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    The Gospel of Barnabas? A Scholarly Investigation
    The Gospel of Barnabas? A Scholarly Investigation
    The Gospel of Barnabas? A Scholarly Investigation
    Ebook80 pages1 hour

    The Gospel of Barnabas? A Scholarly Investigation

    By Kerem Özyazıcıgil

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    About this ebook

    During the 1st century, the Christian community went through a time of rapid expansion, collection of first person accounts of the life and teachings of Jesus Christ, and, before the apostles themselves passed from the scene, committing those accounts to what was called "gospels" (the "good news" of what Jesus' life, death, and resurrection meant).

    The quality of those gospels varied. Some -such as Matthew and John- were written by the apostles themselves. Others -the Gospel of Thomas, for example- possibly contain a small amount of genuine material. And others were out and out fraudulent works, created to "sell" a theological position (Gnosticism, for example) that were 180 degrees at variance with Christ's teachings, or (like stories of the Christ Child making clay birds fly) attempts to "fill in the blanks" of his childhood and youth.

    The Church went through a winnowing process, separating the factual and spiritual from the fanciful and fraudulent. Surprisingly, though, the Gospel of Barnabas was not one of those gospels. The early Church seems totally unaware that Barnabas -a close associate of the Apostle Paul for many years- even wrote one. And for very good reason. Because the Gospel of Barnabas was written hundreds of years after (!) the eye-witnesses and apostles had all passed from the scene.

    So where did the Gospel of Barnabas come from? Who wrote it? When? and, most important, why was it written?

    Kerem Özyazıcıgil -the Turkish pen name of a British-born, Oxford-educated expert on Islam– answers those questions. He has looked at the Gospel of Barnabas inside and out, and through the eyes of the best scholars -Christian and Muslim- to understand it. The truth lies at the intersection of the Christian and Muslim worlds at the time of the infamous Spanish Inquisition (around 1590).

    It's a mystery in monks' robes, wrapped in a startling spiritual conversion!!

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherKerem Özyazıcıgil
    Release dateAug 31, 2016
    ISBN9781370473922
    The Gospel of Barnabas? A Scholarly Investigation
    Author

    Kerem Özyazıcıgil

    Kerem Özyazıcıgil is the Turkish pen name of a British-born, Oxford-educated expert on Islam and consultant on Central Asian languages. The Gospel of Barnabas is only one of his major areas of research.

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      Book preview

      The Gospel of Barnabas? A Scholarly Investigation - Kerem Özyazıcıgil

      THE GOSPEL

      OF BARNABAS?

      A Scholarly Investigation

      Author and publisher:

      Kerem Özyazıcıgil

      Agented by

      Pınarbaşı Yayınlar

      Copyright 2016 by

      Pınarbaşı Yayınlar

      Translator's Notes

      The Gospel of Barnabas is a spurious work dating from approximately AD 1585. For workers in the Muslim world, and especially those in the country of Turkey, understanding this fraudulent work is vital: To a man, woman or child, Turks believe it to be the only authentic gospel still in existence today. (Other Muslim countries may also hold to the same tradition.)

      The original of this book was written by an English translator and Bible scholar directly into Turkish. This English language edition is my back-translation from his Turkish edition, and is an attempt to make the invaluable material in his book available to readers who may not speak Turkish. Any errors are entirely mine. For security reasons, I leave it up to the author to decide if and when to make his real name public.

      The name Barnabas indicates the author of the false Gospel of Barnabas. The name Barnabas (no quotes) is used for the 1st century disciple of Jesus and co-worker with the Apostle Paul. Gospel of Barnabas will always be italicized because there is no genuine Gospel of Barnabas which which to compare it.

      The Turkish forms of reference to the Old Testament are used both here and in the Turkish original: Tevrat (the Pentateuch), and Mezmur (Psalm ##). The commonly accepted spelling Injil (the entire New Testament) and injil (a single gospel, whether genuine or false) will be used.

