My youngest daughter’s text:
“Hello daddy!
Mary the mother of Jesus, her parents were St. Anne and Joachim, right?”
My response:
“No. That is traditionally believed, according to apocryphal ("doubtful" or "inauthentic") and ancient Islamic sources. It's nowhere mentioned in Scripture, and there's no concrete evidence outside the Bible. It's the same as with assigning names to the wise men who visited the baby Jesus (Caspar, Melchior, and Balthazar). First, there's no evidence of that, and, second, there is no evidence that there were only three men. Too many people conjure up "facts" about a biblical character rather than wait for archeological evidence. Traditions are like folktales, but history is real, and we seek evidence from it to learn as much as we can about the past (e.g., Ancestry.com). Outside of history are myths and delusions. We understand God better by studying true history, starting with Scripture and then investigating as much tangible evidence that's available, presupposing God's existence according to His general revelation (nature) and special revelation (Scripture).
See Hebrews 11:6.
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