From: hudson@athena.cs.uga.edu (Paul Hudson Jr)
Subject: Re: Jesus is a Prophet, not Son of God
Organization: University of Georgia, Athens
Date: Tue, 10 Nov 1992 22:36:37 GMT

In article <92315.103940RBNXHS@rohvm1.rohmhaas.com> <RBNXHS@rohvm1.rohmhaas.com> writes:

>        Your statements concerning Jesus's claim of Godhood, etc. are based on
>        the New Testament books - all of which are PSEUDOPIGRAPHIC (I have
>        provided, in a separate reply, the references to this proven theory).

So, you are saying the gospel of Barnabas, (which was written in Arabic
before Islam emerged) is authentic, while the gospels, of which we have
fragments as early as the first century, are pseudopigraphal?  Not hardly.

>        As such, the statements which are attributed to Jesus simply
>        may not be true. Biblical scholars all agree that none of the gospels
>        were written by actual disciples (not even Matthew's and John's),

This is simply not true.


>        period of 33-70 c.e. (again let me remind you that John the Elder, the
>        supposed writer of John's gospel was not John-the disciple of Jesus).

I think you may have it confused.  Revelations has often been attributed
to John the Elder.  The gospel and the first epistle are attributed to 
John the son of Zebedee.

>        During the period of canonization of the books in the 4th century,
>        more than 240 books were destroyed/banned, which did not agree with
>        Pauline version. In that list of forbidden books were books, which
>        included the writings of the original disciples. Biblical scholars
>        have shown that, based on latest findings in the Naag Hamadi area
>        in Egypt and Qumran/Dead Sea areas, the belief of these original
>        disciples were quite different than what the christians today believe
>        in.

The gnostic anti-Christ roots of Islam go back hundreds of years.  There
were false teachings even the days of the apostles.  Some even taught that
the resurrection had already taken place.  Of course this was false.  
Paul taught the same gospel the other apostles taught.  Check out the
the writings of Irenaeus, for example, who had the traditions passed
down to him from John, and see how it lines up with "Pauline Christianity."
"Johanine Christianity" and "pauline Christianity" teach the same gospel.

>        Robinson's "The Second Treatise of the Great Seth", and M.A. Yusseff's
>        "The Dead Sea Scrolls, the gospel of Barnabas and the New Testament."
>        In the christian apocryphal book, Gospel of Barnabas, it is stated that
>        Jesus was only a Prophet, and even not the last messenger. Jesus is
>        reported to have said that after him would come Muhammad - the last
>        messenger of God. It also stated that Jesus did receive revelation like
>        other prophets of God. Here, I am quite familiar with discomfort of
>        most christians, and as a result of which the christian clergy over
>        the last eight and a half decade went out on a crusadic mission to
>        question the authenticity of this gospel. We understand their sensi-
>        tivity since if one were to accept the gospel of Barnabas as contain-
>        ing the uncontaminated teachings of Jesus, then there would be nothing
>        left of christianity to propagate, but to accept Islam.

There are a host of other gnostic gospels written after the apostles also.
But, also note that Muhammad did not live in a vacuum.  Islam contains
other stories from late, false gospels.  maybe Muhammad heard some of the
stories of the g of b.  I think there are some contradictions between this
writing and Islam anyway.


>        christian clergies have even suggested that the gospel might have beenn
>        written by a Muslim in the mid-16th century, or possibly by a newly
>        convert to Islam. These kind of theories by biased researchers cannot
>        hide the very fact that the gospel had nothing to do with Muslims/
>        Islam,

And Muslim scholars are not biased?

>        belief, based on Islamic traditions, as passed on to us by our Prophet
>        Muhammad - the last messenger of God. 

Muhammad was not the last prophet, and certainly not the last false prophet.

Link Hudson.

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