I do have some information from the last couple decades very close to the source. From that info yes, Jesus had at least one blood brother, James, whom many assumed would be first in line to carry on Jesus' message. But Jesus was closer to Thomas who was a little more open minded. "Didymus" means "twin". Thomas "Didymus" (see opening line Gospel of Thomas ) had a physical resemblance to Jesus though they were not blood brothers. About 30% of Gospel of Thomas ended up added by other penman not Thomas , one of which was a reference to James that shows early rivalry between factions of followers. Eventually two of Jesus followers who then followed James departed from James having judged him unable or unwilling to honestly represent his blood brother's message. Those two wrote a "sayings gospel" like Thomas full of what they heard Jesus say first hand called "Words of the Master" or something like that. It was completely destroyed from history so the title is gone. But there are scholars who believe there must have been such a book, and reference it as the 'Q' source, thinking it influenced other, extent manuscripts. Regarding the long geneologies, those are fantasies of two of the later kinds of gospels that, like James, forced a Jewish viewpoint on Jesus' message. They are counter productive , contradicting Jesus own thoughts on the perfidity of bloodlines, excoriating anyone who traced their bloodlines back to any generation or even to "Adam" , calling them sons of the devil. The bloodlines are an attempt to make Jesus the Jewish version of "Messiah" which required he be a descendant of King David somehow . But Jesus was no such "Messiah" offering a very different kind of salvation, coming from, and returning to a very different world. Mary Magdalene was not a prostitute and was much closer to Jesus than is revealed in the mainstream gospels. Her portrayal in those gospels is evidence of early factional rivalries among the earliest followers, some of whom were misogynistic according to the patriarchal traditionalists among the Jews. She was among a small handful of excellent representatives of Jesus' message including Stephen who was stoned to death with Paul as the most famous witness on the side of the stone throwers . The two who wrote "Words of the Master" ended up closely associated with Stephen.
When talking about the intelligent designer it's better to call it "ego" rather than confuse it with a Being that is actually Good. A Good Being does not design faces, facial characteristics, or any other body parts. But an ego would, and because an ego takes its power from what is Good, it appears to be very intelligent . Further, intelligence and design are not wholly guaranteed to be benevolent. The "design", for example, could be "ulterior", according to a motive, mandate, or agenda. For example, it should be clear to see that an ego has designed to destroy everything it makes. Arguably, its purpose is not for things to be born, but rather to be born to die. After all, you can't destroy what is not first given some value. Consequently we are given an approximate balance of construction versus destruction. This fulfills the egos actual task of providing both of everything . If, for example, Good is the standard, then the egos task is to give both good AND evil. This is the egos mandate with which it signs (it's signature) all of its designs. All of its designs are polarized combinations of extremes. A graphic parable describing such an enigma could be a tree whose fruit is both good AND evil. The fruit could look good, for example, but it could be poison . The tree is one thing that forces opposing (otherwise mutually exclusive concepts) to abide together as one fruit, so to speak. Anytime, anywhere you see this kind of "fruit", you know the "tree" is the ego, not Good. So man lives AND dies. This is of the ego. So man is healthy AND sick. This is ego. So man is both robust but also vulnerable. Ego. Strong AND weak. Signed, ego. Smart AND stupid. By ego. Big and small. ~ ego. Within this mandate, none of the positive poles are actually what they appear to be. The strong are not really strong. The smart are not really smart. That which "lives" does not actually live. Hence, the entire design is fake, fabricated, and ultimately a "mockery" of that Being which is actually Good. An ego is achieved through some kind of physiological gymnastics that boils down to self deception. Self deception boils down to self sabotage. A virus is a manifestation of self sabotage, which is a manifestation of self deception. An ego feeds off its host a lot like a virus feeds off bodies. If the virus kills all bodies the virus dies. For its self preservation it is best a virus kill it's hosts at a balanced rate that perpetuates its own survival. The solution , ultimately, is the elimination of the ego. Till then it will mask itself, mask it's designs, mask it's intentions, and mask it's agenda. I'm just letting you know what it's "signature" (sign) looks like so you can recognize the "tree" from which the "fruit" (it's manifestations) comes. Ego is first of all a principle, a non-living concept. The concept, essentially, is to add more to Good by combining good with polar opposites. This dead (dead on arrival) concept takes on a "life of its own" so-to-speak. At this point it becomes a *persona*, which gives birth to to more personas according to the same kind of process which gives rise to the original ego. The ego thus breeds after its own kind, multiplying it's numbers. Left unchecked it would kill its host. In this case the host is Good. I sometimes call the host "Christ", which "dies" so that personas (the many little egos) may "live", so-to-speak. All of the egos manifestations function like a mask over the face of Christ. If you can see the manifestations you cannot see Christ, and visa versa. If you can see people, you can't see Christ. If you can see Christ you can't see people. And yet people presume to be Christ, represent Christ, and substitute for Christ. This is essentially the function of a "mask". It's hides its host and represents (misrepresents) its host. A mask changes the appearance of its host from real to unreal, from true to fake. While people substitute for Christ this way, they participate in a grande self deception which involves self sabotage. This is a very dangerous predicament to behold. This is ultimately why people die: they represent a CHANGE to what actually lives: Christ. Death itself is nothing more than rapid radical change . People, note well, are we n a constant flux of change. When the change is slow we call it "life". When the change is rapid and radical (uncomfortable) we call it "death". But both of man's so called life and his so called death are CHANGE. Mankind is birthed of an ego which radically changes the nature of Good, or what I call Christ. If the solution is the elimination of the ego, it also includes the elimination of mankind. As said, the ego is a dead principle that becomes a powerful persona as it is given ATTENTION. The solution, then, is to take back the attention you are giving to the ego and it's offspring. This is done through meditation. Meditation allows the mind to function normally when it is emptied of ego and it's machinations. In principle, it's best not to think about the egos machinations, such problems as corona-viruses. This can be difficult if you find yourself immersed in it's manifestations . After all , you could not be immersed in manifestations unless you were a willing participant. To participate , you have to BELIEVE in the egos mandate. Believing in it's mandate, also believe in it's manifestations. It's mandate is at the very core of your so called existence as a person (human being). So it's difficult to stop paying attention to the mandate because it directly compromises your supposed existence (and may seem like a threat). But anyone willing to lay down ones apparent existence through meditation could probably achieve short term solutions such as the cure of corona viruses. The "devil" is that which is difficult. But it is only difficult to overcome one's ego if you identify with the ego. Power to overcome the ego come from identifying one's Self as the Good, or as what i call the Christ. From that vantage point, one can easily discriminate between good and evil, between true and untrue, between real and unreal, between Christ and an ego that seeks to take control of Christ's psychological functions at the expense of it's host. Self deception is indeed difficult to overcome. Un-deceived, there really is no "devil" but rather, a dead concept that was given way too much attention.
