32 Reasons why the Gospel Of Barnabas is a 16th Century Forgery written by

Muslims.

The Koran teaches that someone who looked like Jesus was crucified on the cross
in a case of mistaken identity. Many Muslims appeal to the Gospel of Barnabas as
proof that the unknown look alike was Judas Iscariot.

 "they did not slay him, neither crucified him, only a likeness of that was
shown to them" (Qur'an 4:156)
 "Verily I say that the voice, the face, and the person of Judas were so like to
Jesus, that his disciples and believers entirely believed that be was Jesus"
(Gospel of Barnabas)

Islam: Truth or Myth? start page

Historical discovery of the Gospel of Barnabas in 1709 AD:

1. The "Gospel of Barnabas" (G.o.B.) first appeared in Holland in 1709. This

manuscript was written in Italian and supplied with footnotes in poor
Arabic. The sources of the "Gospel" are unknown. This document is now
preserved in the Imperial Museum in Vienna.
2. George Sale translated the Qur'an from Arabic into English in 1734. In his
preface, he mentions another copy of the same "Gospel" in Spanish. This
document is lost and all we know about it is what Sale wrote down. It says
in a statement on the title page that it was a translation from the Italian by a
Spanish Muslim named Mostafa de Aranda (Aranda is a town in Spain). It
further mentions that the Italian text had been stolen by a monk, Fra Marino,
from the papal library, while Pope Sixtus V was having a little nap. After
reading it Fra Marino became a Muslim. Since that time, Muslims have
claimed that the "Gospel of Barnabas" is an authentic Gospel, perhaps even
the "original" one. In 1907 the G.o.B. was translated into English by Laura
and Lonsdale Ragg. In the introduction, they provide internal and external
evidence to the effect that the G.o.B. was a Medieval forgery.
3. Since then Arabic and Urdu translations have been produced, all, however,
without the introduction by the Raggs. Lt.-Col. M.A. Rahim (Pakistan)
reprinted the G.o.B. in English in 1973, again omitting the introduction, but
substituting another one written from the Islamic point of view.
4. The Gospel of Barnabas has been extensively used by Muslims to
demonstrate that the Bible has been corrupted, when measured against a
 Gospel that was hidden away for nearly two millennia. Needless to say, the
G.o.B. largely confirms the teaching of Islam concerning Jesus.
5. To believe that the Gospel of Barnabas is anything other than a 16th century
fraud is an assault on common sense.

The content of the Gospel of Barnabas:

1. Above all, the entire G.o.B. endeavours to show the superiority of

Muhammad over Jesus.
2. Of the G.o.B. presents another Gospel narrative, i.e. another record of the
life and ministry of Christ. On most doctrinal points it differs widely from
the accepted Gospel account and in such a way that the Islamic version of
Jesus is emphasized.
3. Jesus Christ is neither the Son of God, nor divine. He is rather: "the voice
crying in the wilderness" to prepare the way for the coming Messiah,
Muhammad. In the G.o.B. Christ is not the Messiah, but assumes instead a
role similar to that of John the Baptist in our Gospel account. John the
Baptist is not mentioned in the G.o.B. Consequently, the emphasis in the
G.o.B. is on the coming of Muhammad, the saviour of the world (Chapter
96b and 97b, etc.). As might be expected, Christ was not crucified (in
agreement with Sura 4:156), but instead Judas was killed in His place.
During the period of His supposed arrest, Christ was hiding in a house in the
garden of Gethsemane from where He was taken out by four (!) archangels
(a much later tradition or legend) through the window and ascended into the
third of seven heavens.

32 reasons why the Gospel of Barnabas is a forgery written in 1585 AD:

"Internal Evidence is supplied by the content of the book itself. Any writing is
sure to bear the mark of a particular age. The style, language and subject matter of
the book will betray it." (Gairdner, page 9).

"If someone brought you a film which he claimed to have been made in 1905 and
started to screen it and it looked every bit like an old film, with old clothes and
fashions, you might believe him. If, however, in the middle of a scene ... you saw a
Concorde going across the sky, you would say ... 'This film is a fabrication.'" (John
Gilchrist).

