Much to the dismay of the Vatican, an approx.
1500-2000 year old bible was found in Turkey, in the Ethnography Museum of Ankara.
Discovered and kept secret in the year 2000, the book
contains the Gospel of Barnabas – a disciple of Christ – which shows that Jesus
was not crucified, nor was he the son of God, but a Prophet. The book also calls Apostle Paul “The
Impostor”. The book also claims that
Jesus ascended to heaven alive, and that Judas Iscariot was crucified in his
place.
A report by The National Turk says that the Bible was
seized from a gang of smugglers in a Mediterranean-area operation. The report
states the gang was charged with smuggling antiquities, illegal excavations,
and the possession of explosives. The
books itself is valued as high as 40 Million Turkish Liras (approx. 28 mil.
Dollars). Man, where is the Thieves
Guild, when you need them?
Authenticity
According to reports, experts and religious
authorities in Tehram insist that the book is original. The book itself is written with gold
lettering, onto loosely-tied leather in Aramaic, the language of Jesus
Christ.The text maintains a vision similar to Islam, contradicting the New
Testament’s teachings of Christianity.
Jesus also foresees the coming of the Prophet Muhammad, who would found
Islam 700 years later.
It is believed that, during the Council of Nicea, the
Catholic Church hand-picked the gospels that form the Bible as we know it
today; omitting the Gospel of Barnabas (among many others) in favor of the four
canonical gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Many biblical texts have begun to surface
over time, including those of the Dead Sea and Gnostic Gospels; but this book
especially, seems to worry the Vatican.
The Catholic Church wants in
What does this mean to Christian-derived religions
and their followers? Quite a tight
spot. The Vatican has asked Turkish
authorities to let them examine the contents of the bookwithin the Church. Now that the book has been found, will they
come to accept the it and its evidence?
Will they deny it altogether? Call
it a “Muslim lie”, as did the “Truth” Magazine, in 2000?
To many, this book is a beacon of hope, that
believers soon realize that the object of their adoration is arbitrary; and
that all text, especially religious text, is subject to interpretation.
What does this mean to atheists/agnostics/secular
thinkers? Is the text real? Fake?
Does it matter? Hopefully, this
news inspires the religious to ask questions, instead of pointing fingers or
believing anything blindly.
Please, don’t go poking fun or tossing around the “I
told you so!”s. The biggest danger of
faith is when people believe what they want to believe, defending against any
and all evidence; especially when that evidence revolutionizes their foundation
from the ground up. And the biggest
culprit to that danger is the ego trap: rejecting/criticizing others, for being
unlike you.
For centuries, the “defense” of blind faith has
driven nations to war, violence, discrimination, slavery and to become the
society of automatons that we are today; and for just as long, it has been
justified with lies. If you know better,
act like it.
This article originally appeared on Sons on the Pyre & National Turk Report
