Update:: I should have mentioned my skepticism regarding this ‘find’ is quite strong. The fact the “Mary” and “Jesus” DNA did not match is not earth shattering conclusive proof. And one would be remiss if they did not reference an educated voice on the Catholic Church, namely The Anchoress. I still await some much more solid proof to begin to get mildly excited on this tomb story. And I still await the Church to give up the ghost and realize being female doesn’t relegate a human to second class status. I must admit it is hard to make the points regarding the sanctity of life when dealing with fetuses and embryos while the Church relegates the female versions to some kind of inferior existence here on Earth. – end update

It is completely coincidental that I just finished reading “The Da Vinci Code” and out comes the news that James Cameron believes a tomb discovered in 1980 (no, Cameron did NOT discover the tomb or casket, just did some extra work on the evidence) is that of Jesus and his family. Leave it to a Hollywood showboater to claim all the ‘discovery’ for himself.

I know “The Da Vinci Code” causes a lot of heartburn with Christians and Catholics due to its references about public acts of sex as the true source of religion. And I found that part of the book over the top and a sad distraction from a good story. I happen to believe being faithful is not a punishment, nor is having sex when you are on your own a sin. As with most things, there is a happy medium some place in there.

I have pointed out many times I am not religious (i.e., tied to one faith) but spiritual (believing in a general force of good and the need to follow the guidance of that force to reap the rewards of this life and the next). I ended up in this interesting position because I cannot support the second class existence many leading religions place on woman. It is just not possible for a just and generous God to relegate half our people to second class (and at times slave) status. It defies all common sense. I have found comfort in accepting where religions are right (thou shalt not kill) and ignoring where they are wrong. It is because the source of my schism with the Catholic Church was due to this intenable position on women I really find the rest of The Da Vinci Code intriguing. The part that talks about the balance, the equality between the sexes and the reverence of those who bear life to fruition is what connects with me. And I have no doubt that Jesus could have had a wife, just like he had a mother.

The Church had this problem once before, when it could not accept science and the fact Earth was not the center of the universe. It was back in Galileo’s and Da Vinci’s times that Church tried to squelch ideas that made it less powerful (but nowhere near impotent). I have waited my entire life for the Church to give up on their bias towards women. Maybe the time has come.

Another controversial book I enjoyed was the Celestine Prophecy, which did an excellent job of giving a long view of the battle between the Church and Science as a natural part of Humankind’s path to awareness. That book was highjacked by much more radical ideaologies that tried to equate Tarot cards and astrology with science. So I recommend it with a grain of salt that the cult-like following around the book is wierd and irrelevant. It seems some of these ideas draw just the kind of people that would make the concepts fall out of favor with the broader ‘middle America’, which can and will discuss ideas openly and honestly. In any event, the Celestine Prophecy was fiction, but did try and harmonize those who come form a science background with those coming at life from a religious one.

I have spent my life melding the two. They are neither inconsistent nor in conflict. Why are there genes for colored sight and pleasure at beauty? Why are most successful species family oriented instead of mindless eating and mating machines? Why is love a biological trait that is wired into our very beings? Well, you don’t need to be religious to see most of what we do is driven by a need to create beauty, create knowledge, create assistance (engineering) or simply help each other grow and live. These traits are wired into us and work to create success – even in Darwinian terms!

As I was reading The Da Vinci Code I kept thinking the best way to introduce the idea that Jesus was married (which doesn’t bother me in the least or diminish anything he taught) was to begin with fanciful stories of the possibility he was married. And once the fanciful stories did not create a vicious outcry, then it would be time to expose the actual truth. I was imagining a kinf Matrix like story, with hidden meanings inside of other hidden meanings. But it would make sense that things like the Da Vinci Code (which are not new news, but simply the recasting of old, long held views) were really the precursor step to a new realization.

Anyway, I find the whole story intriguing and plausible. And I will need it to produce the same scientific evidence I require for Embryonic Stem Cell Research and Global Warming before I will become an advocate as ‘real’. It may have happened Jesus was married, it may not. It might be the tomb of Jesus and it might not. These discoveries being proven true will not rock my faith in humankind and that benevolent force that is guiding us through life. I wonder how calm everyone else will be regarding this subject. Jesus having an equal partner in life from the fairer sex would, in my mind, actually do more damage to liberalism than to those of faith. We could use a female angel to help rekindle some of the love Christ preached.