Origins of 'Gospel of Jesus's Wife' Begin to Emerge

[Danielle Gorree]

Origins of 'Gospel of Jesus's Wife' Begin to Emerge
by Owen Jarus, Live Science Contributor   |   August 24, 2015 06:59am ET



the Gospel of Jesus's Wife papyrus
Written in Coptic (an Egyptian language), the Gospel of Jesus's Wife, if authentic, suggests that some people in ancient times believed Jesus was married, apparently to Mary Magdalene.
Credit: Photo courtesy Harvard Divinity School
View full size image

The truth may be finally emerging about the "Gospel of Jesus's Wife," a highly controversial papyrus suggesting that some people, in ancient times, believed Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene. New research on the papyrus' ink points to the possibility that it is authentic, researchers say, while newly obtained documents may shed light on the origins of the business-card-sized fragment.

Debate about the credibility of the "gospel" began as soon as Harvard University professor Karen King reported her discovery of the papyrus in September 2012. Written in Coptic (an Egyptian language), the papyrus fragment contains a translated line that reads, "Jesus said to them, 'My wife …'" and also refers to a "Mary," possibly Mary Magdalene.

King had tentatively dated the papyrus to the fourth century, saying it may be a copy of a gospel written in the second century in Greek. [Read Translation of Gospel of Jesus's Wife Papyrus]

Analysis of the papyrus, detailed last year in the Harvard Theological Review journal, suggested the papyrus dates back around 1,200 years (somewhere between the sixth and ninth centuries) while the ink is of a type that could have been created at that time. These findings have led King to support the text's authenticity.

However over the past year many scholars have come to the conclusion that the papyrus is a modern-day forgery, though King and a few other researchers say they are not ready to concede this: "At this point, when discussions and research are ongoing, I think it is important, however difficult, to stay open regarding the possible dates of the inscription and other matters of interpretation," wrote King in a letter recently published in the magazine Biblical Archaeological Review. King has not responded to several interview requests from Live Science.

Now, researchers at Columbia University are running new tests on the ink used on the papyrus. Initial tests published by the Columbia University team in 2014 indicated the ink could have been made in ancient times. Researchers are saying little until their report is published; however they did talk about one finding that could provide some support for its authenticity.

A gospel steeped in mystery

The current owner of the papyrus has insisted on remaining anonymous, claiming that he bought the Gospel of Jesus's Wife, along with other Coptic texts, in 1999 from a man named Hans-Ulrich Laukamp. This person, in turn, got it from Potsdam, in what was East Germany, in 1963, the owner said.

Laukamp died in 2002, and the claim that he owned the text has been strongly disputed: Rene Ernest, the man whom Laukamp and his wife Helga charged with representing their estate, said that Laukamp had no interest in antiquities, did not collect them and was living in West Berlin in 1963. Therefore, he couldn't have crossed the Berlin Wall into Potsdam. Axel Herzsprung, a business partner of Laukamp's, similarly said that Laukamp never had an interest in antiquities and never owned a papyrus. Laukamp has no children or living relatives who could verify these claims. [6 Archaeological Forgeries That Tried to Change History]

Over the past few months, new documents have been found that not only reconstruct Laukamp's life in greater detail, but also provide a new way to check the anonymous owner's story.

King reported in a 2014 Harvard Theological Review article that the anonymous owner "provided me with a photocopy of a contract for the sale of '6 Coptic papyrus fragments, one believed to be a Gospel' from Hans-Ulrich Laukamp, dated Nov. 12, 1999, and signed by both parties." King also notes that "a handwritten comment on the contract states, 'Seller surrenders photocopies of correspondence in German. Papyri were acquired in 1963 by the seller in Potsdam (East Germany).'"

After searching public databases in Florida a Live Science reporter uncovered seven signatures signed by Laukamp between 1997 and 2001 on five notarized documents. Anyone can search these databases and download these documents. These signatures can be compared with the signature recording the sale of the Gospel of Jesus's Wife — providing another way to verify or disprove the story of how the "gospel" made its way to Harvard.

