Nov
3
Did Jesus have a brother?
November 3, 2008 | 2 Comments
That was the question my brother asked me on the phone last night. (Actually, I heard, “Does Derek Jeter have a brother?” Of course, according to some, there’s no difference.) He was shocked to learn that his girlfriend’s son had been taught in a high school religion class that Jesus indeed did have siblings. A Catholic high school religion class. A non-Jesuit Catholic high school religion class. His girlfriend’s son attends St. Francis Prep, which has a reputation of being one of the best high schools in all of New York City, and is not known for heterodoxy.
Of course, I was also informed back in high school that the Gospel passage which mentions Jesus’s sisters and brothers should be taken literally. No mention was made that sisters and brothers refers to cousins as well as siblings. But I attended a Jesuit high school, so that sort of crap is to be expected. I’d detail the other fun facts I learned at Regis, but our collective blood pressures are probably high enough at this point in time.
I reminded my brother that as Catholics we believe that Mary is ever-virgin, and therefore Jesus was an only child. I was tempted to warn my brother that it may not be such a good idea to have his girlfriend’s son kindly debate this point in class.
No wonder Catholics have no idea what their Church teaches. No wonder we have “Catholics” like brave anonymous in this thread who think it’s all right to oppose certain Church teachings. No wonder we have Catholics going to the polls tomorrow and voting for the radically pro-abortion Barack Obama. To quote a great man, our children isn’t learning. And not everyone gets to attend a genuinely Catholic university for graduate school and learn all the stuff your teachers forgot to mention when you were young.
I’d be really enraged if I was spending money (and St. Francis Prep is not cheap) to send my children to be taught things that are completely wrong.
Home schooling sounds better by the day.
Comments
2 Comments so far
Sad state of affairs. My son goes to a Catholic private school also. I didn’t think I’d have to check up on what he’s learning. There was a time when I blamed the church for not educating us better but with all the resources available today, there is no reason to run around like a fool not knowing your faith. As Fr. Richard Simon wrote, “You’re free to disagree with what the Catholic Church teaches, but it’s stupid to disagree with what you think the Catholic Church teaches.”
Check out American Papist’s interview with Archbishop Chaput. It’s all good, but at one point, he says people who reject Church teachings should not present themselves for communion without batting an eye.