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Generic image, court, oath, bible. swearing in, witness stand, 21 May 2005. The

Source: The AGE / Getty

A book by Jesus’ beloved disciple may not have been written by him at all.

A scholarly article published this week argues the Gospel of John, and the letters of 1 2, and 3 John are ancient forgeries.

The Gospel presents itself as the work of an eyewitness to the events of Jesus’ ministry and death. It doesn’t say it was written by John, but instead states that it is the work of a “disciple whom Jesus loved,” who “testifies” to what he has seen (1:14; 19:35; 21:24).

“I find it telling that we’ve never found a trace of anything like a ‘Johannine Christianity’—no mentions in other ancient writings and no archeological traces,” Hugo Mendez, an assistant professor of religious studies at UNC-Chapel Hill, told The Daily Beast. “I think there’s a reason for that; I think the community never existed.”

Forgeries were very common among early Christians, according to Bart Ehrman’s study “Forgery and Counterforgery.” The Gospel of Thomas and Gospel of Peter, which were claimed to have been written by Jesus’ disciples, were actually written by others according to that same study.

What do you think? Is it possible some books in the Bible were not written by the actual disciples?

Source: The Daily Beast

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