The signature of Hans-Ulrich Laukamp from September 1997.
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While Harvard University would have to work with forensic handwriting experts to verify the signature, the fact that these notarized documents exist, and are publicly available, presents the opportunity to see if Laukamp really did own the Gospel of Jesus's Wife. Forensic handwriting analysis, while not always conclusive, has been used to determine if signatures made on documents or works of art are authentic or forged.

If Laukamp did own the papyrus, authentic or not, then the origins of the enigmatic text lie with him. The new Laukamp documents allow the story of his life between 1995 and 2002 to be told in some detail. However if Laukamp didn't own the papyrus and the anonymous owner has not been truthful, then further doubt would be cast on the papyrus' authenticity, and information leading to the identity, motives and techniques of the forgers could be found.

[Danielle Gorree]

 Authentic or forged?

One important find, which indicates the Gospel of Jesus's Wife is a fake, was made last year by Christian Askeland, a research associate with the Institute for Septuagint and Biblical Research in Wuppertal, Germany. He examined a second Coptic papyrus containing part of the Gospel of John, which the anonymous owner of the Gospel of Jesus's Wife had also given to Harvard. This text was likewise supposedly purchased from Laukamp, and radiocarbon testing of that papyrus similarly found that it dates back around 1,200 years. [See Images of the Ancient Gospel of Judas]

Askeland found that the text and line breaks— where one line of a text ends and another begins — are identical to those of another papyrus, published in a 1924 book. That second papyrus was written in a dialect of Coptic called Lycopolitan, which went extinct around 1,500 years ago. Askeland concluded that the John papyrus is a forgery. Furthermore, it shares other features with the Gospel of Jesus's Wife, Askeland said, suggesting both are forgeries.

"The two Coptic fragments clearly shared the same ink, writing implement and scribal hand. The same artisan had created both essentially at the same time," Askeland wrote in a paper recently published in the journal New Testament Studies.

King objected to this conclusion in her Biblical Archaeology Review letter, noting that the John fragment could have been copied in ancient times, long after Lycopolitan went extinct, from a text that had similar line breaks.

In addition, James Yardley, a senior research scientist at Columbia University, told Live Science that the new tests confirm that the Gospel of Jesus's Wife holds different ink than the John papyrus. This could undercut Askeland's argument that the two papyri were written by the same person.

"In our first exploration, we did state that the inks used for the two documents of interest [the John papyrus and the Gospel of Jesus's Wife] were quite different. The more recent results do confirm this observation strongly," Yardley told Live Science.

He added that until his new research is published in a peer-reviewed journal, he doesn't want to say anything more publicly. And once it's published, Askeland and other researchers will have a chance to respond.

Askeland's find is far from the only argument that the Gospel of Jesus's Wife is a fake: A number of scholars have noted that the Coptic writing in the Gospel of Jesus's Wife is similar to another early Christian text called the "Gospel of Thomas," even including a modern-day typo made in a 2002 edition of the Gospel of Thomas that is available for free online. That typo indicates the forgers copied from this modern-day text. King disputed this assertion in 2014, saying that ancient scribes made grammatical errors similar to the modern-day typo.

King and communications staff at Harvard Divinity School have not responded to repeated requests for comment.

Follow Live Science@livescience, Facebook & Google+. Original article on Live Science.

[Danielle Gorree]

http://www.livescience.com/51954-gospel-of-jesus-wife-origins.html

[Rebelitarian]

If Jesus did have a wife and they had sex, wouldn't Jesus get a little jealous her calling out his dad's name ?

Oh God !   Oh God !  Oh God !

 

[Rose Line]

'Gospel of Jesus's Wife': Records Hint at Improbable Journey of Controversial Papyrus
by Owen Jarus, Live Science Contributor   |   October 05, 2015 12:57pm ET

The business card-sized fragment of papyrus now called the Gospel of Jesus's Wife contains a translated line which says "Jesus said to them, 'My wife …'" and also refers to a "Mary," possibly Mary Magdalene.
Credit: courtesy of Harvard Divinity School
View full size image

The search to uncover the true story behind the "Gospel of Jesus's Wife," a controversial papyrus that suggests that Jesus Christ had a wife, has extended beyond the theology halls of Harvard Divinity School, back to 1960s East Germany.

The origin of the papyrus has remained elusive, and many scholars debate the document's authenticity.

