LIVESCIENCE:
'Gospel of Jesus's Wife' Looks More and More Like a Fake (Owen Jarus). The recent developments concerning the
Gospel of Jesus' Wife continue to propagate in the mainstream media. This article quotes (and in one case uses a graphic) from a number of blogs, including PaleoJudaica. There are also a couple of pieces of new information. First, two Coptologist papyrologists who have been involved in the analysis of the
GJW are at least declining to disagree yet with Christian Askeland's arguments for its inauthenticity:
Live Science contacted two Egyptologists who have examined the Gospel of Jesus's Wife firsthand to get their opinions. Malcolm Choat, of Macquarie University, who published an analysis of the writing of the Gospel of Jesus's Wife recently in Harvard Theological Review, says that he needs time to investigate Askeland's findings before he can comment. Similarly, Roger Bagnall, the director of the Institute for the Study of the Ancient World at New York University (the Gospel of Jesus's Wife was examined there at one point) said that he needs time to analyze Askeland's findings and those of other scholars before he can comment.
Second, Professor King and Harvard are not commenting so far:
King has remained silent on the new evidence. Calls made by Live Science to Harvard Divinity School's media relations office were not returned. Calls made directly to King's phone were also not returned. The reasons for the silence are unclear; there are unconfirmed reports that divisions have emerged within the Harvard Divinity faculty over the authenticity of the papyrus.
Background
here and links.
