by designs 20 Replies latest watchtower bible
Found in 2000 with a group of antiquity smugglers this Bible contains the Gospel of Barnabas according to the report in The National Turk.
Written in Aramaic this Gospel account was omitted by the Church during the period of the Council of Nicea.
The text maintains a story similar to Islam regarding Jesus being a great Prophet.
Is has a reported value of $28million and is said to be in the Museum of Ankara.
Hi Designs, This link does not come up for me???
LL (not Bean)
Sorry about that, there is an overview on wikipedia.
The wikipedia link says most academics consider it to be falsely attributed to Barnabas and it was written late (16th century). They also believe that it was redacted to be brought in line with Islamic beliefs.
How can something that is 1500 years old have been discussed at the Council of Nicea 1700 years ago?
Yeah, what ICA said....
ICA-- aka 'copies' of the original..
The notion that Jesus wasn't crucified originally came from the gnostics, who believed that all matter is corrupt and that perfection could only be realized in the spirit. Jesus dying on the cross, in their minds (and in the minds of Muslims), would have been a failure on the part of God...and God doesn't make mistakes or have failures. So a number of traditions arose. One is that God did an end run around those who sought the death of Jesus. He turned the tide on them by making Judas look like Jesus, and spiriting Jesus away. Thus, the Romans crucified Judas while Jesus, unseen, laughed at them and their folly.
Of course this was heresy to the apostles and disciples, who taught that Jesus died for the sins of mankind (see Isa. 53) and was resurrected three days after his crucifixion, and that Judas committed suicide. The so-called Infancy Gospel, where Jesus, as a boy, cursed everyone who got in his way, and learned restraint as he grew older, also was popular reading and despite the fact it was a complete forgery, it found its way into the Qur'an along with the gnostic teachings. In fact, that's one of the "gotcha" points that prove the Qur'an is fiction. In fact, the author of the Infancy Gospel may have simply been writing it as a fictional account, even though it was very popular in Christian circles.
The bottom line is that the story of Jesus not being crucified is nothing new. Many saw the fall of Adam and Eve as being a failure on the part of God. Then, if Jesus' enemies succeeded in killing him, then that, too, would have been a failure. The Greek Orthodox position is that Adam and Eve were supposed to fall. For only by so doing could Jesus not only give them immortality, but "Eternal Life," as esoteric term meaning not immortality, but immortality with God, and co-inheritors with Christ. Thus, everything that Jesus became would be gained by everyone gaining Eternal Life. Thus, the fall and the resurrection were inseparately linked as a springboard to something that Adam and Eve never could have achieved on their own.
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The Greeks have some interesting views to be sure. Theotokos- Jesus and Mary become the new Adam and Eve.
Jesus was called the "second Adam" because as Adam brought death into the world, Jesus brought life. Adam represented corruption, while Jesus represented the spiritual. (See 1 Cor. 15) That's not to say that Jesus' body wasn't physical. He has a body of flesh and bone, but instead of blood his body is animated by spirit. Like a spirit he can pass through walls and ceilings, but he made it clear that he is a physical and perfected being of light and spirit. As he was resurrected, so will mankind; yet they will be resurrected according to various glories and abilities.
Paul writes that there are many kinds of flesh, just as there are various types of heavenly and earthly bodies. Not all are the same. "So also is the resurrection of the dead," he writes. " It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption: It is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power: It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body."
The Jehovah's Witnesses and other Adventist sects err in thinking that spiritual_body=spirit. Thus, Jesus was resurrected a spirit. But Jesus clearly indicated he was not a spirit. Adam and Eve had no glory or power in their bodies, and had they not transgressed, they would have been cursed to have immortal bodies without the potential of growth that Jesus provided.
Given Paul's initial hatred of the Christians and his subsequent conversion, I don't think he would have been chosen of the Lord to lead them astray. He had some strong Jewish views, but he was able to grasp Jesus' role in Jewish tradition and prophecy. He and the other apostles (except John) all died violent deaths for what they believed and taught. That's always impressed me.