Now, records obtained from various sources by Live Science — many of which are publicly available online in databases in Florida and Germany, as well as on the Internet Archive— show that if the papyrus is authentic, the story behind how it came to the United States would be astounding. The records also describe how, if the papyrus is fake, the forger (or forgers) may have crafted such a realistic specimen.

Specifically, the documents provide a detailed account of the life of Hans-Ulrich Laukamp, the alleged former owner of the Gospel of Jesus's Wife. They describe a highly skilled industrialist who built a business with operations in Florida and Germany. Laukamp is a key figure in the debate of whether the papyrus is authentic, and may hold the key to solving this mystery. [6 Archaeological Forgeries That Could Have Change History]

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 Grand discovery

Karen King, a professor at Harvard Divinity School, first announced the discovery of the so-called Gospel of Jesus's Wife in September 2012. Written in Coptic (an Egyptian language), the papyrus fragment contains a translated line that reads, "Jesus said to them, 'My wife …'" and also refers to a "Mary," possibly Mary Magdalene.  [Read Translation of Gospel of Jesus's Wife Papyrus]




This stained glass window depicts Mary Magdalene washing the feet of Jesus.
The Gospel of Jesus’s Wife has received a huge amount of attention since its discovery in 2012. This stained glass window depicts Mary Magdalene washing the feet of Jesus.
Credit: BasPhoto / Shutterstock.com
View full size image

King has said the papyrus doesn't prove that Jesus himself was actually married, but rather that some people, who lived after Jesus' time, believed he was.

Radiocarbon dating indicates that the papyrus dates to around A.D. 800, and tests on the papyrus's ink confirm that it could have been created at that time. 

Based on these findings, King and a few other scholars have argued that the text is authentic, as it could be a copy of a text written in earlier times. However, a number of scholars have noted peculiar features of the "gospel's" writing that suggest it is a modern forgery — one possibly based off a text that first appeared online in 1997.

"Those in favor of [the] authenticity [argument] have, since the beginning [when the text was discovered], looked to scientific testing — carbon dating, ink analysis — to justify their claims," Joel Baden and Candida Moss, professors at Yale University and Notre Dame University, respectively, wrote in an article published in September in The Atlantic. "Those who believe it is a forgery have leaned on the analysis of letter forms, of grammar, of syntax."

[Rose Line]

 Men of mystery

The current owner of the papyrus has insisted on remaining anonymous. He provided King with signed documents that claim he bought the papyrus in 1999 from Laukamp, and that Laukamp got it from Potsdam, in what was East Germany, in 1963. (The exact location where he would have gotten the papyrus in Potsdam is unknown.) [Religious Mysteries: 8 Alleged Relics of Jesus]

Laukamp died in 2002, and the claim that he owned the text has been strongly disputed by Rene Ernest, the man whom Laukamp and his wife Helga charged with representing their estate. Ernest told Live Science that Laukamp had no interest in antiquities, did not collect them and was living in West Berlin in 1963 and thus couldn't have traveled to Potsdam from across the Berlin Wall. (West Berliners were not allowed to visit Potsdam at that time.)

Similarly, Axel Herzsprung, Laukamp's friend and business associate, told Live Science that Laukamp never had an interest in antiquities and never owned a papyrus. Laukamp has no children or living relatives who could verify these claims.

The newly obtained records show that, between 1995 and 2002, Laukamp was the owner of a fast-growing manufacturing company called ACMB (American Corporation for Milling and Boreworks). By 2000, Laukamp's operations had expanded to encompass a 25,000-square-foot (2,300 square meters) factory in Berlin, an office in Florida and a staff that included scientists, engineers and skilled tradespeople.

[Rose Line]

The Gospel of Jesus’s Wife has received a huge amount of attention since its discovery in 2012. This stained glass window depicts Mary Magdalene washing the feet of Jesus.
Credit: BasPhoto / Shutterstock.com

[Rose Line]

Records contain seven signatures signed by Hans-Ulrich Laukamp between 1997 and 2001 on five notarized documents. This particular document dates to May 22, 2001.

[Rose Line]

 Laukamp and his wife moved to Venice, Florida, in 1997. The records show that in 2001, after Helga had died, he wrapped up his affairs in the United States and departed for Berlin, where he passed away. Laukamp's company collapsed not long after his death in 2002.

