Lead codices and crucifixion nails news of late remind us that the business of faking or misconstruing biblical world relics is a neverending business. Imagine my coming upon this from Dan “I Photo NT Manuscripts in My Sleep” Wallace:
Last October I learned about a manuscript narrating Jesus’ life that was purportedly written by Joseph of Jerusalem, a first-century follower of Jesus. Although the claims were fantastic, I wondered if the manuscript that came with the cover letter could be at least an uncatalogued Gospels manuscript, perhaps of Matthew or Luke.
In December 2009, a team from the Center for the Study of New Testament Manuscripts was privileged to visit Christ for the Nations, a college in Dallas, to examine this peculiar manuscript. The team members included Dr. Jeff Hargis, Ms. Dana Cooper, Mr. Peter Gurry, and me. Immediately we recognized that the manuscript was not a first-century document, but was produced many centuries later. The text was written on parchment—a very fine grade of parchment—and was no earlier than the ninth century. The ink was so faint that it was virtually unreadable without UV light. CSNTM photographed the manuscript, then we studied it, and came to discover that…
You can read Dr. Wallace’s account of this venture into forgery here, and get another viewpoint from Peter Gurry of his photography team here.
The moral to take away I suggest is that at least some forgeries are like diamonds. Forever and ever…. Even if you expose them, they can still bite the uniformed later.
Frustrated, yet? 😉
A 'Goula Blogger 