A. Irrefutable proof the Gospel of Barnabas was written around 1585

AD:

1. Most suspicious of course, is any mentioning of the name of Muhammad.

(In Chapters 44, 54, 112, 97 and 163, etc.) It is particularly suspicious, since
all the other evidence points to the fact that the whole of the G.o.B is a
Medieval forgery. But other Islamic thought is also reflected in the G.o.B.
2. In Chapter 54, the Italian text mentions a denarius, which is made up of 60
minuti. These gold coins were used only in Spain under Khalif Abdul Malik
(in 685 A.D.).
3. The Italian poet Dante lived about the time of the composition of the G.o.B.
(1265-1321) and it is interesting to notice a number of quotations from
Dante's works in the G.o.B. There are many and they can hardly be regarded
as coincidences. The G.o.B. quotes Jesus as saying to Peter: "Know ye
therefore, that hell is one, yet hath seven centres one below another. Hence,
even as sin is of seven kinds, for as seven gates of hell has Satan generated
it: So are seven punishments therein." (Chapter 135a). This is exactly what
Dante says in Cantos V, VI, etc. of his "Inferno". Again "Barnabas" says
that God, having created the human senses, condemned them "to hell and to
intolerable snow and ice" (Chapter 106, which corresponds with Cantos
XXVIII and III of the "Inferno"). The description of human sins and their
returning at the end like a river to Satan, who is their source, is another
indirect quotation from Dante's description of the rivers of hell. Similarly,
the passages about the believers going to hell, not to be tortured, but to see
the unbelievers in their torments, recalls to mind Dante's picture of the same.
The differentiation between degrees of glory, and the absence of all feuds
and jealousies in heaven, are taken entirely from Dante's "Paradise", Canto
III. But still stronger evidence that "Barnabas" quotes directly or indirectly
from Dante is his description of the "Geography of Heaven". There
"Barnabas" agrees with Dante and contradicts even the Qur'an itself. The
Qur'an (Sura 2:29) says that the heavens are seven in number, while
"Barnabas" gives the number as nine (Chapter 178a) (Gairdner, pages 19-
21). These few indications are sufficient evidence that the writer of the
G.o.B. must have been acquainted with the writings of Dante and
consequently must have I lived after Dante, or else been a contemporary of
his.
4. First we should like to observe that all quotations in the G.o.B. from Old and
New Testament are taken from the Vulgate translation. (Approximately 380
A.D.) This Latin Bible has been used in the Catholic Church ever since. The
above is an example of an anachronism because the G.o.B. is supposed to
date from before the Vulgate was written.
5. In Chapters 91-92 we are told that Jesus and His disciples kept "the 40
days". The context clearly shows that this refers to the period of Lent before
Easter, celebrated by the church, but from a very much later period than the
days of the early church. (The church meditates at this time on the suffering
of Christ, which was obviously unknown when Christ was still alive). We
find that Lent was celebrated only from the fourth century A.D. onwards.
Jesus and His disciples are said to have gone for the 40 day fast to Mount
Sinai. which is some 450 km away. There is no report in the New Testament
to confirm this.
6. In Chapter 3 of the G.o.B. the birth of Christ is described as having been
painless. This belief was not current in the Church before Thomas Aquinas
(died 1278) but is mentioned in Sura 19:23
7. Not before the Fourth Century A.D. was the title "Virgin" given to Mary, yet
it appears in the G.o.B.
8. Origen A.D. 184-254 was the first scholar to assume that Mount Tabor was
the Mount of Transfiguration. The Bible does not confirm this. The
Christian tradition that it was Mount Moriah begins only in the Third
Century, and yet the G.o.B. contains this information.
9. The G.o.B. mentions four archangels, which is also a tradition of the church
that dated from the early Medieval period.
10. In Chapter 82 mention is made of the "Years of the Jubilee, which now
cometh every 100 years." The Year of Jubilee, according to the Old
Testament, was every 50th year (after seven times seven years). The origin
of this faulty information is as follows: In the year A.D. 1300 Pope Boniface
the VIII instituted the Jubilee as a centenary event. Owing to its financial
success, however, Pope Clement VI reversed Boniface's decision and
celebrated the next Jubilee in 1350. This was thus the only time that the
Year of Jubilee was intended as a centenary occasion - it never was in
practice. (Gairdner, page 19).
11. Eve is said to have eaten an "apple" in Paradise (Chapters 40 and 41). We
are well aware that Eve ate an unspecified fruit, but the belief that this was
an apple dates from a very much later date.
12. Another proof of the G.o.B. being Medieval in origin, is that we have a
report (Chapter 99) of a duel between two rival lovers. This type of chivalry
was a creation of Medieval society (Gairdner, page 24).
13. In Chapter 39 Adam sees bright writing and the content is none other than
the Kalimah. There is only one God" and "Muhammad is the Messenger of
God." (The Kalimah is an Arabic word which has found its way to other
languages of Muslim people. It refers to the declaration which brings a
person into the fold of Islam. Anyone who wishes to be a Muslim must
declare that he believes in the Oneness of Allah and in the Prophet as Allah's
messenger.)

