What about the Gospel of Jesus' wife?

[damman]

How should we respond to the latest publication about the “Jesus Scroll” published in the Harvard Theological Review concerning the “quote” by Jesus referencing “my wife”? The brief rebuttal by Rev. James Martin is not sufficient for members of my Bible Study class.
Thanks.
Dick Amman

 

[Fr.Charles_Grondin]

Some experts still believe the document is likely to be a forgery.

Brown University professor Leo Depuydt authored a rebuttal to the recent findings:

Harvard Theological Revew

The following analysis submits that it is out of the question that the so-called Gospel of Jesus’s Wife, also known as the Wife of Jesus Fragment, is an authentic source. The author of this analysis has not the slightest doubt that the document is a forgery, and not a very good one at that.

But, for the sake of argument, let us accept that the document is authentic. The recent carbon dating of the papyrus places it around the 8th century. Even if “authentic” all it tells us is that some group of people in the 700’s thought/believed Jesus had a wife. This makes it no more probable to be true than any number of heresies and heterodox Gospels that emerged on the scene throughout the centuries.

While its popular these days to call such works “lost gospels” nothing can be further from the truth. These “gospels” were not lost, they were rejected. The early Church Fathers rejected these works as contrary to the Apostolic Tradition. All we need to do is continue to explain the importance of Apostolic Tradition & Succession in order to properly understand and pass on the Christian faith.