Gospel of Barnabas

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The Gospel of Barnabas is a pseudepigraphic gospel named after Barnabas , an apostle from the closer leadership of the Jesus movement . The transmission history of the text is controversial. The work is particularly important because its central statements strongly deviate from the faith tradition of almost all Christian denominations and contain Islamic ideas.

The Gospel of Barnabas was sometimes used by individual Islamic scholars as a key witness for a falsification of the teaching of Jesus in the Christian canonical texts. In contrast, the broad consensus in research sees this text as a forgery from the 14th to 16th centuries. However, the question is discussed whether it is a free creation by the forger or whether and to what extent he could have resorted to older sources, some of which are now lost or unknown, in the production.

The Gospel of Barnabas should not be confused with the letter of Barnabas from the 2nd century or the Acts of Barnabas , which belong to the New Testament Apocrypha .

text

The Gospel of Barnabas describes itself as "the true gospel of Jesus, called Christ, a new prophet sent by God to the world according to the record of Barnabas his apostle". The history of the text can only be traced back to the 16th century. The oldest completely preserved text is an Italian manuscript from the 16th century, which can be viewed today in the Austrian National Library . Furthermore, a Spanish manuscript from the 18th century has been preserved in fragments, which was rediscovered in Sydney in 1976 and in which chapters 120 to 200 are missing. Greek, Latin or Aramaic manuscripts were never discovered.

The postulated early text history is based on speculation. The Gospel was widespread in the early Church and was received by Irenaeus , for example, and in the meantime even belonged to the canon of the Alexandrian Church until it was banned in 325 by the Council of Nicaea . However, the Pope saved a copy in his private library, where it was kept until a friend of Pope Sixtus V stole it from the library at the end of the 16th century . According to another legend from the 16th century, a manuscript comes from Barnabas himself. It was discovered in the year 478 together with the mortal remains of Barnabas in Cyprus . The author relies on a Cypriot legend of the 5th century, which is controversial in its historicity, but in which a Gospel is reported that was copied by Barnabas.

There is no evidence of an early Christian existence of the Gospel of Barnabas known today. It is true that both the Decretum Gelasianum (496 AD) and the " List of 60 Books " from the 7th century, ascribed to Anastasios Sinaites , list apocryphal writings as a "Barnabas Gospel" among the books not accepted by the church. However, the scriptures are otherwise unknown and cannot be identified with the Gospel of Barnabas known today.

author

Several erroneous representations of the geography and history of Judea in the narratives show that the author did not know either the time or the location of the plot from his own experience. Against the suspicion that it could be an Islamic propaganda script, the considerable differences to the Islamic doctrine, which can be found in the text despite the adoption of Islamic ideas, speak against it .

One of the most likely explanations among historians is to see the author as a Christian who has converted to Islam and who has knowledge of both traditions. He probably wrote the text in Spain in the first half of the 14th century. In addition to the arguments already mentioned (medieval ideas, lack of ancient evidence), Lonsdale Ragg also puts forward the following argument about dating: The Gospel of Barnabas speaks of the jubilee years at intervals of 100 years, while the biblical tradition ( Lev 25.8-12  EU ) has a 50 - annual intervals. In 1300 AD, Pope Boniface VIII set the jubilee celebration at the 100-year interval , but as early as 1343 Clement VI shortened it . the time to the biblical 50 years and announced the next anniversary for 1350. Historically, there was a 100-year cycle of the jubilee year only in the period from 1300 to 1343, which speaks in favor of writing the Gospel of Barnabas at this time. Together with the term post quem (1315), which is marked by various allusions to Dante's Divine Comedy , this would result in a relatively narrow time frame for the dating of the composition of the Gospel.

The Turkish newspaper Türkiye reported on July 25, 1986 that a 1st century Aramaic manuscript of the Gospel of Barnabas had been discovered on Mount Mem in Uludere (Southeast Anatolia). The manuscript is said to be in the possession of the Turkish government, but is unpublished and since there is no other archaeologically or palaeographically secured information apart from press reports and declarations of intent , theories about the finds cannot be verified. Scientists already doubt the presumed age of the manuscript based on the photo published in the press and consider it to be a forgery.

content

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

  • Trinity, sonship of Jesus
  • Savior death on the cross
  • resurrection

The gospel tells the life story of Jesus and his disciples from the announcement of the birth of Jesus to his death. The text unites Jewish, Christian and Muslim elements. Like the other Gospels, it tells of Jesus' miracles, his parables, the Last Supper, betrayal, trial and crucifixion. Contrary to the Christian tradition, however, it is not Jesus who dies, but - due to a mix-up - Judas Iscariot on the cross. Consequently, there cannot have been any resurrection of Jesus either. With this, the Gospel of Barnabas expands a statement of the Koran, which, in its only mention of the crucifixion , assumes that Jesus was not crucified without explaining the true event or committing to another person (Sura 4, 157–158). There is decidedly Islamic thought throughout the text of the Gospel. It contains the Shahada (the Islamic creed), which was still unknown in early Christian times , names Adam , Abraham , Ishmael , Moses , David and Jesus indiscriminately ambassadors of God or makes the promise of the birth of Jesus to Ishmael, who also sacrificed instead of Isaac by Abraham should be. The text thus denies the exclusive position of Jesus Christ in Christianity.

