Gospel of Barnabas

The Gospel of Barnabas is an apocryphal Gospel which is according to Barnabas, an apostle of the inner circle of Jesus, named. The tradition history of the text is controversial. Special importance it receives in that it differs greatly in central statements of the faith tradition of almost all Christian denominations and includes Islamic thought.

From the Gospel of Barnabas Islamic scholars is sometimes used as a witness for a distortion of the teachings of Jesus in the Christian canonical texts. Christian theologians, secular historians, but also some Islamic scholars see in this text, however, a forgery dating from the 14th to 16th centuries ( Pseudepigraph ).

The Gospel of Barnabas is not to be confused with the Epistle of Barnabas in the 1st century or the acts of the New Testament apocrypha Barnabas.

  • 9.1 Texts
  • 9.2 secondary literature

Text

The Gospel of Barnabas sees itself as "true Gospel of Jesus, called Christ, a new prophet sent by God in the world, according to the report of Barnabas his apostle " and is considered the defenders of its authenticity as the only known gospel, whose author actually witnessed of the events surrounding Jesus was. The history of the text, however, can be traced back only to the 16th century. The oldest complete text is an Italian manuscript from the 18th century, which is now in view of the Austrian National Library. From two earlier Spanish manuscripts is only a fragmentary preserved and kept in Sydney. Greek, Latin and Aramaic manuscripts were never discovered.

The postulated by the advocates of the authenticity of early textual history is based on some speculation. The gospel had been widely used in the early church and been rezipiert example, by Irenaeus, had meanwhile heard even the canon of the Alexandrian church until it was banned in 325 by the Council of Nicaea. The Pope, however, have saved a copy in his private library, where it was kept until a friend of Pope Sixtus V. stolen from the library at the end of the 16th century. According to another legend from the 16th century originated a manuscript of Barnabas itself It was discovered in the year 478, together with the remains of Barnabas in Cyprus. The author here refers to a controversial in its historicity Cypriot legend of the 5th century, but is in the reports of a Gospel that was written by Barnabas.

For an early Christian existence of the Gospel of Barnabas known today there is no proof. Although the Decretum de libris Gelasianum recipiendis et non recipiendis ( 496 AD), called in the context of a list of apocryphal writings a Gospel of Barnabas ( "Evangelium nomine Barnabae " ) under the church unaccepted books. The writing, however, is otherwise unknown and therefore can not be identified with the work known today.

Author

Several erroneous representations of the geography and history of Judea in the stories show that the author knew neither time nor locations of the action firsthand. Against a rash judgment that it was an Islamic propaganda pamphlet, speak the significant differences with the Islamic doctrine which, despite the reception of Islam can be found in the text.

A respected among historians as likely explanation is to see in an author who converted to Islam Christians who possessed knowledge of both traditions. He had probably written in the first half of the 14th century in Spain the text. In addition to the arguments already mentioned (medieval thought, missing antique Textbezeugung ) brings Lonsdale Ragg for argument on the dating front: The Gospel of Barnabas speaks of the Jubilee years at a distance of 100 years, while the biblical tradition ( Lev 25.8 to 12 EU) a 50 years distance calls. 1300 AD. , Pope Boniface VIII, the Jubilee celebration at the 100-year fixed distance, but already in 1343 shortened Clement VI. the time of the biblical 50 years and announced the next anniversary for 1350. A 100 - year cycle of the Jubilee, it has thus historically been only in the period 1300-1343, which indicates a writing of the Gospel of Barnabas at this time.

Turkish studies

In Turkey, there have been several speculations about manuscript discoveries to the Gospel of Barnabas. The Turkish newspaper Türkiye announced on 25 July 1986 that a certificate from the 1st century Aramaic manuscript of the Gospel of Barnabas on the mountain meme in Uludere ( Southeastern Anatolia ) had been discovered. The manuscript should be owned by the Turkish government, but was unpublished. According to other media reports, from 2012 to 2000 during a police operation against smugglers on the Turkish Mediterranean coast, a manuscript have been seized in the Aramaic language, of which it says that it could be up to 1,500 years old. Turkish media are speculating that it was possibly a copy of the Gospel of Barnabas. Turkish Minister of Culture Ertugrul Günay According to the Fund, the piece is to be investigated and made ​​available to the restoration of the public. Because in addition to these press reports and statements of intent no further archaeological or paläografisch secured information about the finds exist, these claims are not verifiable. Scientists doubt the presumed age of the manuscript and think of it as a fake.

