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The Gospel of Barnabas Taken from the Book: "What Did Jesus Really Say?

" by Misha'al al- hadi

Many of the fundamental beliefs of !hristianity "hi#h ha$e been for many #enturies taken on blind faith %those "hi#h differ from the beliefs of Muslims& are no" be'innin' to be #hallen'ed by some of the foremost s#holars and reli'ious leaders of !hristianity today( )n e*am+le of this #an be found in the British ne"s+a+er the "Daily ,e"s" -./0/12 under the headin' "Shock survey of Anglican Bishops" We read that a British tele$ision +ole of 34 of the 35 )n'li#an Bisho+s in 6n'land found 45 to belie$e that it is not ne#essary for !hristians to belie$e that Jesus %+buh& is 7od8 but only "9is su+reme a'ent" %his messen'er& as tau'ht by Muslims for 42:: years no" and testified to by John 17:3 "And this is life eternal, that

they might kno thee the only true !od, and Jesus "hrist, hom you hast sent#" These are not i'norant men8 nor are they Muslims( They are
eminent !hristian s#holars "ho ha$e dedi#ated their li$es to their reli'ious studies8 and the study of the Bible and the $arious dis#re+an#ies to be found therein( ;t is the s#ientifi# and lo'i#al resear#h of these men into the Bible and other an#ient "orks of the !hristian so#iety %in the li'ht of modern kno"led'e&8 "hi#h is dri$in' them e$er #loser to the beliefs of the Muslims "ith e$ery +assin' day( By !hristian standards8 these +eo+le ha$e e$erythin' to lose and nothin' to 'ain by su#h statements( ;t is $ery easy to #asually brush off the lifelon' study of some of the most eminent s#holars of !hristendom and label them men of i'noran#e and +roudly #laims to be more kno"led'eable than them "ithout botherin' to study their findin's( ;t is mu#h harder to take the time to study the e$iden#e that dro$e them to this #on#lusion( ;n this book "e ha$e +resented e*tensi$e histori#al and s#ri+tural e$iden#e in both the Bible and the !hristian "ritin's of the first si* #enturies !(6( "hi#h dro$e these men to their #on#lusions( Some +eo+le ha$e been #ommanded to belie$e blindly in #ertain matters and ne$er ask <uestions( =thers "ill insist on 'i$in' e$ery sin'le $erse of the Bible "hi#h #ontradi#ts their +ersonal beliefs an "abstra#t" meanin'( When in doubt they say ""hat the author "rote is not "hat he meant" and then they +ro#eed to 'i$e you their +ersonal inter+retation totally side-ste++in' the ob$ious meanin' of the $erses in front of them( ,o matter ho" mu#h e$iden#e is +resented they are +erfe#tly "illin' to e*+lain it all a"ay "ith abstra#t meanin's( =n many o##asions they don't e$en bother to analy>e their o"n abstra#t meanin's to see if lo'i#8 or the Bible8 su++ort them( That is their #hoi#e8 our ?ob is only to sho" them the e$iden#e( ;t is u+ to them to a##e+t or re?e#t it( "Say: = +eo+le of the

S#ri+ture@ Stress not in your reli'ion other than the truth8 and follo" not the $ain

