I was born and bred into a Catholic House with?

Question

lots of brothers and sisters. My parents and Grandparents were all Catholics, and the one thing we were never told was that Jesus had brothers and sisters. Even at mass it was never mentioned we were led to believe that Jesus was an only child, Mary being his mother and Joseph his foster father. Does anyone know why, if you answer please respect the Catholic religion I am just being curious.

Answer 1

I too was raised as a Catholic (I was good at it too - I got an A level in guilt)

The siblings of Jesus were never mentioned in church or school when I was growing up - many of the gospels (there's about sixteen of them) were surpressed by the church in the 14th Century anyway so 500 years later all we got was a very much "approved" version.

One of Jesus' followers, James the Less, was his younger brother - so called "the Less" cause he was short. It is curious that the early Christian movement led by James - brother of Christ - was superceded by that of Paul, who never met Jesus.

There is ample evidence that Mary and Joseph had a few more children after Jesus was born. Try finding a book called "The Trial" - can't remember the author now - it gives a bit more detail about this stuff.

Answer 2

There is no evidence that Jesus had siblings, which is why the Church has always held the tradition that Jesus was an only child.

Protestants will cite the scripture in Luke (I think), where it says that Mary did not know Joseph until after Jesus was born, saying it clearly shows Mary and Joseph had other children. This, however, is a misinterpretation. A better study of the translation (which the Church has already done) shows that the original Greek texts do not suggest that Jesus had siblings in any way.

The misinterpretation by the Protestants is just another way for them to bash the Church, just like they misinterpret everything else.

God bless.

Answer 3

It is a shame that even though you ask for respect there are ones who again think they are being funny and have not learned what that word means and it is just one big joke to them. They need to put a category in YA just for ones like that.
I am Catholic also. It is kindof a joke as I am directly blood related to Martin Luther and we are all Catholics. I was brought up to believe that Jesus did have sibblings and He was the first born of the children and Mary had children with Joesph after His birth. Jesus came first as he was picked by The Father to deliver a great message to all the people. When he was born there were still no Gentiles. When He srarted His Ministry it was then that man started forming different types of Religions. He spent time with his brothers and sisters and He always practiced His Jewish Faith with his family. There are many mentions of His brothers in the Bible. James was a popular brother and I think he was mentioned more. The things that Jesus was called to do did not include his family. Except for one and that was His cousin John the Baptist.
He did often come to see his family especially Mary.
When Joesph died, the brothers looked out for her and so did Jesus and He even made sure that after His death that she was to be taken care of. When He was nailed to the cross only the Marys were there. And when he was up on that cross, He died a Jew.
But, yes he had sibblings who came after him.

Answer 4

It seems likely that Jesus was just a man with an important message. There may not have actually been an immaculate conception because that would not be scientifically possible although I know in religion miracles are commonplace.

If Jesus had brothers and sisters and Mary Magdelene was of royal decent, the authorities at that time would definately not like it and would tell all clerics and holymen to hide the truth so as not to threaten their status.

Religion in those times was similar to the media in the present day. So the historical truth about Jesus and his family has probably been somewhat obfuscated. Jesus could perhaps have been a normal man, trying to communicate a great message of truth to people, who spoke of things the authorities didn't like.

Answer 5

How was James, “the brother of the Lord,” (Matt. 13:55, Acts 15:13-21, 1 Cor. 15:7, Gal. 1:19) related to Jesus. All believers agree he was related, but no one knows exactly how.

The possibilities are that James was:

1. A full brother of Jesus, another Son of God born of the Blessed Virgin Mary. No one to my knowledge accepts that God had another child by the Blessed Virgin Mary.

2. A half-brother of Jesus, a younger son of Joseph and the Blessed Virgin Mary. Some Christians believe this possibility but most Christians including those who are Catholic and Eastern Orthodox believe that Mary remained a virgin for her entire life.

3. A stepbrother of Jesus, a son of Joseph and a previous wife. Many Christians believe that Joseph had a least one previous marriage that resulted in children.

