I would like to stress that there is no Biblical reason to believe that Jesus had siblings. When you consider all of the evidence, you find that there is no reason to believe that either the brothers or “those pesky sisters” are actually siblings of our Lord. The evidence shows that they must have been relatives.

Concerning the question of authority, which I believe is the most important issue here: the Bible never calls itself the ultimate authority on spiritual matters.

It is true, as 2 Timothy 3:16 says, that studying the Bible is beneficial, but nowhere does the Bible say that it is sufficient. In fact, 2 Thessalonians 2:15 speaks about traditions that are written and those that are unwritten, and commands Christians to hold fast to both. 1 Timothy 3:15 calls the Church, not the Bible, the protector and defender of Truth.

Contrary to what Mr. Murphy says, I am not attacking the Word of God. I am simply pointing out that when you look objectively at Christianity today, you see that the practice of using the Bible alone (a practice that is nowhere supported in Scripture) has not been beneficial to Christianity.

Today there are 35,000 Christian denominations, each of them teaching their own doctrines. If this is how using the Bible alone “sets things straight,” then something must be missing.

I would like any Christians who read this letter to prayerfully consider Matthew 16:18-19, where Jesus gave Peter the keys of the kingdom of heaven, Matthew 18:18, where Jesus gave the other apostles the power to bind and loose, and Acts 1:15-20, where apostolic authority was passed on to another man.

I believe that, through the passing on of this power to bind and loose, the apostles’ authority still exists in the world today, in the bishops of the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church.

Ethan Milukas

Peachtree City, Ga.

login to post comments