There was a lively discussion this morning in Mr. Herron's bible class at Word of God Christian Academy in Shreveport.

"I think it's possible Jesus had a wife but why wouldn't they mention it in scripture?"

A tiny sliver of evidence may have come forth this past week in the form of a 2000 year old papyrus no bigger than a business card, that says....

"Then Jesus said to his disciples, 'my wife', and in the next sentence, he says, 'she is able to be my wife."

Harvard Divinity Professor Karen King says it's the first time that phrase 'my wife' has ever appeared in historical writing regarding Jesus. Although she is convinced the translation is accurate, that's as far as she's willing to go.

"We conclude from this that we don't know if Jesus was married or not. This is not evidence in one direction or the other."

"It's amazing if after 2000 years we discover that Jesus is married."

If Harvard is sitting on the fence, Pastor Pat Day is definitely not.

“For 2000 years every bit of evidence biblical and logical, everything says he never was married. This is one more attack on the authenticity of the scriptures.”

Pat is the pastor of First Methodist Church in Shreveport and has been a believer for more than 40 years.

“Truth does not change. Man tries to distort the truth to deceive a lot of innocent and gullible people.”

Chad Herron is not gullible. He's studied apologic's or the evidence for or against faith for years. He teaches a class in it now.

Chad points to important events in Jesus' life where other figues are mentioned -- his mother Mary and beloved disciple, John at the crucifixion, the women who came to the tomb. Jesus was in a wedding once, he turned water into wine.

The disciples knew him well, lived with him. Why would not a single author of the entire New Testament, at least in passing, mention a wife?

“Historicans don't deal in possiblities. They deal with probabilities so is it possible he didn't have a wife? Well yes, we just find it curious that its missing.”

Not completely. Books and at least one movie attempted to stir up box office by implying that there was a relationship between Jesus and Mary Magdalene.

Others have found evidence in a female figure in Da Vinci's last supper. But again the question, if it’s, true why leave it out of his story?

And does it really matter?

I’m Rick Rowe, with tonight’s “A Promise of Hope.”