Content

The theology of the Gospel of Barnabas differs in three fundamental points of the view of almost all Christian churches and the canonical New Testament writings from:

  • Trinity, Divine Sonship of Jesus
  • Redeeming death on the cross
  • Resurrection

The Gospel tells the life story of Jesus and his disciples at the announcement of the birth of Jesus to his death. The text here combines Jewish, Christian and Muslim elements. Like the other Gospels, it tells the story of Jesus' miracles, his parables, the Last Supper, Betrayal, process and crucifixion. In contrast to the Christian tradition, however, does not die Jesus, but - due to a mix - Judas Iscariot on the cross. Consequently, there may have been no resurrection of Jesus. Thus, the Gospel of Barnabas extended a statement of the Koran, which starts in his only mention of the crucifixion from the fact that not Jesus was crucified without the true events, please provide details or committing to another person ( Sura 4, 157-158 ). Throughout the text of the Gospel is decidedly Islamic thought. It contains in the early Christian era yet unknown Shahada ( the Islamic creed ), Adam, Abraham, Ishmael, Moses, David and Jesus calls indiscriminately Messenger of God or has the promise of the birth of Jesus be unto Ishmael, who also sacrificed instead of Isaac by Abraham should be. To make the text denies the exclusive place of Jesus Christ in Christianity.

From the front desk Islamic thought good includes the non-Islamic redaction criticism that the present form of the text may not be incurred prior to the 7th century. At most, it would be conceivable that an older template - if they ever existed - had been revised after the 7th century in substantial parts with pro -Islamic tendency. Further analysis of the contents shows parallels to medieval ideas, such as the ideas of Dante's about heaven, hell and paradise or the ideals of medieval monastic asceticism. The most likely date is therefore considered non-Muslim historians of the period from the 14th to the 16th century.

Differences from the Christian and Islamic theology

Differences to Christian Theology

Despite the clear to non- Muslim side rejection of an early Christian origin time, the debate on the authenticity of Scripture in the controversy between Islam and Christianity to this day continues. Many Islamic researchers hold to the early dating, because it provides a powerful proof of the corruption of the disclosure by the ( Pauline ) tradition of the Church, no contradiction to Islam constituted and the refutation of their argument ultimately founded on Christian beliefs. With the same rigor Christian researchers reject the possibility of authenticity. You already meet the contradictions between the representation of Barnabas and the canonical Gospels as sufficient proof of forgery. Not all the details right the Gospel of Barnabas with Islamic teachings match, but in very many, and since Islam emerged only in the seventh century, this speaks literary and religious studies against a writing of Scripture before the seventh century, but by a person who is familiar with both the church of the 14th century as well as superficial with Islam. The following points indicate Islamic influence towards:

  • Necessity of circumcision ordained of God in the Preamble and of Jesus in chapters 22-23 ( " Truly I tell you, a dog is better than an uncircumcised man. ").
  • Allegation of falsification of the Old Testament by the Jews ( Pharisees )
  • Allegation of falsification of the New Testament by Christians
  • Prophets such as Adam, Abraham, Ishmael, Moses, David and Jesus are called " Messenger of God "
  • Adam recites the Islamic creed ( Sahada )
  • Ishmael, not Isaac, is sacrificed by Abraham almost
  • Jesus' sole mission to the Jews
  • Transmission of the revelation of God through the Angel Gabriel
  • Jesus calls Muhammad " the older ones " who would come after him
  • Judas, not Jesus, is crucified
  • Paul had distorted the Christian doctrine

Differences with the Islamic theology

Some contradictions to the Koran suggest that the author was only superficially familiar with Islam and did not know all Islamic teachings. This may be confirmed by the assumption that it was a Christian of the 14th century. The following points are partly with the late medieval Christian ( Roman Catholic ) doctrine match, but not with the Koran:

  • Commitment to monogamy
  • Jesus' birth in an inn in Bethlehem
  • Mary painless birth of Jesus
  • Nine Heavens and the tenth paradise
  • Muhammad as the Messiah

Main arguments against early dating

  • There is no textual tradition, the Gospel of Barnabas before the 16th century.
  • In contrast to the canonical and apocryphal texts to other no quotation from the Gospel of Barnabas is detected in the Christian Church Fathers or Doctors of the Church.
  • It is mentioned before the 16th century also by any Islamic author.
  • There are in the Gospel of Barnabas several serious historical and geographical errors, such as, for example, that Jesus Christ was born when Pilate was governor was (ie, from 26 or 27 AD), or that Jesus to ship to Jerusalem traveled ( but which in the midst of the mainland is located ).
  • There are contradictions in the Gospel of Barnabas to early non - Christian sources.
  • The Gospel of Barnabas quotes from the Vulgate, the Latin translation of the Bible, but was only towards the end of the 4th century AD.
  • The Gospel of Barnabas mentioned four of the five pillars of Islam, which were unknown but before the emergence of Islam in the 7th century AD.
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