desires of folk "ho erred of old and led many astray and di$er'ed from the strai'ht +ath" $ur%an, Al&'aidah()*:77(
When Jesus %+buh& "as amon' his +eo+le8 +rea#hin' the #ommand of 7od8 he "as abused8 ridi#uled and deni'rated( )ll manner of a##usations and +ro+a'anda "ere le$eled a'ainst him( 9e "as #alled a liar8 a "i#ked +hysi#ian8 a offs+rin' of adultery8 and many other alle'ations in an effort to dissuade his +eo+le from follo"in' him( The enemies of 7od "ere so bold in their #am+ai'n of slander a'ainst him that they e$en "ent so far as to fabri#ate lies and slanderous atro#ities about his #hildhood( 9o"e$er8 this "as to be e*+e#ted( ;ndeed8 this "as the lot of all of the +ro+hets of 7od sin#e the be'innin' of time( ;n a similar manner8 to this day "hen ;slam and Muslims are +ortrayed in the Western media it is only under the headin's of terrorism8 e*tremism8 and fundamentalism( Seldom8 if e$er8 is the other side of the story 'i$en e<ual8 if any8 time( Those "ho fi'ht so #ontinuously to s+read su#h mis#on#e+tions reali>ed that "ith enou'h #ontinuous bombardment of su#h #on#e+ts8 the masses "ill e$entually #ome to a##e+t them as "kno"n fa#t(" )s a result of this8 "hen a Muslim <uotes from the Aur'an8 he is usually +er#ei$ed as +ro+a'atin' terrorism and heathenisti# un'odly $iolen#e or similar matters and no one is "illin' to listen to him( ;f he <uotes from the studies of Muslims8 e$en !hristians "ho ha$e #on$erted to ;slam8 his "ords are #onsidered biased and "orthless( 6$en if eminent !hristian s#holars8 unbiased s#ientists8 and the Bible itself are <uoted8 the !hristian s#holars are labeled "liberals8" and thus un"orthy8 the s#ientists as mistaken8 and the Bibli#al $erses as not meanin' "hat they say but rather ha$in' abstra#t meanin's(

"; shall turn a"ay from my si'ns those "ho are arro'ant in the earth un?ustifiably8 and if they see all the si'ns %in #reation& they belie$e them not8 and if they see the +ath of ri'hteousness they do not take it as %their& +ath8 and if they see the +ath of mis'uidan#e they take it as %their& +ath( That is be#ause they deny our si'ns and are used to disre'ardin' them" +he $ur%an, Al&
Aaraf(7*:1,-#

"They are not all alike( =f the +eo+le of the book are a +ortion "hom stand %for that "hi#h is ri'ht&8 "ho re#ite the re$elations of )llah throu'hout the ni'ht "hile +rostrate %before 9im&" +he $ur%an, A%al&.mran(3*:113# ")nd Bo@ =f the +eo+le of the S#ri+ture are those "ho belie$e in )llah and that "hi#h "as sent do"n to you and that "hi#h "as sent do"n to them8 humblin' themsel$es before )llah( They +ur#hase not a triflin' 'ain at the +ri#e of the re$elations of )llah( Cerily8 their re"ard is "ith their Bord8 and Bo@ )llah is s"ift to take a##ount(" +he $ur%an, A%al&.mran(3*:1//(

The #hoi#e of the +resent four 7os+els %in#ludin' the "ritin's of St( Daul "ho is #redited "ith sin'le-handedly "ritin' the ma?ority of the books of the ,e" Testament& "as im+osed in the #onferen#e of ,i#ea 3-. )D under the aus+i#es of the Da'an 6m+eror !onstantine for +oliti#al reasons( Biterally hundreds of 'os+els and reli'ious "ritin's "ere #onsidered ")+o#ry+ha" %"hi#h a#tually means "hidden from the +eo+le"& and destroyed( Some of these "ere "ritten by dis#i+les of Jesus %+buh&8 and not dis#i+les of dis#i+les "ho had ne$er met Jesus %+buh&8 su#h as Daul( ;f they "ere not more authenti# than the #urrent sele#tion then they "ere at least of e<ual authenti#ity( Some of these are still a$ailable8 su#h as the "7os+el of Barnabas" "hi#h a'rees "ith the Aur'an and e$en mention Muhammad %+buh& by name( Modern dis#o$eries su#h as the dis#o$ery of the dead sea s#rolls %Aumran s#rolls& ha$e also #onfirmed the #laims of the Aur'an %su#h as their #laim that no nail shall tou#h the Messiah&( The most an#ient #o+ies of the 7reek 7os+els a$ailable today date fully three to four #enturies after the de+arture of Jesus%+buh&( The Dead sea s#rolls8 #oin#ide histori#ally "ith the time of John the Ba+tist( They "ere <ui#kly dated from the -nd #entury B! throu'h the 4st #entury )D by the s#ri+t in "hi#h they "ere "ritten and by ar#haeolo'i#al in$esti'ations of the settlement near the Aumran #a$es( They "ere dis#o$ered alon'side the most an#ient #o+y of the =ld Testament a$ailable today( ;n an effort to defend the tea#hin's of the #urrent 7reek 'os+els8 Mr( E(E( Bru#e has the follo"in' to say in his book "The ,e" Testament do#uments( )re they

