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The Gospel of Barnabas and the Book of Mormon
The Gospel of Barnabas and the Book of Mormon
Introduction
When analyzing a particular problem, it is often helpful to
approach the situation from an alternate, but related
perspective. For example, LDS scholars are often unable to accept
textual arguments against the authenticity of the Book of Mormon
because of an emotional attachment to the Book. These scholars
generally are unable to be objective, because their faith
requires them to protect the reputation of their Prophet, no
matter what the cost.
It is thus instructive to consider the case of another text,
purported to be historical by its author, but which turns out to
be a forgery on closer examination. LDS scholars might be able to
appreciate the force of the arguments against authenticity for
this document, as they have no emotional stake in the outcome of
the test. Having thus being able to appreciate the marks of
historical forgery in an objective setting, these scholars may
then be able to understand the force of these arguments as
applied to the Book of Mormon.
The Gospel
of Barnabas is a medieval document claiming to be an account
of the life of Jesus. It displays a distinctly Muslim bias, and
purports to show that Jesus was not the Son of God, nor the
Messiah. The document is generally regarded by most scholars as a
forgery. The reasons that these scholars give for rejecting the
Gospel of Barnabas are instructive, because the Book of Mormon
displays many of the same problems.
History
A Gospel of Barnabas is first mentioned on a list of heretical
books dating from the fifth century. No further information is
given, and no manuscript survives from that date. The next
mention of the Gospel occurs in the fifteenth century. An Italian
and Spanish version were located in that time period.
Bias
The Gospel displays a distinctly Muslim bias. Jesus is
portrayed as a prophet, who never claimed to be the Messiah, nor
the Son of God. This Jesus did not die on the cross, but Judas
was crucified in his place. In this Gospel, Jesus predicts the
coming of Mohammed, and refers to him by name.
For this reason, many Muslim scholars defend the Gospel as
being historical, and often quote from it to support the claims
of the Koran against the New Testament.
Arguments against Authenticity
The Gospel of Barnabas displays a number of internal problems
and external anachronisms that firmly fix its origin in the
fourteenth century, somewhere in Western Europe. These problems
can be divided into several categories.
Lack of Manuscript Support
Although mentioned in the fifth century, the earliest
manuscript copies of the Gospel date from the fifteenth century.
In addition, the Gospel is not quoted prior to this time, either
by Muslim apologists, nor any of the Church Fathers.
The Book of Mormon similarly has a complete lack of a textual
history. The book appears suddenly in 1830, with no prior
references. The book was allegedly translated from a set of metal
plates, obtained by divine means, and returned to Heaven shortly
after the translation was completed. There is thus no way to
determine the accuracy of the translation, nor even to determine
if the plates actually existed.
Historical and Geographical Problems
The Gospel of Barnabas makes a number of historical and
geographical blunders. The Gospel asserts that Jesus was born
while Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea. Secular history tells
us that Pilate did not become governor until 26 or 27 AD. The
Gospel describes Nazareth as a coastal city, when in fact it is
located in the hill country, some distance from the Sea of
Galilee. Palestine is described as a beautiful, lush country
during the Summer. In fact, Palestine has a Winter rainfall, and
much of the countryside is barren desert.
The Gospel also makes the putative author, Barnabas, one of
Christ's disciples. However, the New Testament records that
Barnabas only received his name after Christ's ascension (Acts
4:36).
The Book of Mormon, too, has some very well known geographical
problems. In fact, there are a number of different proposals
for a Book of Mormon geography, although all are speculative. No
Book of Mormon site has yet been positively identified in the New
World. New World history and archaeology are completely silent on
the subject of Jaredites, Nephites or Lamanites.
The Book of Mormon locates the Red Sea near
the Sea of Galilee (II Nephi 19:1), when it is, in fact, over 200
miles to the south.
Anachronistic Terms
The Gospel of Barnabas contains a number of anachronistic
terms. For example, wine is described as being kept in
wine-barrels, although such items were unknown during the first
century. In fact, wine was kept in wineskins. A system of coinage
of sixty mites to a denarius is asserted for first century
Palestine. In fact, no such system was used in Palestine, but a
similar system was used in medieval Spain.
The Gospel displays some confusion about the terms 'Christ'
and 'Messiah'. Although Jesus, in the Gospel of Barnabas, asserts
that he is not the Messiah, he still refers to himself as
'Christ'. The author of the Gospel was obviously unaware that
these two words are synonymous.
The Gospel also asserts that the Jewish feast of Jubilee was
celebrated every hundred years. In fact, the feast was celebrated
every fifty years (Lev 25:11), but was changed to every hundred
years by a papal bull in the Fourteenth century.
The Gospel often appears to indicate that feudalism was
practiced in First Century Palestine. Vassals and Lords appear in
the Gospel, as well as other feudal terms and practices.
The Book of Mormon, too, is replete with anachronistic terms.
The Book ascribes the use of horses,
cattle, sheep, wheat, chariots and steel swords to the American
natives, although it is clear that these items were only
introduced in Columbian times. The Book of Mormon, too, often
refers to 'Christ' as a proper
name (II Nephi 10:3), while using 'Messiah' as a title (I
Nephi 1:19).
The Book of Mormon asserts that the Jewish expatriates in the
New World kept the Law of Moses in all its points (II Nephi
25:24), yet never once explicitly refers to any of the regular Jewish feasts,
sacrifices or other cultic practices.
Anachronistic Sources
A cursory reading of the Gospel of Barnabas reveals a number
of quotes from Dante's Inferno. Terms such as 'false and lying
gods' and 'raging hunger' appear in the Gospel, and Hell is
described as consisting of seven centers. The 'circles of hell'
are also referred to.
It has also been shown that the Biblical text quoted in the
Gospel follows the text of the Catholic Vulgate, which was
translated about 400 AD.
The Book of Mormon, for its part, reveals a deep connection to
the English King James Version. The Book
quotes some large sections of Isaiah, often almost verbatim from
the King James Version. In addition, the Book of Mormon often
follows KJV translation errors and archaisms. It can also be
shown that New Testament quotes abound in
the Book of Mormon, despite the fact that its proposed authors
were separated from the Old World centuries before the New
Testament was written.
The Book of Mormon ascribes to the ancient Americans an origin
in the Old World, specifically in Israel. This theory was
propounded at length in the early nineteenth century in New
England, by a number of different writers. Among them were Ethan Smith, James Adair and Josiah
Priest. Scientific inquiry soon revealed this theory to be in
error.
Conclusion
Historical forgeries are difficult to produce, for the simple
fact that the author is required to be intimately familiar with
his target time-period. It is almost impossible to prevent
something of the author's real background from leaking into the
document; it is equally difficult to get all the minute details
of the remote time-period correct.
Both the Gospel of Barnabas and the Book of Mormon graphically
portray these problems. Both authors have allowed something of
their backgrounds to color the text. In the case of the anonymous
author of the Gospel, we find references to fourteenth century
medieval Europe in the narrative. In the case of Joseph Smith, we
find that almost all the traits that he gives to his mythical
Nephites have counterparts in his
own background, or in the Bible that he used so frequently.
Sources
The
Gospel of Barnabas (Abdul Saleeb)
Origins
and Sources of the Gospel of Barnabas (John Gilcrest)
The
Medieval Gospel of Barnabas - Full Text, Resources &
Discussion
Contents Copyright 1997 Curt
van den Heuvel
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