4. A stepbrother of Jesus, an adopted son of Joseph and the Blessed Virgin Mary. When parents died, relatives frequently took their children in and raised them as thier own. An adopted orphaned boy would be considered the brother of Jesus.

5. A cousin of Jesus. The Aramaic language has no word for cousin. Aramaic frequently uses the word “aha,” which we translate into Greek as “adelphos” or English as brother, for cousin.

6. A comrade of Jesus. This is a remote possibility. Greek uses adelphos the same as English does in “a band of brothers.”

Possibilities 1 and 2 obviously go against Catholic beliefs.

The Catholic Church prefers possibility 5 but 3, 4 and 6 would not go against doctrine.

With love in Christ.

Answer 6

oh dear goodness
still people denying it even when it is in the bible
anyway this should help you Suzie ... it goes into the Catholic reasoning behind it also with the link provided

The Bible tells us that Jesus had four brothers: James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas (Matthew 13:55). The Bible also tells us that Jesus had sisters, but they are not named or numbered (Matthew 13:56). In John 7:1-10, His brothers go on to the festival while Jesus stays behind. In Acts 1:14, His brothers and mother are described as praying with the disciples. Later, in Galatians 1:19, it mentions that James was Jesus’ brother. The most natural conclusion of these passages is to interpret that Jesus had actual blood siblings.

Answer 7

I was also raised and educated Catholic, and I can tell you the problem comes from the use of the word "brethren".
As Catholics we are asked to believe that word could mean cousins, or close friends.
Protestant religions take the word literally..therefore to them.."brethren" means brother and sister.
Jesus had no brothers or sisters.
Mary was given over to John the Apostle to be cared fo when Jesus was on the cross. He was the youngest apostle and the closest to Jesus, he was NOT his brother.

God Bless!

Answer 8

There are some who claim that Jesus was not an only child, that Mary had children in addition to Jesus. Whether Jesus was an only child or whether He had a dozen siblings really matters not a whit to them except that it attacks the Catholic Church in what they consider to be the weak area, Marian doctrine. They will cite such biblical passages as:
"...his mother and his brethren stood without . . . " (Matthew 12:46, KJV),
"Is this not the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses and of Judah, and Simon? and are not his sisters here with us?" (Mark 6:3, KJV),
"For even his own brothers did not believe in him." (John 7:5, NIV),
"...with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren." (Acts 1:14, KJV),
". . . and the Lord's brothers . . . " (1 Corinthians 9:5, NIV); or
"But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son" (Matthew 1:25, NIV).
The Church teaches us that Mary was perpetually a virgin and this is what we affirm every time we recite the Confiteor (Penitential Rite) ". . . and I ask the blessed Mary, ever virgin . . ." The perpetual virginity of Mary has been defended by the Church since the 4th century when St. Athanasius wrote in his Discourses Against the Aryans (A.D. 358-362): "He took true human flesh from the Ever-Virgin Mary." Pope St. Siricius defended the teaching in 392, and the fifth ecumenical council (Constantinople II) in 553 gave Mary the title "perpetual virgin."
Why the difference? It comes with the fact that almost twenty centuries have passed since the books of the Bible were written and customs have changed, along with the fact that some people read into the texts meanings which were not intended. First century customs cannot be interpreted with twentieth century values.
In the first case, what was the custom for calling someone your brother, sister, or using the collective term of brethren? In Genesis 14:14 (KJV) Lot is called Abraham's brother but Genesis 11:27 tells us that Lot was the son of Haran, Abraham's brother. This shows that the terms were used to include cousins; but they were not even limited to close relatives (see Deuteronomy 23:7 and Jeremiah 34:9 for examples). Why was this? Neither Hebrew nor Aramaic (the language spoken by Jesus and the Apostles) had a special word for cousin. Instead, the words brother, sister, brethren were commonly used. The writers of the New Testament, although writing in Greek, were raised in the Hebrew tradition and kept to this tradition as they were writing primarily to other Jewish Christians. Acts 2:46 illustrates that these Jewish Christians went to temple in addition to worshiping together.
Now let's go back to Mark 6:3 where the ‘brothers' of Jesus are named and consider James and Joses. Compare the descriptions of the women at the foot of the cross in Matthew 27:56, Mark 15:40 and John 19:25. From this we find that Mary the mother of James and Joses must be the wife of Cleophas. No one has ever suggested that the Blessed Virgin remarried, especially since Jesus entrusted her care to John. Similar arguments can be made for the other ‘brethren'.
Let's go on to Matthew 1:25 and find the meaning of ‘until' (or ‘till' in some translations). "He knew her not until she brought forth her firstborn son" doesn't necessarily mean that he knew her after the event took place. For example, in 2 Samuel 6:23 we find the line "Michal the daughter of Saul had not children until the day of her death." Does this mean that she had children after she died?
Sometimes someone will assert that since Jesus is referred to as the "firstborn," others must have followed. This shows a misunderstanding of the use of the term. Under Mosaic law, the "firstborn" son was to be sanctified (Exodus 34:20). This doesn't mean that the parents had to wait until a second son was born. The first boy born was termed "firstborn" (the one who opened the womb) even if he was an only child.
Finally, let's look at the Annunciation itself (Luke 1:28 and following). Mary's response "How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?" (KJV) makes no sense unless she had taken a vow to remain perpetually virgin. At this point in her life, Mary is betrothed, which is by Jewish custom, married to Joseph; although they have not yet taken up residence together, an event that took place after the marriage feast. The angel Gabriel has just told her that she will have a son, not that she is already pregnant. If she were planning to have relations with Joseph after the marriage feast, the likely result would be a child. Only if she had taken a vow of perpetual virginity does her response make sense. Some say that such a vow would result in an ‘unnatural' marriage. Is it ‘natural' to have a true virgin give birth? Is it ‘natural' to have angels announce the birth of your child? Is it ‘natural' to raise the Son of God in your family? All these events are supernatural.
Was Jesus an only child? In the biological sense, yes. In the spiritual sense, Romans 8:15-17 tells us that we are adopted children of God and coheirs with Christ if only we suffer with Him. Malachi 2:10 says "Have we not all one father? Has not one God created us?" Suffice it to say that Jesus has millions of ‘brethren