reliable?": ";t is "orth mentionin' here that strikin' affinities of thou'ht and lan'ua'e ha$e been re#o'ni>ed bet"een the 7os+el and the Aumran te*ts( +hese affinities must not 0e e1aggerated2 the $umran literature comes no here near presenting us ith such a figure as the Jesus of this !ospel (John*" %em+hasis added&(
)ny !hristian s#holar of !hristian history "ill readily #onfirm that after the famous #oun#il of ,i#ea %3-. )D&8 the #hur#h of St( Daul %The Roman !atholi# !hur#h& sele#ted out of the o$er three hundred 7os+els in their +ossession the four that most #losely #onformed to their do#trines( )ll others8 in#ludin' the 7os+el of Barnabas8 "ere ordered #om+letely destroyed( They also ruled that all 7os+els "ritten in 9ebre" "ere to be destroyed( )n edi#t "as issued that anyone found in +ossession of an unauthori>ed 7os+el "ould be +ut to death( !ountless numbers of !hristians "ere then systemati#ally killed as hereti#s and burned at the stake if they maintained their belief in the di$ine Fnity of 7od and did not #onform to the inno$ati$e tea#hin's of Daul( ;t is "ell kno"n that this +ra#ti#e #ontinued until at least the year 4040 )D( Well then8 ho" did the 7os+el of Barnabas rea#h us? ;t is "ell kno"n and re#orded that the 7os+el of Barnabas "as a##e+ted as !anoni#al in the !hur#hes of )le*andria till 3-. )D( Do+e Damasus %3:2-312 )D(& issued a de#ree that the

