The Wrong Gospel

Homiletics looks at the problem of the "wrong gospel." Not all "gospels" proclaim the "gospel truth."

Seems like it's becoming a regular occurrence in the information age -- someone is always discovering a new "gospel" that purports to shed some new light on Jesus that the church has either ignored or suppressed for two millennia. Most recently, a fragment (and we do mean fragment -- it has four words) from a fourth-century Coptic Codex was found in Egypt. Harvard Divinity School professor Karen King says it may (read: "possible-but-I'm-not-going-to-stake-my-reputation-on-it") reveal that Jesus actually did have a wife, à la the claims of The Da Vinci Code. The revelation of this "Gospel of Jesus' Wife," as it has become known, follows in the footsteps of a host of other Gnostic "gospels" that have been unearthed in recent years, like the gospels of Judas, Thomas, and Mary Magdalene, just to name a few. (See first entry in Animating Illustrations below for more.)

Historians and archaeologists don't have a corner on the new gospel market, however. Just do a search of "The gospel...