Editing Gospel of Barnabas (section)

== Analysis ==

=== Anachronisms and factual errors ===
[[File:Thedecapolis.png|thumb|alt=Map of the Holy Land|Map of the [[Decapolis]]]]
The Gospel of Barnabas contains historic anachronisms, as well as geographical and other factual errors.<ref name="de" /><ref name="value" />{{rp|27, 43}} According to the Raggs, they prove its medieval origins<ref name="Raggs" />{{rp|433}} and the author's ignorance of first-century Judea.<ref name="value" />{{rp|24}} Anachronisms include:<ref name="Sox" />{{rp|38–39}}<ref name="value" />{{rp|19, 21–29}}

* In chapter three, Pontius Pilate is said to have governed Judea and [[Annas]] and [[Caiaphas]] were the high priests when Jesus was born ({{Circa|4 BC}}). Annas became high priest in AD 6, and his son-in-law Caiaphas succeeded him in AD 18. Pilate did not become procurator until AD 26–27.
* In chapter 15, during the first year of Jesus' ministry, it is said that the "[[feast of Tabernacles]] was near". In chapter 30, the author writes of the Senofegia which would also take place that year; Tabernacles and Senofegia are synonymous. 
* In chapters 20–21, it is said that Jesus and his disciples arrived in Nazareth after embarking on the Sea of Galilee and "went up to Capernaum"; Capernaum was on the shore, and Nazareth more than 15 miles inland.
* In chapters 42 and 96, Jesus said: "I am not the Messiah". The authors appear to not realise that the Greek ''Christ'' and the Hebrew ''Messiah'' are synonymous; both mean "the anointed one".
* In chapter 63, [[Nineveh]] is described as near the Mediterranean Sea; it was {{convert|400|mi}} away, in [[Mesopotamia]] (modern Iraq).
* In chapter 65, Jesus is said to go to the "[[Pool of Bethesda|Probatica]]" pool. According to the author, it is so called "because the angel of God every day troubled the water, and whosoever first entered the water after its movement was cured of every kind of infirmity"; {{transliteration|grc|probatikḗ}}, Greek for the Aramaic {{transliteration|arc|bethesda}}, means "of the sheep".
* In chapter 82, it is said that a [[Biblical jubilee|jubilee]] occurs every hundred years; the Jewish jubilee is every fifty years. [[Pope Boniface VIII]] proclaimed 1300 as the first [[Jubilee in the Catholic Church|Christian jubilee]], and the next jubilee would take place a hundred years later.
* In chapter 99, [[Tyre, Lebanon|Tyre]] is said to be near the [[Jordan River]]; in reality, it is more than {{convert|30|mi}} away.
* In chapter 144, the word ''[[Pharisee]]'' is said to mean "seeking God"; derived from the Hebrew, it means "separated". In the next chapter, it is said that the [[Pharisees]] began when the Canaanites had power in Judea; this would have been in the 11th century BC or earlier; the Pharisees, a Jewish religious movement, began no earlier than the second century BC.
* In chapter 152, it is said that wine barrels were in use during Jesus' time; large jars ([[pithoi]]) were used then to store wine.
* In chapters 214 and 217, the "pagan" Herod Antipas is said to rule Jerusalem and Judea; his authority was in Galilee, and he followed the Jewish religion.

=== {{anchor|Anti-Pauline tones}}Anti-Pauline tone ===
Scholarly analysis indicates that the Gospel of Barnabas had an anti-Pauline tone, most clearly shown in its prologue and epilogue; these depict Paul preaching a perverted version of Jesus' teachings, and as "deceived" in thinking that Jesus was God (or the [[Son of God (Christianity)|Son of God]]).<ref name="Sox" />{{rp|12, 20–21}}<ref name="Blachirst">{{Cite journal |url=https://depts.drew.edu/jhc/Blackhirst_Barnabas.html |journal=[[Journal of Higher Criticism]] |title=Barnabas and the Gospels: Was There an Early Gospel of Barnabas? |date=Spring 2000 |volume=7 |issue=1 |pages=1–22 |last=Blackhirst |first=R. |issn=1075-7139 |access-date=2022-06-03 |archive-date=2020-02-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200220215957/https://depts.drew.edu/jhc/Blackhirst_Barnabas.html |url-status=live }}</ref> In his ''Connecting with Muslims: A Guide to Communicating Effectively'' (2014), Lebanese author and Christian missionary Fouad Masri called the gospel anachronistic; in the [[Acts of the Apostles]], Barnabas was Paul's best friend and not an enemy.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Connecting with Muslims: A Guide to Communicating Effectively |date=2014 |last=Masri |first=Fouad |publisher=InterVarsity Press |isbn=978-08-30895-90-8 }}</ref>{{rp|165–166}} For the ''[[Journal of Higher Criticism]]'', R. Blackhirst wrote that the [[Epistle to the Galatians]] account of conflict between Paul and Barnabas may have been why the gospel's author attributed it to Barnabas.<ref name="Blachirst" />

=== Parallels with the Quran ===

==== Crucifixion of Jesus ====
{{further|Islamic views on Jesus' death}}
In the Gospel of Barnabas, Jesus was not crucified. Judas Iscariot (whose face was made to resemble his) replaced him on the cross, and Jesus was raised into heaven by God.<ref name="value" />{{rp|2}}<ref name="Raggs" />{{rp|xxvii}} This agrees with the mainstream interpretations of [[An-Nisa]] 157–158, affirming that Jesus was not crucified but instead his lookalike was:

