Jesus Misquoted in the Gospel?
An article containing the opinion of Christian Scholars concerning the authenticity of Jesus' statements in the Bible.
In their new book The Five Gospels, the scholars conclude only about 90of the 1,500 gospel quotations attributed to Jesus are likely His words. The rest have been tampered with by writers and revisionists over the centuries."Opinions of Biblical Scholars, The Canadian Press (CP)
In the Name of Allaah, The Beneficent, The Merciful
EDMONTON, ALBERTA (CP) - Has Jesus been misquoted for thousands of years or did he actually utter the words: "I am the light of the world?"
An international panel of religious scholars, known as the JesusSeminar, says many of the quotes attributed to Christ were not actuallyspoken by him.
In their new book The Five Gospels, the scholars conclude only about 90of the 1,500 gospel quotations attributed to Jesus are likely His words.The rest have been tampered with by writers and revisionists over the centuries, they say.
For example, the quote: "I am the light of the world," from the book of John appears in no other Gospel, say the scholars, and reflects a speech pattern more common to the Greco-Roman world than that of Christ.
The panel - including members of different denominations who all hold Ph.D's - spent more than seven years struggling to come up with an accurate historic portrayal of Christ.
"It's a historian's approach," says Rev. Bruce Miller. "Having those stories told about Jesus doesn't mean that they're really true."
The book is called the Five Gospels because it gives credence to St. Thomas, the so- called writer of the fifth Gospel who has been rejected by most Christian doctrine.
Only Four Gospels, written by Mark, Matthew, Luke and John have been accepted by traditional Christian Churches.
While Thomas's writing on Jesus are sparse, the scholars think his Christ quotations are more accurate because they aren't embellished with colorful metaphors.
The scholars' conclusions may offend some. "It will be controversial for those people who are used to reading the Bible and accepting everything it says," says Miller.
The book also challenges the basic Christian belief of Jesus as Son of God or as the Savior.
"Jesus appears as a spirit-filled prophet who has compassion for the poor and the needy. It's later writers who raised Him on a pedestal and claimed that He is God."
Christ Himself kept no written records nor did His apostles. The first Gospel, handed down by oral folklore, was written by Mark nearly 50 years after Jesus died.
"In a sense Mark and Matthew and Luke and John tampered with the original words,"
says Miller. "For us, that seems to be quite a terrible thing to do. But in those days, they did it all the time."