      Finally, the footnotes in the Turkish original are here rendered as inline notes, in order to display them properly in the .EPUB format used by most digital devices (smaller screen cell phones and tablets in particular).

      Translator's notes are separately labeled as TN1, TN2, etc. in order to preserve the same reference points between the Turkish and English editions.

      dfc

      INTRODUCTION

      For the Muslim, an investigation of the data provided by the Qur'an on the subject of the Injil can be most profitable. For this reason, and before entering into my real subject, I have thought it proper to list below the most important Qur'anic verses about the Injil:

      Sura 3:3 — nezzele 'aleyk el-Kitab bilhakkı musaddıkan lima beyne yedeyh ve enzel et-Tevrate vel-İncile.

      He hath revealed unto thee (Muhammad) the Scripture with truth, confirming that which was (revealed) before it, even as He revealed the Torah and the Gospel [TN1].

      [ TN1 ] The Arabic is as rendered in the Turkish edition of the Qur'an. See Bibliography for details.

      Sura 5:46-47 — Ve kaffeyna ala âsârihim bi-'İsa ibni-Meryeme musaddıkan lima beyne yedeyh min et-Tevrati ve ateynahül-İncile fihi hüda ve nur ve musaddıkan lima beyne yedeyh min et-Tevrati ve hüda ve mev'iza li-mütakkıyn. Vel-yahküm ehl ül-İncil bima enzel Allah fihi.

      And we caused Jesus, son of Mary, to follow in their footsteps, confirming that which was (revealed) before him, and We bestowed on him the Gospel wherein is guidance and a light, confirming that which was (revealed) before it in the Torah — a guidance and an admonition unto those who ward off (evil). Let the People of the Gospel judge by that which Allah hath revealed therein. Whoso judgeth not by that which Allah hath revealed; such are evil-livers.

      Sura 5:68 — Kul ya ehl el-Kitabi lestüm 'ala şey'en hattâ tuktimut-Tevrate vel-İncile ve ma ünzile ileykummin Rabbiküm.

      Say: O People of the Scripture! Ye have naught (of guidance) till ye observe the Torah and the Gospel and that which was revealed unto you from your Lord.

      Sura 57:27 — Ve kaffeyna bi-'İsa ibni-Meryeme ve ateynahül-İncile ve ce'alna fi kulûbi elleziynettebe'uhû re'fetan ve rahmeten.

      Then We caused Our messengers to follow in their footsteps; and We caused Jesus, son of Mary, to follow, and gave him the Gospel, and placed compassion and mercy in the hearts of those wo followed him."

      Sura 10:94 — Fe'in künte fi şekkin mimma enzelna ileyke fes'el illeziyne yakre'un el-Kitabe min kablike.

      And if thou (Muhammad) art in doubt concerning that which We reveal unto thee, then question those who read the Scripture (that was) before thee. [1]

      [ 1 ] Additionally: Sure 2:101; 3:3-4,23,84; 5:43-44,48; 6:91-92,154,156; 7:157,169; 11:17,110; 17:55; 21:48,105; 35:25; 40:70-71’e de bkz

      A careful reader will immediately recognize that these verses from the Qur'an are in flagrant contradiction to the thinking of many Muslims about the Tevrat and the Injil. In the Qur'an there is not one verse about the Injil having been changed or corrupted. According to the Qur'an, the Injil, rather than setting aside the Tevrat actually certifies its authenticity. In the same way, the purpose of the Qur'an is not to set aside the Injil, but to certify its validity. According to the Qur'an, the man who does not put the Tevrat and Injil into practice cannot be considered a true believer.

      One more point in the Qur'an (e.g. Sura 7:157) is worthy of our attention: the Tevrat and Injil in the possession of the People of the Book (the Ehl-i Kitab, i.e. Jews and Christians) around the 7th century are considered true and in force. When the Prophet of Islam wanted to prove his own statements true, he made his appeal to the Tevrat and Injil which were in existence at that time. Had the Tevrat and Injil been corrupted, would he not have warned everyone to reject them?

      Perhaps

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