TGIGF

[goliard]

So just how much family trauma was this Jesus kid repressing?

First he disowns, not just his father the carpenter as an individual, but the entire category of earthly fatherhood. This is way beyond the normal Oedipus complex - he doesn't want to kill his father, he wants to pretend that he himself, uniquely in history, never even had a human

Comments

[gaal]

Jesus would not deny Adam had no human father.

[gaal]

PS: Speaking of "nailing" and "wood", isn't it kind of a cliche how inadequate Joseph must have felt? I forgot who it was that pointed this out to me: but all his life he'd been trying to get his wife pregnant, and then who comes along and does the job...

[goliard]

...or so SHE says.
But you're right, God never gets any blame for breaking His own tenth commandment, does He. Some role model.

[ijon]

I've always linked this "the holy ghost came up and loosened my dress" business to the hilarious story in Judges 13, where Manoah's wife has a similar story. I've always imagined scenes of mistrust and spousal jealousy there, though the text, as usual, is sparing in details.