Commentary by Susan Brinkmann, OCDS

A new book, claiming to be based on a “lost” gospel that allegedly reveals Jesus’ marriage to Mary Magdalene, is being dismissed even by the usually gullible mainstream media as a complete phony.

Fox News is reporting on the book which is based on an Aramaic text found inside the British Museum. Entitled, The Lost Gospel: Decoding the Ancient Text that Reveals Jesus’ Marriage to Mary the Magdalene by Simcha Jacobovici and Barrie Wilson, it claims that Jesus was not crucified but survived and raised a family of two sons with his wife, Mary Magdalene.

The book begins by saying: “Before anyone gets his/her theological back up, keep in mind we are not attacking anyone’s theology. We are reporting on text.”

This text, which was supposedly lost (although it has been in the British Museum since 1847), is a translation of the Ecclesiastical History of Zacharias Rhetor who was a native of Gaza and lived in the late A.D. 400s and early 500s. Essentially, it’s a work of historical fiction that biblical scholars long ago discarded as insignificant. Based on the story of Joseph, the son of Jacob who was sold into slavery in Egypt, and his wife Asena, Wilson and Jacobovici assert that the story is really about Jesus and Mary Magdalene.

Of course, there’s not a shred of evidence that this is true.

But what do we expect from Jacobovici who also claimed he had uncovered the original tomb of Jesus and his family and the nails used for crucifixion (none of which was determined to be true)?

As Jimmy Akin reports, ” . . . Jacobovici has published controversial takes on early Christianity in the past, including a 2002 documentary on the James ossuary, a relic believed to show Jesus had a family. Later, the Discovery Channel named the site one of the top 10 scientific hoaxes of all time.”

Not surprisingly, the British Library issued a statement distancing itself from the book, saying it “has no connection with the book other than housing the manuscript used by research for the authors.”

Jimmy Akin thoroughly dismantles this book and its wacky theories here.

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