The Mysteries of The Gospel of Barnabas

The Mysteries of the The Gospel of Barnabas

Turkey, an important crossroads between Asia and the West, is also significant for its historical religious heritage and an important region for both Christianity and Islam. It is not so surprising then, that it was in Turkey where the ancient Gospel of Barnabas was discovered recently. Barnabas was an important disciple of Christ. What is so intriguing about this Gospel, is that it portrays Jesus as a Prophet of God, as oppose to the son of God, very much in line with the teaching of Islam.

The Gospel, which was discovered in the year 2000, is seen as an original and authentic scripture, by Iranian and Turkish authorities which itself is written in gold text on leather in the Aramaic language, which was the language spoken by Jesus. The Gospel was seized during a raid, when Turkish police had come across smugglers of antique goods all over the Mediterranean region. What is so controversial about the Gospel of Barnabas, is that that the scripture goes against the teachings of the New Testament in particular, in that it predicts the coming of the Prophet Muhammad and even goes to the extent of specifically naming him. This poses a serious dilemma in regards to the Christian doctrine and belief, in the position of Jesus as the son of God. During the Council of Nicea meeting which was arranged by Constantine and attended by representatives of the Church of the Roman Empire at the time, the Gospel’s that currently form as a part of the modern day Bible where handpicked, leaving out the controversial Gospel of Barnabas. Over the passage of time, other scriptures have come to surface. These include the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Gnostic Gospels which are referred to as the secret Gospel’s, however it is the Gospel of Barnabas which is a cause for concern for the Vatican and there have been claims that the Gospel is indeed a fake.

According to a Vatican newspaper, La Stampa, the Gospel of

Barnabas is actually a forgery and was written by a Jewish scholar during the Middle Ages and they also claim that there are linguistic and grammatical errors, which help to highlight the fact that the text is a fake. However, given the fact that a Jewish scholar would have no motive in penning a text claiming the coming of the Prophet Muhammad, it can be said that these claims by the Vatican press are very weak whilst also highlighting the fact that these texts are contradictory to Islamic teaching from the Quran.

In 2012, the Gospel of Barnabas was transferred by police escort to the Ethnography Museum of Ankara, in Turkey, where it is on display. Currently the Gospel itself is worth around $1.7 Million, but fret not!

If you would like to have a read of what these texts say, then Oriental Publishing has recently published an e-Book version of the Gospels, available exclusively through Amazon!

Want to take a peek at what all the controversy is about?

Grab your copy of the Gospel of Barnabas here!