From the reception of Islamic ideas, the non-Islamic editorial criticism concludes that the text at hand cannot have been written before the 7th century. At most it would be conceivable that an older model - if it existed at all - would have been revised in essential parts with a pro-Islamic tendency after the 7th century. A more detailed analysis of the content shows parallels to medieval ideas, such as Dante's ideas about heaven , hell and paradise or the ideals of medieval monk sascesis. The most likely dating for non-Islamic historians is therefore the period from the 14th to the 16th century.

Controversies between Islamic and Christian theologians

Despite the rejection of an early Christian origin of the book in research, the discussion about the authenticity of writing in religious disputes between Islam and Christianity has continued from its discovery by Islamic apologists from India in the 19th century until today. For apologetic reasons, some Islamic interpreters hold on to the assumption that the Gospel of Barnabas was written at an early stage and see it as evidence of the falsification of Christian revelation by the tradition of the Church, which in their eyes was especially determined by Paul of Tarsus , whom she called Understanding the opponents of Barnabas. Decent Christian interpreters, on the other hand, particularly vehemently reject the possibility of even partial authenticity or early Christian origin of the Gospel of Barnabas or its possible apocryphal source writings. Evangelical-Bible-believing Christians are already satisfied with the contradictions between the presentation of the Gospel of Barnabas and the canonical Gospels as evidence of forgery.

Differences to Christian and Islamic theology

The Gospel of Barnabas contains numerous correspondences with Islamic teachings, which is why, according to the prevailing opinion, a drafting of the scriptures cannot be scheduled before the seventh century. But the Gospel of Barnabas does not agree in every detail with Islamic teachings either. Something speaks for an author who was familiar with both the ecclesiastical teaching of the 14th century and Islam. The following points indicate Islamic influence:

  • Need for circumcision
  • Claim of falsification of the Old Testament by the Jews (Pharisees)
  • Claim of falsification of the New Testament by Christians
  • Prophets like Adam, Abraham, Ishmael, Moses, David and Jesus are called "messengers of God"
  • Adam recites the Islamic Creed ( Shahāda )
  • Ishmael, not Isaac, is almost sacrificed by Abraham
  • Jesus is sent to the Jews alone
  • Transmission of the revelation of God through the angel Gabriel
  • Jesus calls Muhammad “the greater one” who will come after him
  • Judas, not Jesus, is crucified
  • Paul falsified Christian teaching

Some contradictions with the Quran indicate that the author was only superficially familiar with Islam and did not know all of Islamic teachings. This is also interpreted as an indication that the author could have been a non-Muslim or a convert with a possibly Christian background. Among other things, the following statements of the Gospel of Barnabas are based on elements of the late medieval Christian (Roman Catholic) tradition and teaching, but are not found in the Koran:

  • Advocating monogamy
  • Birth of Jesus in a hostel in Bethlehem
  • Painless birth of Jesus
  • Nine heavens and, as the tenth, paradise (Christian misinterpretation of Islamic teaching)
  • Muhammad is regarded as the Messiah (Christian misinterpretation of Islamic teaching)

Main arguments against early dating

  • There is no text transmission of the Gospel of Barnabas before the sixteenth century.
  • In contrast to the canonical and also to apocryphal texts, no quotation from the Gospel of Barnabas has been found in the case of Christian church fathers or church teachers.
  • It is also not mentioned by any Islamic author before the 16th century.
  • There are several serious historical and geographical errors in the Gospel of Barnabas, such as the fact that Jesus Christ was born when Pilate was governor, i.e. only from AD 26 or 27 (chap. 3), or that Jesus went to Nazareth by ship ( Chapter 20), which is in the middle of the mainland.
  • There are contradictions in the Gospel of Barnabas with early non-Christian sources.
  • The Gospel of Barnabas quotes from the Vulgate , the Latin translation of the Bible, which, however, was not made until the end of the 4th century AD.
  • The Gospel of Barnabas mentions four of the Five Pillars of Islam , which, however, were unknown before the emergence of Islam in the 7th century AD.

See also

literature

Text editions and translations

  • Lonsdale Ragg, Laura Ragg: The Gospel of Barnabas. Clarendon Press, Oxford 1907. (last critical edition of the Italian and Arabic text with English translation, out of date)
  • Luigi Cirillo, with Michel Frémaux ( transl .): Évangile de Barnabé: fac-similé, traduction et notes. Beauchesne Religions, Paris 1977. (Facsimile with French translation and literary introduction, see review by John Wansbrough )
  • Luis F. Bernabé Pons: El texto morisco del Evangelio de San Bernabé. Granada, 1998.
  • Salim Spohr (ed.), Safiyya M. Linges (transl.): The Barnabas Gospel. 3rd edition, Spohr Verlag, Lympia, Lefkosia (Cyprus) 2014, ISBN 978-9963-40-002-7 . (German translation of the translation of the Raggs, with introduction and commentary)

Articles and Studies

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Jan Joosten: The Date and Provenance of the Gospel of Barnabas ( abstract ). In: Journal of Theological Studies , Volume 61, Issue 1, Oxford 2010, pp. 200–215 (here: p. 210).
  2. "Was an Aramaic Gospel found in Turkey?" (Article from The Barnabas Project website)
  3. Analogous cases are known with the Christian revision of originally Jewish texts, e.g. B. the Christian editing of the 3rd Baruch , 4th Baruch and 4th Esra books.