7os+el of Barnabas should not be read( This de#ree "as su++orted by 7elasus8 Bisho+ of !aesaria "ho died in 35. )D( Do+e Demasus8 ho"e$er8 did se#ure a +ersonal #o+y of the 7os+el of Barnabas for himself in 313 )D( and +la#ed it in his +ri$ate library( Many de#rees make mention of the 7os+el of Barnabas8 su#h as the de#ree of the Western #hur#hes in 31-)D8 Do+e ;nno#ent in 20.)(D(8 the 7lasian De#ree of 250)(D(8 Do+e 9ormisdas8 and it is mentioned in the Sti#hometry of ,i#eo+horus( There are many others "ho made note of this 7os+el throu'hout history or obtained their o"n #o+ies( ;n 2G1)D8 the fourth year of 6m+eror Heno8 the remains of Barnabas "ere dis#o$ered and there "as found on his breast a #o+y of the 7os+el of Barnabas "ritten by his o"n hand( %)#ia San#torum Borland Junii Tom ;;8 +a'es 2-- and 2.:( )nt"er+ 4051& The famous Cul'ate Bible a++ears to ha$e been based u+on this 7os+el( )mon' the early !hristians "as a man named ;ranaeus %43:--:: )D&( ;ranaeus "as amon' the follo"ers of the tea#hin's of the a+ostles and8 like the first !hristians before him8 a belie$er in the di$ine unity and not in the ne" Dauline do#trines( ;ranaeus dedi#ated his life to the liberation of the !hristians from the tyranny that "as meted out to all those "ho did not a##e+t the Dauline do#trines( 9e bitterly #riti#i>ed Daul for ha$in' in?e#ted the do#trines of the +a'an Romans and Dlatoni# +hiloso+hy into the reli'ion of Jesus( 9e "as "itness durin' his lifetime to massi$e efforts to mute all o++osition to Daul's #hur#h throu'h the murder of all "ho o++osed him8 su#h as Dothinus8 Bisho+ of Byons( ;ranaeus himself "as finally murdered in -::)D for his outs+okenness a'ainst Daul and his #hur#h( ;ranaeus "rote e*tensi$ely durin' his lifetime8 and in his "ritin's he <uoted e*tensi$ely from the 7os+el of Barnabas( ;n the si*teenth #entury )D( a #lose friend of Do+e Se*tus %4.15-4.5:& #alled Era Marino8 be#ame e*tremely interested in the "ritin's of ;ranaeus( =ne day he "as in$ited to $isit the Do+e and lun#h "ith him( )fter eatin' "ith him8 the Do+e be#ame dro"sy and fell aslee+( Eather Marino took to bro"sin' throu'h the $arious books and manus#ri+ts in the +ri$ate library of Do+e Se*tus and ha++ened u+on an ;talian translation of the 7os+el of Barnabas( Eather Marino #on#ealed it in his slee$e and left the Cati#an "ith it( This 7os+el +assed throu'h many hands until it rea#hed the hands of "a +erson of 'reat name and authority" in )msterdam ""ho durin' his lifetime8 "as often heard to +ut a hi'h $alue on this +ie#e(" )fter his death8 it #ame into the +ossession of J(6( !ramer8 !oun#ilor of the in' of Drussia( ;n 4G438 !ramer +resented this 7os+el to the famous #onnoisseur of books8 Drin#e 6u'ene of Sa$oy( ;n 4G318 the library of the Drin#e8 in#ludin' this 7os+el "as in#or+orated into the 9ofbibliothek in Cienna "here it no" rests(

=nly the +o+ularity of this #o+y of the 7os+el of Barnabas sa$ed it from the fate of most other #o+ies( Most #o+ies of the 7os+el of Barnabas had a tenden#y of mysteriously disa++earin' into obli$ion( This "as the #ase "ith a S+anish #o+y "hi#h mysteriously disa++eared from the !olla'e Bibrary in 6n'land around the same time +eriod( The 7os+el of Barnabas "as translated into 6n'lish by Mr( and Mrs( Ra'' and +ublished in the !larindon Dress in =*ford in 45:G( ;n 45:G8 =*ford Dress +ublished this "ork but mysteriously8 all #o+ies disa++eared from the market( =nly t"o #o+ies are kno"n to ha$e es#a+ed( =ne #o+y is housed in the Bibrary of !on'ress in Washin'ton8 D!( The other is lo#ated in the British museum( ) ne" +rintin' has been made off of these #o+ies and this +rintin' is a$ailable today( Some 3uotations from the !ospel of Barna0as: ;n re+ly to a <uestion by Dhili+8 Dro+het Jesus said: "7od alone hath no e<ual(

9e hath had no be'innin'8 nor "ill he e$er ha$e a end8 ((( 9e hath no sons8 nor brethern8 nor #om+anions(" %7os+el of Barnabas:4G&( "((( Cerily ye ha$e erred 'reatly8 = ;sraelites8 in #allin' me8 a man8 your 7od( ((( ; #onfess before hea$en8 ((( that ; am a stran'er to all that ye ha$e saidI seein' that ; am man8 born of a mortal "oman8 sub?e#t to the ?ud'ment of 7od8 sufferin' the miseries of eatin' and slee+in'8 of #old and heat8 like other men8( Whereu+on "hen 7od shall #ome to ?ud'e8 my "ords like a s"ord shall +ier#e ea#h one %of them& that belie$e me to be more than man8" %7os+el of Barnabas:
53&( Re'ardin' the a+ostle Barnabas8 the Bible #ommands: "if he comes to you,

receive him#" The Bible8 !olossians 2:4:

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