Improbable journey

If the "Jesus's Wife" papyrus is authentic, it would mean that Laukamp would have had to figure out a way to reach Potsdam in 1963. In that year, West Berliners could only travel to East Berlin at Christmas, and only if they had family on that side of the city, according to historical records from that time period. President John F. Kennedy himself protested these conditions, flying to West Berlin in 1963 to give his famous "Ich bin ein Berliner" speech.

If Laukamp did try to reach Potsdam, he would have risked being caught and would have had to explain to East German, and possibly Soviet, authorities that the papyrus he was carrying, with the Coptic handwriting, was simply an ancient papyrus and not a coded message.

The new records offer few clues as to how Laukamp could have reached Potsdam from West Berlin in 1963. The documents show that Laukamp was technically proficient with automobiles and motorcycles, as his business manufactured a variety of products for the automobile industry and Laukamp himself co-patented a new motorcycle brake design. Whether these skills could have helped him get over the Berlin Wall and reach Potsdam while avoiding East German police is unknown.

Another possibility is that Laukamp got into Potsdam with the help of East German or Soviet authorities. If this is true, it raises questions as to what involvement these authorities could have had in the Gospel of Jesus's Wife.

If the papyrus is authentic, it would mean Laukamp withheld its existence (and his interest in antiquities) from Ernest and that he concealed it from Herzsprung, his friend and business associate.

[Rose Line]

Does the signature fit?

As Live Science reported in August, five notarized documents have been found that together held seven of Laukamp's signatures, dating to between 1997 and 2001. In a 2014 article published in Harvard Theological Review, King said she had a copy of the signed document recording the sale of the papyrus. With that document, Harvard scientists could work with forensic handwriting experts to verify the signature on the sale document.

If the signature on the sale record is Laukamp's, the origins of the papyrus (whether authentic or fake) lie with him. On the other hand, if Laukamp's signature was forged, then the papyrus is likely a fake and the anonymous owner may have been involved in the forgery.

Whether Harvard researchers are performing these tests is unknown. King and communications staff at Harvard Divinity School have not responded to requests for comment.

Could Laukamp have forged it?

Many scholars believe that the Gospel of Jesus's Wife is a fake that was likely created by Laukamp or the anonymous owner.

King said in the 2014 Harvard Theological Review article that although it's theoretically possible to create a gospel that could withstand scientific testing, such a creation would require a "clever forger" with sophisticated technical skills to pull it off. The new records show that the people whom Laukamp employed or otherwise worked with were scientists, engineers and skilled tradespeople.

The newly discovered records indicate that if Laukamp helped to forge the papyrus, his motivation might have been monetary. The records show that in the period leading up to 1999, Laukamp was spending a large amount of cash: He had built a new factory in Berlin that encompassed 25,000 square feet; he bought a newly built house in Venice, Florida; he opened a branch office of ACMB in the same city; and he hired additional staff for his business.

Did the anonymous owner forge it?

If the anonymous owner forged the papyrus, it would mean that he or someone working with him likely had knowledge of Laukamp's personal life, including that Laukamp had no children and no living relatives who could talk to Harvard or the news media when the discovery was announced. The Gospel of Jesus's Wife has generated a tremendous amount of media coverage all over the world and was even the focus of a Smithsonian documentary.

Paul Barford, an independent archaeologist who writes about antiquities collecting, noted that a forger would find it "convenient" that Laukamp had no living relatives who could speak for him.

The records indicate that many of the people with knowledge of Laukamp's personal life are scientists, engineers and skilled tradespeople. The people who had the scientific knowledge needed to create a forgery that could withstand testing. Live Science contacted as many of these people as possible, but the name of the anonymous owner has not yet been revealed.

Follow us @livescience, Facebook & Google+. Original article on Live Science.

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[Rose Line]

Kajsa Williams · Goucher College
The Church likes to pretend that 2000 years have had no impact at all on the Jesus narrative. It will probably be almost impossible to overcome this "we already know the truth" attitude and have an impartial scientific analysis. Wouldn't it be nice if their reverence for Jesus resulted in their wanting to know every detail about his real life?