<blockquote>and for boasting, “We killed the Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary, the messenger of Allah.” But they neither killed nor crucified him—it was only made to appear so. Even those who argue for this ˹crucifixion˺ are in doubt. They have no knowledge whatsoever—only making assumptions. They certainly did not kill him. Rather, Allah raised him up to Himself. And Allah is Almighty, All-Wise.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Qur'an |pages=103}}</ref>
<br />
— Qur'ān 4:157-158</blockquote>

In its narrative of Jesus' crucifixion, the gospel is thought to be influenced by (or adopt) [[docetism]]: a [[Heterodoxy|heterodox]] doctrine that Jesus' human form was an illusion.<ref name="Sox" />{{rp|98}}<ref name="Raggs" />{{rp|xlvii}} David Sox wrote that the Gospel of Barnabas' portrayal of Judas Iscariot is more sympathetic than that in the canonical gospels, where he is cast as a villainous betrayer; in Christian tradition, his name is synonymous with one who deceives under the guise of friendship.<ref name="Sox" />{{rp|94–95}} The Raggs said that since the alleged substitution in the Quran is unnamed and unexplained, the author of the gospel attempted to fill this void.<ref name="Raggs" />{{rp|xxvii}}

Ghulam Murtaza Azad described the gospel as a medieval forgery in ''Islamic Studies'', but found its narrative more reasonable than that of the canonical gospels: "A man who is not religious minded can hardly believe that a person who wrought such great miracles could not save himself from humiliation and cross. The Christians say that he was crucified in order to save mankind from their sins. This explanation of crucifixion is strange and difficult to understand. And stranger than that is that the traitor was saved and the master was hanged." Although it would appear that the canonical gospels do not portray Judas as being saved. <ref>{{Cite journal |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/20847219 |title=An Introduction to the Gospel of Barnabas |date=Winter 1982 |last=Azad |first=Ghulam Murtaza |journal=Islamic Studies |volume=21 |issue=4 |pages=71–96 |jstor=20847219 }}</ref> In his ''Understand My Muslim People'' (2004), Abraham Sarker wrote that the narrative is popular in Quranic [[exegesis]].<ref>{{Cite book |title=Understand My Muslim People |date=2004 |last=Sarker |first=Abraham |publisher=Barclay Press |isbn=978-15-94980-02-2 }}</ref>{{rp|129–130}}

==== Prediction of Muhammad ====
{{further|Jesus in Islam#Precursor to Muhammad}}
In accordance with [[As-Saff]] 6, Muslims believe that Jesus was the forerunner of Muhammad and predicted Muhammad's coming:

<blockquote>And ˹remember˺ when Jesus, son of Mary, said, “O children of Israel! I am truly Allah’s messenger to you, confirming the Torah which came before me, and giving good news of a messenger after me whose name will be Aḥmad.”&nbsp;Yet when the Prophet came to them with clear proofs, they said, “This is pure magic.”
<br />—Qur'ān 61:6 <ref>{{Cite book |title=Qur'an |pages=522}}</ref></blockquote>

In Islam, the word {{transliteration|ar|ahmad}} (Arabic for "the praised one") refers to Muhammad.<ref name="de" /><ref name="answer" />{{rp|157}} The Gospel of Barnabas contains a number of sayings attributed to Jesus, who Muslims believe predicted the coming of Muhammad.<ref name="value" />{{rp|2}} The gospel places Jesus as being a forerunner for [[Muhammad]];<ref name="Wipf" />{{rp|90}}

==== Nontrinitarianism ====
{{further|Islamic view of the Trinity|Nontrinitarianism}}
According to the [[Nicene Creed]], the concept of the Trinity means that [[Monotheism|God is one]] and also exists [[Consubstantiality|consubstantially]] as three persons ([[God the Father|Father]], [[God the Son|Son]], and Holy Spirit); Jesus is the Son.<ref>{{Cite CCC|2.1|232–267}}</ref> [[Trinity|Trinitarianism]] is rejected by Islam, which believes in the concept of {{transliteration|ar|[[tawhid]]}} (indivisible oneness) and considers the Trinity a {{transliteration|ar|[[Shirk (Islam)|shirk]]}} equating God with his creation.<ref name="answer" />{{rp|46, 135–136}} Muslims believe that, like other [[Prophets and messengers in Islam|Islamic prophets]], Jesus was human and never claimed to be God.<ref name="answer" />{{rp|223}} The Gospel of Barnabas contains statements, attributed to Jesus, in which he denies being the Son of God.<ref name="value" />{{rp|7}} The gospel says that Jesus appeared to be crucified as punishment for people who claimed his divinity, and Muhammad was sent later to expose the transgressions by the Christians for worshipping Jesus.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Licona|first=Michael R.|author-link=Michael R. Licona|date=2009|title=Using the Death of Jesus to Refute Islam|url=https://theologicalstudies.org.uk/pdf/jisca/02-1_087.pdf|journal=Journal of the International Society of Christian Apologetics|volume=2|issue=1|pages=87–110|issn=2572-9322|access-date=2022-05-30|archive-date=2015-10-30|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151030113225/http://www.theologicalstudies.org.uk/pdf/jisca/02-1_087.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>