The Gospel of Barnabas is evidenced to be a late forgery, claiming to have been written by the Apostle Barnabas but pro-actively promoting Islam. There is a Barnabas mentioned in Galatians and Acts of the New Testament who had a ministry with the other apostles, however, this could not be the same Barnabas because (as with Islam) the author of this late "gospel" emphatically denied many core beliefs found in the other gospels including the divinity of Jesus Christ Himself, which are substantially manifest in the Bible.[1][2] It stands to reason that such fundamentally different beliefs than the other apostles could in no way share any ministry with them.
This gospel prophesies the coming of Muhammad and shares many core beliefs with Islam. Mentioning Muhammad by name seems to be an obvious attempt at deception as none of the other gospels or prophecies ever mentioned an upcoming messenger of God by name. None of the approx. 24,000 Biblical manuscripts support the Gospel of Barnabas, including those who significantly antedate the Qur'an, nor does this late work itself have any ancient manuscript evidence. The earliest copies date back to the 16th century A.D., and with its additional obvious anachronisms and historical errors (like sailing to Nazareth), it is believed by both Christian and secular scholars (and some Muslims such as Abbas el-Akkad) to be a circa 14th century pseudepigraphical work.[3][4][5][6]
As regards sailing to Nazareth, some have demanded explicit archaeological evidence for this small, scorned residence,[7] though archaeologists agree that Nazareth was inhabited in the First Century.[8][9][10]
References
- ↑ MUHAMMAD VERSUS JESUS CHRIST
- ↑ The DEITY of CHRIST
- ↑ http://www.muslimhope.com/ForgeryOfTheGospelOfBarnabas.htm
- ↑ http://answering-islam.org/Barnabas/saleeb.html
- ↑ http://www.answering-islam.org/Green/barnabas.htm
- ↑ http://www.ichthus.info/CaseForChrist/Archeology/intro.html
- ↑ Meyers and Strange, Archeology, the Rabbis and Early Christianity, SCM: 1981, p. 56
- ↑ http://www.ichthus.info/CaseForChrist/Archeology/intro.html
- ↑ http://www.uhl.ac/articles/NazarethVillageFarm-FinalReport.pdf
- ↑ http://www.tektonics.org/uz/wally01.html