JC wasn't crucified, says 1500-year-old bible

[Confused Ape]

Two important lines from that story.

A handwritten Bible, believed to be 1,500 years old

Believed by whom?

The people who heard it was made in 1500 CE and 'misinterpreted' it to mean the book was 1,500 years old.

The Bible will be sent abroad for carbon dating in order to determine its actual age,

That article is dated 2012 like all the others.

[Tea Earl Grey Hot]

I wonder what future people will make of the alternative universe story lines of Batman, Superman etc.

"2000 year old issue reveals Batman's parents were not murdered!"

---

"2000 year old issue reveals Robin was a girl!"

[Minimalist]

In the ensuing two years it would seem that no one has actually done a C14 test - or released the results if they have. The language has also morphed from Aramaic to Syriac all of which makes things highly suspicious.

As the church has shown with the shroud of Turin gullible fools will line up to see a "mystery" but a "fake?" Not so much. Better to retain the air of "mystery." "Believed to be 1,500 years old" will get the turnstiles clicking in the museum!

[Confused Ape]

In the ensuing two years it would seem that no one has actually done a C14 test - or released the results if they have. The language has also morphed from Aramaic to Syriac all of which makes things highly suspicious.

Syriac Language

Syriac (ܠܫܢܐ ܣܘܪܝܝܐ Leššānā Suryāyā) is a dialect of Middle Aramaic that was once spoken across much of the Fertile Crescent and Eastern Arabia.[2][3][4] Having first appeared as a script in the 1st century AD after being spoken as an unwritten language for five centuries,[5]

Gospel Of Barnabas - Possible Syriac Manuscripts

In February 2012, it was confirmed by the Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism that a 52-page biblical manuscript in Syriac had been deposited in the Ethnography Museum of Ankara.[60] Newspaper reports in Turkey claimed that the manuscript had been found in Cyprus in 2000, in an operation conducted by police against smugglers, and had been kept in a police repository since then;[61] and further speculated that the text of the manuscript could be that of the Gospel of Barnabas. No subsequent confirmation has been made, either as to the contents of the Ankara manuscript, or as to any findings of scientific tests for its age and authenticity.[60]

As the church has shown with the shroud of Turin gullible fools will line up to see a "mystery" but a "fake?" Not so much. Better to retain the air of "mystery." "Believed to be 1,500 years old" will get the turnstiles clicking in the museum!

There mightn't have been any attempt on the Ethnography Museum's part to create an air of mystery.

In March 2012 Dr Assad Sauma, an expert in medieval Syriac texts, reported that the manuscript deposited in the Ethonography Museum could be identified with one for which he had formerly undertaken a partial analysis. He stated that the portions of text that he had examined had consisted of random gospel verses and quotations; and also that he had been unable to find any correspondence between them and the text of the Gospel of Barnabas. (in Arabic)

I did a bit more digging and found a clue in this article - Seized from smugglers, the leather-bound 'gospel' which Iran claims will bring down Christianity and shake world politics

The Basij Press claims the text was written in the 5th or 6th century and it predicted the coming of the Prophet Muhammad and the religion of Islam. It says the Christian world denies the existence of such a gospel.

The Basij report suggests that the discovery is so immense that it will shake world politics. 'The discovery of the original Barnabas Bible will now undermine the Christian Church and its authority and will revolutionize the religion in the world,” it states. 'The most significant fact, though, is that this Bible has predicted the coming of Prophet Mohammad and in itself has verified the religion of Islam.'

Although Turkish authorities believe the text to be genuine, other observers have questioned its authenticity. Erick Stakelbeck, a terrorism analyst and a close observer of Iranian affairs, told WND.com: 'The Iranian regime is committed to stamping out Christianity by any means necessary. 'Whether that means executing Christian converts, burning Bibles or raiding underground churches.'

Christians have rejected the Gospel of Barnabas as a medieval forgery. I went looking for an Islamic viewpoint and found this on an Islamic website.

What Is The Islamic View on the Gospel of Barnabas?

The vast majority of Muslim academics and scholars of comparative religion have deemed the so-called Gospel of Barnabas as pseudepigraphical, meaning that it is a forgery, probably a pious fraud, that was written for polemical reasons and dubiously attributed to the apostle Barnabas, the traveling companion of Paul according to the Book of Acts in the New Testament.

