | Houma, Louisiana USA |
| Posts: | 5085 |
| First Name: | Rick (& Kermie) | | Gender: | Male | | Faith History: | Lifetime Catholic, Latin Rite |
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Posted: Tue Mar 6th, 2007 10:34 am |
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Angie_Rivas1 wrote: One more question in my quest to learn more about my faith. This may be a silly question to ask, but I need clarification.
God had made a promise to make Abraham the father of a great nation. Now Abraham and King David are ancestors of Jesus Christ, however Joseph is the one who is genetically related to them, not the Virgin Mary. Would not it make more sense if the Virgin Mary was related to them since Jesus has no genes from Joseph? It was my understanding that ancestors/lineage had something to do with same genetic traits.
Angie
First, it is my understanding that both Jesus and Mary were of the House of David.
Second, lineage in Hebrew beliefs had nothing to do with genetics. They didn't know anything about that. To the Jews, Joseph was the father of Jesus in all that matters, as he was the husband of Jesus' mother.
Nor is this unique. Even today, in most places, the husband of the mother is presumed to be the father of her child. Even DNA testing does not always remove the father's obligation to support her child. Fatherhood is much more than being what Dr. Laura calls a "sperm donor."
Matthew makes this clear in 1.16:
[16] and Jacob the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called Christ.
Even though Matthew acknowledges a few verses later that Mary was pregnant "before they came together" (RSV). The NAB footnote to the narrative in verses 18-25 reads:
This first story of the infancy narrative spells out what is summarily indicated in Matthew 1:16. The virginal conception of Jesus is the work of the Spirit of God. Joseph's decision to divorce Mary is overcome by the heavenly command that he take her into his home and accept the child as his own. The natural genealogical line is broken but the promises to David are fulfilled; through Joseph's adoption the child belongs to the family of David. Matthew sees the virginal conception as the fulfillment of Isaiah 7:14.
And Isaiah 7.14, of course, reads:
Therefore the Lord himself will give you this sign: the virgin shall be with child, and bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel.
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Understanding is the reward of faith. Therefore seek not to understand that you may believe, but believe that you may understand. - Augustine
Rick Luquette
Luquette Lane
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Truthseeker
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| Joined: | Wed Oct 4th, 2006 |
| Location: | Costa Mesa, California USA |
| Posts: | 349 |
| First Name: | Laura | | Gender: | Female | | Faith History: | lapsed and returned CATHOLIC!!!!!! |
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Posted: Tue Mar 6th, 2007 12:07 pm |
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| I thought they were both in the line of David, too.
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Lord, please make my will your Will!
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Luke12:48
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| Joined: | Sat Sep 30th, 2006 |
| Location: | Southeast, Pennsylvania USA |
| Posts: | 120 |
| First Name: | Kate | | Gender: | Female | | Faith History: | cradle catholic, left for many years, returned June 2006 |
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Posted: Tue Mar 6th, 2007 07:11 pm |
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There are two genealogies in the New Testament that refer to Jospeh. The one in Matthew is supposed to be that of Joseph and the one in Luke is that of Mary and this is based on the fact that even thought the one in Luke mentions Joseph, it would not have been unusual to use his name in the place of Mary as the "son" as opposed to son-in-law. The Matthew version uses the word "begat" indicating a direct descendant where "son" leaves some room for ambiguity. This explains the supposed difference or contradiction that some people point to as a an inconsistancy in the Bible--that is how I came across it but who is to say how much of this explanation is an attempt to explain the contradiction--I don't know how far of a stretch it is or what the official church position is on the translation of "son". Rick or David will probably have a better idea. I often think about studying ancient languages so I can compare translations myself--maybe in "retirement"
Another interesting point is that Mary is cousin to Elizabeth who is a descendant of Aaron which would mean Mary could not be in the House of David unless they are cousins by marriage rather than blood.
I saw an argument from the Jewish perspective that claimed that only the father's ancestry is considered by Jews and therefore Jesus, if He is the son of God, cannot be the messiah because He is not a descendant of David. After I finished laughing, I thought....Of course, if He is the son of Joseph then I guess He could be the messiah :? Sound like a circular and self-justifying argument to me.
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