Ever since I became a Christian almost eight years to the day (15 Dec, 2015), I have had great respect for the power and reliability of the bible. While an atheist, I would gladly smirk at the bible and laugh out loud whenever I heard someone point out supposed flaws in the argument that the bible is reliable. Now, however, I am more and more convinced that the bible is indeed reliable as it has withstood the test of time, and rigorous textual criticism.
The title of this post is not my own: It is the title of a YouTube community post by Wes Huff on 18 Dec, 2024. The only words he added to the post to accompany the graphic were: “So for those that don’t know the Gospel of Barnabas and the Gospel of Jesus’s Wife are known well documented forgeries.”
Check out Wes Huff’s community post here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJX2EazMKUqBQV048px2aoA/community?lb=UgkxHMYoU2mtVCHQ8wStL8CQ8BsFoLueNAf9
I love the graphic for three main reasons. First, it is meticulously well-researched. Wes’s post does a great job in selecting the major pseudo-graphical gospels and providing a clear timeline for each one. At the top of the graphic it states: “Non-canonical gospels, due to their late of composition, disqualify themselves as accurate gospel accounts if for no other reason than the names attached to their authorship (“Peter”, “Thomas”, “Judas” etc.) were deceased, (in some cases even centuries) prior to the inception of these documents.” So these so-called ‘”real” gospels are fakes, written at a time when the supposed authors had already passed away.
Second, it is visually appealing. I have to admit I am somewhat of an armchair graphic designer. Although I don’t have the skills necessary to create a graphic as this, I fully appreciate its quality. Yes, there are quite a few words, but neither do these detract from the visual design nor the readability of the message. The different colors used for different centuries, further highlight why these fake writings should not be given any credence. The more time has elapsed since the apostles died, the less plausible the writings become in their claims. Clearly, something written 300 years after the time should be dismissed as being true eye-witness testimony.
Third, it is informative. I must admit I had not heard of quite of a few of the fake writings, especially the ones written in the second century. Who knew there was a gospel of the Egyptians, Ebionites or the Hebrews? I certainly didn’t. I had heard of the gospel of Thomas, Peter, Judas and Mary but none of the others. I appreciate Wes for compiling these pseudo-graphical documents and exposing them for what they are.
To conclude, Wes Huff expertly highlights that the gospels and letters included in the New Testament are accurate and reliable documents, whereas any later writing should be dismissed. Stay tuned for the next post that explores onomastic congruence – how the names in the bible indicate reliability.
Check out more Undoubting God posts here: https://undoubtinggod.com/blog/
