Other Fables and Strange Exaggerations in the (Gospel) of Barnabas
Other Fables and Strange Exaggerations in the (Gospel) of Barnabas
How numerous are the fables in the Gospel of Barnabas! Indeed, these fables and exaggerations are a clear characteristic of this so-called “Gospel.” In this article, we will mention only a few examples that are difficult to believe:
Adam and Eve weeping for 100 years without ceasing:
It is stated in (Chapter 34:14–16), “Truly I say to you, if a man knows his misery, he will weep on the earth always.” This supposedly explains why the first man and his wife wept for a hundred years without interruption, asking for God’s mercy, because they knew where they had fallen through their pride.
This matter of endless weeping reflects a monastic tone that dominates most of the book. The Holy Bible mentions nothing about Adam and Eve’s weeping, and the phrase “a hundred years without ceasing” is a clear exaggeration that defies belief.
Weeping from one eye more than the waters of the Jordan:
In (Chapter 55:14) it says, “Truly I say to you, the devils and those cast out with them shall weep then, so that water shall flow from one of their eyes more than is in the Jordan.”
This is an unbelievable exaggeration, even if said of humans, and scientifically impossible regarding devils, since they have no physical bodies—so from where would water come? A human may weep, for the body contains water. But devils have no such bodies.
And how could the amount of water in the Jordan possibly flow from a single eye—and from the other eye the same?
The weeping of plants and the groaning of the sun:
In (Chapter 53:12–19) about the Last Day, it says:
“When that day begins to approach, every day shall bring a fearful shock upon the inhabitants of the earth. On the first day the sun shall groan as a father groans over a son near death. On the second day the moon shall be turned into blood, and blood shall fall upon the earth like dew… On the fifth day every plant and herb shall weep blood…”
We comment: How can the sun groan? Will it be granted a soul, mind, and sense? How can the moon be turned into blood? How can the plants and herbs weep—will they too be given souls and minds? And why should they weep when there is no judgment upon the sun, plants, or herbs, for they are not rational beings? It is the absurdity that characterizes the Book of Barnabas.
The torment of Satan: the pain of a million hells:
In (Chapter 51:22–23), Jesus supposedly says to Satan: “You know that the angel Michael shall strike you on the Day of Judgment with the sword of God a thousand blows, and from each blow you shall receive the pain of ten hells.” Again, in (Chapter 57:2–3): “Then shall God call the angel Michael, who shall strike him with the sword of God a hundred thousand blows, and each blow shall bring upon Satan the weight of ten hells.”
But one single blow from the Archangel Michael with the sword of God would be sufficient to destroy or torment Satan beyond measure. Why, then, a hundred thousand blows—and who would count them?
The death of the pure angels:
In (Chapter 53:32), regarding the signs of the end of the world: “And on the fifteenth day the pure angels shall die, and none shall remain alive except God alone, to Whom be honor and glory.”
But death is God’s judgment upon sinners. How then shall the pure angels die? Death for humans is the separation of soul and body. Angels are spirits—how then can they die? If he means by death their annihilation, what is their guilt?
28,000 visible gods in Rome:
The soldiers supposedly said to Jesus in (Chapter 152:2):
“Do you wish to turn us to your religion, or do you want us to abandon our many gods? For Rome alone has 28,000 visible gods, and you want us to follow your one God!”
Again, we see exaggeration in numbers. There has never been one city with 28,000 visible gods. History records nothing of the sort.
The sin of Solomon:
In (Chapter 74:4) Jesus supposedly says, “Solomon sinned because he thought to invite all the creatures of God to a feast. But a fish corrected his fault by eating all that he had prepared.”
Can one imagine Solomon inviting all of God’s creatures—humans from all nations, animals, beasts, birds, insects, and creeping things, perhaps even fish? How could all these millions—seen and unseen—gather in one place, some devouring others? What kind of feast could accommodate them, and how could one fish eat all that was prepared for them? It is the fertile imagination of the monk Fra Marino, author of the (Gospel) of Barnabas. Astonishing indeed that he attributed this to Solomon, the wisest man on earth!
A louse turning into a pearl!
Apparently, the monk Fra Marino, writer of this false gospel, was of the type that considered bathing a mortal sin. But if he remained in his filth to the extent that insects roamed his body, then his reward before God would be great!
In his talk about the Judgment (Chapter 57:14–19), he says: “Truly I say to you, the hair-shirt shall shine like the sun! And every louse that was on a man for the love of God shall turn into a pearl… Truly I say to you, if the world knew this, it would prefer the hair-shirt to purple, lice to gold, and fasting to feasts.”
These passages confirm the idea that the writer of this false gospel was a monk who had left Christianity and sought to impose a distorted kind of asceticism on people. Could everyone wear hair-shirts? Should filth become an ideal, and lice a sign of holiness?
And what does it mean that the louse turns into a pearl? Will it remain attached to the person until the Day of Judgment and then rise with him, transforming into a pearl? What use would pearls have in heaven? Clearly, this nonsense was not part of Christian spirituality but sprang from Fra Marino’s mind.
Seventy thousand years in hell!
In (Chapter 136:17), about the degrees of people and their punishments:
“As for the believers who have seventy-two degrees with the last two degrees, who had faith without good works—some saddened for lack of good works, others rejoicing in evil—they shall remain in hell seventy thousand years.”
Then, in (Chapter 137:1–4), he explains who will be delivered from hell by intercession. From this, it seems the author was a Catholic who believed in purgatory, perhaps influenced by Dante’s book on purgatory. But would any Catholic accept a punishment of seventy thousand years? Could any rational person believe that God would accept intercession only after one suffers seventy thousand years in hell? The number seventy thousand is merely one of the exaggerated figures in this book, which also speaks of 144,000 prophets and 28,000 gods in Rome.
Exaggeration in describing the heavens, earth, and paradise:
In (Chapter 105:3–8) it says: there are nine heavens, each separated from the next by the same distance as from the first heaven to the earth—a journey of 500 years. Thus, the earth is distant from the highest heaven by 4,500 years’ journey. Therefore, the earth compared to the first heaven is like the head of a pin, and so on for each heaven. But all the heavens and the earth together compared to paradise are like a point—or a grain of sand.
We ask: Is this paradise in the heavens or on the earth? Clearly, from his words, it is neither, since both heavens and earth are said to be like a point compared to paradise. So where, then, is this paradise according to the Gospel of Barnabas? And what is his source of information?
In conclusion, dear readers, I spare you further examples of the fables and exaggerations of this so-called gospel.
Until we meet again in another issue, if the grace of the Lord wills and we live.
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An article by His Holiness Pope Shenouda III, published in Watani Newspaper on September 5, 1999
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