Scholars discover fragments of a banned gospel of Jesus

Fragments of the First Apocalypse of James discovered at Oxford.

Scholars have discovered fragments of a banned "gospel" of Christ in a collection of ancient manuscripts at Oxford University. The fragments are Greek copies of the heretical 'First Apocalypse of James,' and date to the fourth century. 

LOS ANGELES, CA (California Network) - Scholars at Oxford have discovered fragments of the heretical 'First Apocalypse of James' in the Nag Hammadi collection of ancient manuscripts. 

The fragments do not add anything to our knowledge of the fake gospel, which is largely intact, but missing some fragments. However, the pieces appear to date back to the fourth century and may have been copies made from the original text. What makes these fragments remarkable is they are the first ones scholars have found written in Greek. 

 In addition to being written in Greek, the words are broken up into syllables. The text is neatly written suggesting a scholar copied the text. The gospel was commonly copied by Egyptian students to help them learn Greek. Teachers often composed models for the students to follow. The fragments are probably from one such model. 

The gospel isn't a proper gospel, but rather a heretical work of fiction that was popular with the Gnostics. The Gnostic heresy was a belief that was popular for about two centuries. Followers believed that the material world was inherently evil. The heresy was condemned because it contradicts Biblical teaching that God is our creator, that all creation is good, and Jesus was a man as well as God. 

In the gospel, Jesus speaks to James, whom he refers to as His 'brother,' although in the non-maternal sense (meaning they were close companions, and not related). Jesus tells James of what is to come in the future and not to worry. The book also suggests Jesus had seven female disciples. 

The book is a work of fiction and was rejected by the Church. The Gnostic heresy died around the 4th century as the canon of the Bible was established and the Church taught clearly about Christ and the nature of God and creation.