The article goes on to say something about textual criticism and inaccuracies before finishing with -

Many Muslim scholars erroneously conflate the Gospel of Barnabas with the Epistle of Barnabas; the latter is found in the oldest complete Greek manuscript of the New Testament on earth called the Codex Sinaiticus (circa 375 CE). The Epistle of Barnabas is completely different than the so-called Gospel of Barnabas of the sixteen century CE Italian manuscript. Therefore, serious academic inquiry into the gospel reveals that Muslims should approach it with extreme caution as it certainly appears to be of very dubious origins.

It seems, then, that the Muslims who believe the Gospel is authentic are of the fundamentalist persuasion. Most of them are too busy creating havoc to visit Turkey just to look at an old book.

[Minimalist]

Er, I was always told that The Daily Mail was the UK equivalent of The National Enquirer. Besides, the article is still from 2012 and when you have a bunch of muslims claiming that "jesus" (wink wink) said that mohammed was coming it is best to regard it as just another truck load of horseshit.

[Confused Ape]

Er, I was always told that The Daily Mail was the UK equivalent of The National Enquirer. Besides, the article is still from 2012 and when you have a bunch of muslims claiming that "jesus" (wink wink) said that mohammed was coming it is best to regard it as just another truck load of horseshit.

I agree that Daily Mail reports shouldn't be taken as gospel if you'll pardon the expression but it did give me a clue to follow up. There are other news reports about the Basij Press.

IRAN: DISCOVERY WILL COLLAPSE CHRISTIANITY

Iran’s Basij Press is claiming a purported Gospel of Barnabas, discovered in 2000, will prove that Islam is the final and righteous religion, causing the collapse worldwide of Christianity.

The article gives a link to this page - http://basijpress.ir/?option=news-details&id=8033

Unfortunately it's in Persian. Google Translate doesn't do a very good job of translating it because there are only a few sentences here and there. It's difficult to know what the writer was actually saying when it comes out like this -

پیدا می‌کند که (قسمت)زیادش همان بیانات خود حضرت عیسی ع است...اگرچه الفاظ It's not like the Koran, not in the words but not the meaning of our great traditions are very similar ... I've seen this gospel of the Georgian language on fabric and leather cover was not the board (= stick), respectively. Mr. Marashi Najafi Mr. Tabatabai, saying it's a few years old? Mr. Tabatabai said: I guess five years. fifty years have already passed since then. Mr. Marashi said to have kept it up if someone It was found that the Georgian language to translate it into Persian or Arabic. The older is that accuracy is closer ...

The WND site gave some information about Erick Stakelbeck which the Daily Mail missed out.

Erick Stakelbeck, host of the Christian Broadcasting Network’s “Stakelbeck on Terror” show and a close observer of Iranian affairs, said Iran is highlighting the book because it sees Christianity as a threat.

The only information I can find about him is on the CBN website so the claim about him being an authority on terrorism etc. is likely to be somewhat suspect.

It gets even more confusing with a report on the website for Today's Zaman which is Turkey's English language website.

1,500-year-old handwritten Bible kept in Ankara, ministry confirms

Aydoğan Vatandaş, a Today’s Zaman journalist and author who has written two books on the Gospel of Barnabas, said there is no clue that the Bible mentioned in the Turkish press dates back to 1,500 years ago, but he said it is sure that the Gospel of Barnabas had been written in the Aramaic language and Syriac alphabet.

So what does it all mean? Looks like there was propaganda spread by someone but I haven't out if that someone was an Iranian or a Christian. Everyone else just jumped on the bandwagon for a bit of sensationalist reporting.

[Minimalist]

There is a concept in archaeology best called "the nutty season." By this is meant a period of wild enthusiasm by people who are not involved in the find that whatever is found will support their predetermined biases.

Such enthusiasm usually comes crashing down when the actual reports on the find are published and real scholars have had a chance to dispassionately examine them.

The "Ebla Library" comes to mind as a prime example. The Dead Sea Scrolls are another. Crazy xtian morons went running around shooting their fucking mouths off about how Ebla confirmed ancient Jerusalem and the DSS confirmed the beginnings of xtianity. Neither did anything of the sort.

I suspect what we have here is a little bit of the same phenomena only with muslims trying to prop up their own horseshit.

[Confused Ape]

There is a concept in archaeology best called "the nutty season."

I suspect what we have here is a little bit of the same phenomena only with muslims trying to prop up their own horseshit.

I'm still a bit suspicious of the CBN reporter.