B. Factual errors of history, geography and violations of common sense:

14. The surprised reader of the G.o.B. finds Nazareth on the shore of Lake
Galilee (Chapter 20), whereas it is a town miles away from the Lake,
surrounded by mountains.
15. In the next chapter, we see Jesus going UP to Capernaum, whereas
Capernaum is situated right on the shore of the Lake.
16. In Chapter 151 we are told that Jesus embarked on a ship (from Nazareth?)
and next we read that he arrived in Jerusalem. We might well ask whether
this was also done by boat?
17. We are further informed that a certain dispute would have ended in war, but
the Romans assembled three armies each numbering 200,000 men at Mizpeh
(Chapter 91). The entire Roman army at that time numbered only 300,000,
however. (Encyclopedia Britannica).
18. According to the G.o.B. Jesus was born when Pilate was governor, but in
fact he only became governor between A.D. 26 and 27.
19. In Chapter 145 of the G.o.B. Pharisees date back as far as the time of Elijah
and there were supposed to have been 17,000. In fact, history first knows
about Pharisees seven centuries later, in the period between 135-104 B.C.
20. We find it highly suspicious and wrong to read that the Torah was written
by an Ismaelite (Chapter 192).
21. In Chapter 152 we are informed that soldiers were "rolled out of the temple
as one rolleth casks of wood when they are washed to refill them with
wine." Wooden barrels were invented 2000 years ago in Gaul but were not
used in the East in New Testament times. Wine and other liquids were
stored in skins.

