(CP) An ancient piece of papyrus sourced from Egypt with the word “Jesus” written in Greek letters was uncovered in a university library in Germany and is believed to be the oldest surviving copy of a writing detailing Jesus Christ’s childhood.
Researchers from Humboldt University of Berlin and the University of Liège, Belgium, have identified the fragment they are saying is the earliest surviving copy of the Infancy Gospel of Thomas, an apocryphal gospel about Jesus’ youth that is taken into account gnostic in origin.
Before this discovery, the earliest version of the Gospel of Thomas originated from an Eleventh-century codex, in keeping with an announcement from the Humboldt University of Berlin.Â
“The fragment is of extraordinary interest for research,” Lajos Berkes, a lecturer on the Faculty of Theology at Humboldt University. “On the one hand, because we were able to this point it to the 4th to fifth century, making it the earliest known copy. On the opposite hand, because we were in a position to gain recent insights into the transmission of the text.”
Gabriel Nocchi Macedo from the University of Liège said the findings “confirm the present assessment that the Infancy Gospel in keeping with Thomas was originally written in Greek.”
The document is 11-by-5 centimeters and includes just 13 lines written in Greek letters.
The Gospel of Thomas is believed to have been created across the second century and is just not included within the Holy Bible amid questions on its origin and theology.
The gospel was written much later than the canonical gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. The writer is unknown, and most scholars don’t regard the writer to be any of the apostles or their close friends. Many scholars inside orthodox Christianity consider the writing to be heretical.
Berkes and Macedo operate under the belief that this fragment they found was created as a writing exercise in a college or monastery, citing “clumsy handwriting with irregular lines, amongst other things.”
The text describes the start of what’s known as the “vivification of the sparrows,” the “second miracle” within the apocryphal gospel during which a 5-year-old Jesus turned clay figurines into real birds.
There are also stories that include Jesus’ inflicting harm and death. In one such story, Jesus strikes a boy dead, only to revive him after Joseph admonishes young Jesus.
Another story from the text features a scene during which Jesus is playing in a room with one other boy, who falls down and dies. After Jesus is accused of killing the kid, he raises him back from the dead.
Over the years, theologians have noted that allegations of Jesus causing harm to others will not be consistent with Christ’s teachings.