Answer 9

I was also raised in a devout Catholic family, with 2 uncles being priests, but when i was 25 the Lord drew me and saved me thru true repentance toward Him and faith in the Lord Jesus and His blood - not any of my merit or the power of the church - and opened my eyes.

As i studied the Bible and heard Bible preaching, which i compared with the Bible (Acts 17:11), and before i even found a good church (i kept going to the Catholic services), i began to see the contrast between both what the Bible taught and what the Biblical church practiced, in contrast with what i found in Catholicism.

The reason so many things contradict Scripture is because the perpetuated Petrine papacy of Rome is patterned more after the manner of the autocratic Roman empire than the Bible. Taking on the form of the empire in which it was found, it became a vast an autocratic (answerable to no one) institution, with it's own Caesario-papacy, that adds to the Bible and effectively it makes it a second class authority (after the "Teaching Magisterium"). Thus were unScriptural doctrines like indulgences and novenas and prayers to saints adopted, and the Bible was effectively bound from the common people for hundreds of years (while later Bingo was loosed)!


Finally, the ultimate error of Rome is that of fostering dependence upon her supposed powers, as well as one's own merits, for salvation, rather than coming before God as sinners, destitute of any merit whereby they may escape Hell and gain Heaven, and thus cast all their faith upon Christ and His blood for justification and regeneration (Rm. 3:9 - 5:8; Eph. 1:13; Titus 3:5). And having turned from sin to Him, be baptized under water (Acts 8:37) and walk in newness of life (Rm. 6). And so glorify God alone!!

Answer 10

Jesus was the only child of Mary. On the cross, Jesus gives his mother, Mary, to the apostle John. Jewish social custom commanded that Mothers be taken care of by brothers or sisters or the next closest family member. What Jesus did would've been considered totally anti-social and unbearable had he had other brothers and sisters to give his mother to. The "brothers" of Christ mentioned in the gospels refer to his cousins and such, because there is no hebrew word for "Cousin", so "brother" is used interchangably. God bless.