Carpentry, contracting in carpentry, and now custom carpentry and handyman type things working directly with homeowner clients via word of mouth. No employees. About 25 hours a week, 30 max. A very simple and low pressure approach to terrestrial survival and maintenance. I've never been a pro, or even semi-pro teacher or speaker on theological or spiritual subjects. But my interest extends over 37 years having ended a nascent musical career to focus primarily on theological/spiritual subjects. Occasionally income did suffer when i prioritized further study. For a few years now i no longer study or hardly even read on the subject. If i did study something it would be on the finer details of meditation as advised by masters in the direction i am moving. I don't own a bible anymore for decades, but did study it hard for the first 12 years of my interest(s) starting age 20. Revelation, regarding my current world-view, came ten years ago, not through the bible, but through some other book(s). I have clarified my understanding by writing/sharing on the subject as a hobby, trying to clarify it for others. As a result, my own perspective/theology/world-view is completely settled and fixed. There is no need for further study. The only thing left to do is to meditate, and thereby gain whatever else i need to know through actual experience. I'm waiting for weariness to set in deeper to begin. By weariness i mean complete capitulation and disinterest in the affairs of this world including people, politics and competition. On my side, i have no interest in traveling, or curiosity about seeing other places. Nor do i have an interest in re-incarnating, fixing instead to end the ego in this current incarnation, but realize my weariness-to-distraction ratio may lead to another incarnation. I'm not worried about salvation so-to-speak (the total end of ego) but a little concerned about my distraction-to-weariness ratio which extends my experience of egoic survival conditions. All in all i am well positioned to succeed before the next rapid radical change (traditional death scenario). By succeed i mean the death of the ego, which ends the traditional death scenarios. Publicizing and broadcasting by writing on the subject is not primarily aimed at making converts, as do too many other drinkers of theological whiskey. I don't need drinking partners. I no longer even keep friends who share, or at least come close to sharing the attitudes i espouse. There are no groups i hang with. Writing is mainly to settle my own mind when it feels a little too distracted by egoic survival conditions, to feel better, and inch toward the moment my final meditation begins. I endeavor to be the clearest and most concise i can be, increasing it's likelihood of being of use to other egoic explorers, to be kept in history until history ends for them too. Salvation is really something you do alone. There is no simultaneous jump off point where dozens or hundreds of egos do it together, even if they meditate together. There is no moment when millions or billions see the light of Christ dawning in the east, so-to-speak. Christ dawns upon one's mind when that mind is ready and weary enough to sacrifice it's egoic conditions, conditions which conversely sacrifice Christ, or at least the awareness of Christ as one's Self. They are mutually exclusive. Currently i enjoy pseudo-awareness of Christ as Self, while yet retaining egoic conditions with consequent distractions. I am not fully occupied with Christ as Self with total mental and psychological resources. This comes through meditation and yields experience, direct experience of the Self (as the Good, as the Christ). My writings are for the benefit of everyone who must eventually pass over this temporary path toward the return of full awareness as permanent experience (rather than brief glimpses). Experience functions as it's own sales-letter, further motivating a desire for total experience. Experience also yields it's own lessons to write about. Total experience of Self as Christ comes with the total end of egoic distractions: the total replacement of faith with actual knowledge, primarily knowledge of Self. Reading about other ego's experience of temporary release (of egoic conditions) can also be quite motivating. The most popular report of egoic release, to date, is the release of Jesus' ego, allowing him to know his Self as Christ. But there are others since then, less popular, to be found and learned from. A few have written some things. Many have not. There is enough written for all to succeed, if they seek. I make a small contribution. Pseudo-awareness of Self as Christ is a powerful and pleasant position to operate from, regardless interference from ego. Anything written from this state of mind should be considered "scripture" by the wise, and anathema by fools. There are better, more detailed scriptures than mine, to each as the student is ready. But mine are better than the bible and serve as a decent correction of the errors perpetuated in the cannoned collection and it's exponents.