Simon East (Student HBC060094)s

TH-302 Apologetics (Sept 2010 CD Mode)

Short Letter
Word Limit: 250
Actual Words: 233

SHORT LETTER
Short letter written to a newspaper or magazine on some current issue related to the
credibility of Christian faith.

Responding to “The Da Vinci Sisters”, published in the opinion section of the Sydney
Morning Herald, Boxing Day, December 26, 2010. Available online at http://goo.gl/uU2WI

“History is distressingly silent on the subject of the women in Jesus' life.” – Direct Quote

I’m also disappointed that more detail is not provided on the background of Jesus’ friends,
family and followers. Being a half-sister of the Son of God must have been incredible (and
no doubt a tough intellectual wrestle), imagine if we could read their journals!

But it’s hardly fair to point the finger at God insinuating that he deliberately ‘wiped’ them
from the history books. The Gospels are silent on a lot of things – most of Jesus’ childhood
and teen years, the role of Joseph as a father figure, the clothing and physical features of
Jesus... Out of Jesus’ four brothers, we only remember James and Judas (Jude) because of
their letters. Any gender-imbalance in the New Testament is more likely a result of the
surrounding culture that limited and prejudiced women, sometimes because of an
unfortunate lack of education. But the story of Jesus is actually full of women – Mary’s
supernatural conception, the healing of many women, the women who were some of Jesus’
closest and most loyal followers, the women who courageously attended the cross, and
those who were given the responsibility to spread news of his resurrection. This emphasis
on women, even if it’s not ‘equal’ by modern standards was revolutionary for its era. While
we can’t know the names and stories of Jesus’ sisters, we can be fairly confident that he
treated them with the respect and honour they deserved.