C. Contradictions with the Bible:

22. In Chapter 6 another interesting common error is found. It speaks here of the
three Magi or wise men coming from the East. The New Testament does not
specify the number, but gives a list of three gifts that were brought by the
Magi, namely gold, myrrh and frankincense. This later led to the assumption
that there were three wise men from the East. But this belief certainly does
not derive or date from the New Testament.
23. In the G.o.B. (Chapter 1) "Barnabas" is called an Apostle. This is not correct
in its implication. Although Barnabas is referred to as an Apostle (Acts
14:4,14), the G.o.B. concept is quite different. The conversion of Barnabas
took place after the Day of Pentecost and consequently he does not qualify
for apostleship as outlined in Acts 1:21-22 (and bearing in mind I
Corinthians 15:8, 9:1-2, 1:1, Romans 1:1 etc.).
24. "Jesus drew near to the Priest (High Priest) with reverence, but he was
wishful to bow himself down and worship Jesus, when Jesus cried out:
'Beware of that which thou doest, Priest of the Living God! Sin not against
our God!" (Chapter 93). Jesus accepted worship many times in scripture
because He is the creator.
25. In "the true book of Moses ... (it) is written that Ishmael is the father of
Messiah, and Isaac the father of the messenger of the Messiah" (Chapter
191).
26. In Chapter 222, the last chapter of the G.o.B., we read: "After Jesus had
departed (after having been raised from his hiding place through the window
of the house in the Garden of Gethsemane) the disciples scattered through
the different parts of Israel and of the world, and the truth, hated of Satan,
was persecuted, as it always is, by falsehood. For certain evil men,
pretending to be disciples, preached that Jesus died and rose not again.
 Others preached that he really died, but rose again. Others preached and yet
preach that Jesus is the Son of God, among whom is Paul deceived." The
G.o.B. herewith endeavours to correct preceding Gospels and Paul. We wish
to ask the question when and how was the writer aware that the disciples
had scattered throughout the different parts of the world? This question is
left open, but easily answered by us, for we believe that it is yet another
anachronism.
27. In Chapter 97 Muhammad is clearly called the Messiah. The Qur'an, as well
as the Bible confers this title on Jesus. It is somehow strange to realize that
in the introduction of the G.o.B. Jesus is called Christ and in Chapters 42
and 82 "Barnabas" denies that Jesus is the Messiah. Only a theologically
very ignorant person could have made such statements, because "Christos"
is the Greek word for the Hebrew "Messiah".
28. In Chapter 80 of the G.o.B. we find a story about Daniel, which has it that
he was taken captive by Nebuchadnezzar while he was yet two years old.
This statement, it will be observed, is incompatible with what may be
inferred from the Bible narrative. According to the latter, it was in the
second year of his reign that Nebuchadnezzar had his famous dream, which
Daniel interpreted. "Then the King gave Daniel high honours and many
great gifts, and made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon, and
chief prefect over the all-wise men of Babylon." (Daniel 2:48). Now if we
suppose that Nebuchadnezzar captured Daniel in the first year of his reign
(the earliest possible date, which could be assigned to Daniel's captivity) and
that, according to "Barnabas", Daniel was then two years old, it would
follow then that in the second year of Nebuchadnezzar's reign, Daniel was
only three years old (Gairdner, page 26). Daniel was in fact born in 621 B.C.
and the captivity began in 605 B.C., so he was 16 years old when taken
prisoner.

D. Islam and the Qur'an was the obvious source:

29. Jesus prayed five times a day according to the G.o.B. and all the Muslim
prayer times are mentioned. (Drs. J. Slomp, page 128).
30. The Islamic concept of "the Book" is found in Chapter 10, where we read
that the angel Gabriel presented to Jesus as it were a shining mirror, a book,
which descended into the heart of Jesus. This corresponds very well with
Suras 5:49 and 2:97.
31. We read that Ishmael was offered on the altar by Abraham (Chapter 44).
This is clearly an Islamic concept.
32. God is said to be the God of Abraham, ISHMAEL and Isaac in Chapter 212.
It should read, according to the O.T. the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob.

Bibliography:
 1. "The Gospel of Barnabas" edited and translated by Lonsdale and Laura
Ragg (1907), published by Begum Aisha Bawany Wakf Bank House No. 1
Habib Square M.A. Sinnah Road Karachi - Pakistan
2. "The Gospel of Barnabas, an Essay and Inquiry" by Selim 'Abdul-Ahad and
W.H.T. Gairdner. (1975)
3. Publishers: "Henry Martyn Institute of Islamic Studies". P.O. Box 153,
Hyderabad, India.
4. "Pseudo-Barnabas in the context of Muslim-Christian Apologetics" by Dr.
Jan Slomp. (1974) Published by: "Christian Study Centre" 126-B Murree
Road, Rawalpindi, Pakistan
5. A paper by J.N.J. Kritzinger entitled "The Gospel of Barnabas Carefully
Examined"
6. "Origins and Sources of the Gospel of Barnabas" by John Gilchrist
7. "Missing Documents from the Gospel of Barnabas" by Adam Peerbhai

Organized by Brother Andrew Who offers special thanks to Gerhard Nehls and his
book, "Christians Answer Muslims", The gospel of Barnabas, which was adapted
in the preparation of this outline.

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