The Nicene Council and the destruction of Hebrew Gospels
In the year 325, when the first Nicene (Iznik) Council decided to abolish all the Bibles written in the Hebrew language, Barnabas’ Bible was destroyed too. This was accomplished by officially threatening to kill anyone who kept or read the Bibles other than the four books authorized.
The fundamental purpose of this council was to insert doctrine of Trinity into Christianity.
The formation of the modern Bible
The Holy Bible which appeared later and is now considered the Christians’ holy book consists of two parts. The “Old Testament” contains the dispensations of Prophets that had appeared before Hadrat Îsâ, particularly the Mosaic dispensation. The “New Testament” includes the four books written by his followers Matthew, Mark, Luke and his apostle John that contain information about the life of Jesus, his deeds and admonitions.
The great stringency observed in the recording of the Quran was not observed in the preparation of the Bible. Many wrong thoughts, fables, and silly tales were added to the truth. Many different versions of Bible appeared.
Nevertheless, gospels in close proximity to the real Bibles are known to exist today. The most important of these is The Gospel of Barnabas.
Who Barnabas was
Barnabas was a Jew born in Cyprus. His real name was Joseph. He was one of the leading followers of Jesus and possessed an important post among the apostles. His nick-name, Barnabas, means “a person who gives advice and encourages good deeds.” The Christian world knows Barnabas as a great saint who together with Saint Paul was a man who set out to propagate Christianity. The Christians celebrate June 11th as Saint Paul’s day. Barnabas wrote down exactly what he had heard and learned from Hadrat Îsâ. Barnabas’ book and other Bibles were popular and were read during the first three hundred years of Christianity.
The disappearance of Barnabas’ Gospel
In the year 325, when the first Nicene (Iznik) Council decided to abolish all the Bibles written in the Hebrew language, Barnabas’ Bible was destroyed too.
This was accomplished by officially threatening to kill anyone who kept or read the Bibles other than the four books authorized. The other Bibles were translated into Latin, but Barnabas’ Bible suddenly disappeared. Pope Damasus got a copy of Barnabas’ Bible by chance in the year 383 and kept it in his papal library.
The rediscovery story and Fra Marino
Until the year 993AH (1585), Barnabas’ Bible remained in that library. In that year Fra Marino, a friend of Pope Sixtus, saw the book there and developed a deep interest in it. (Fra means brother and monk in Italian.) This was because Fra Marino knew that around the year 160 Iraneus (130-200), one of the leading exponents of Christianity, had put forward the belief that “there is only one God, and Jesus is not the son of God.” Iraneus had also said:
“Saint Paul wanted to introduce the wrong idea of the Trinity into the Christian creed because he had been influenced by the Roman custom of worshipping many gods.”
Fra Marino alsoknew that Iraneus had referred to Barnabas’ Bible as a proof in his criticism against Saint Paul. For this reason, Fra Marino read Barnabas’ Bible with the utmost attention and translated it into Italian between the years 1585-1590. After changing many hands, this Italian manuscript came into the possession of Cramer, one of the counsellors to the King of Prussia. In 1120 (1713), Cramer presented this valuable manuscript to Prince Eugene de Savoie (1663-1736), who had established a great reputation in Europe for having defeated the Turks at Zanta and for having taken back Hungary and the fortress of Belgrade. After Prince Eugene’s death, Barnabas’ Bible, together with the rest of his private library, was transferred to the Royal Library (Hofbibliothek) in Vienna in 1738.
The mysterious disappearance of the English translation
Two Britons, Mr. and Mrs. Ragg, who first found the Italian translation of Barnabas’ Bible in the Royal library, translated it into English and that translation was printed in Oxford in 1325AH (1907).
Strange to say, this translation mysteriously disappeared from the market. Only one copy of the translation exists in the British Museum and another one is in the Library of the U.S. Congress in Washington. With great effort, the Qur’anic Council of Pakistan managed to reproduce the English version in 1973. The following passages have been taken from that book:
Teachings quoted from the Gospel of Barnabas
From the seventieth chapter of Barnabas’ book:
“Jesus answered: ‘And ye; what say ye that I am?’ Peter answered: ‘Thou art Christ, son of God.’ Then was Jesus angry, and with anger rebuked him, saying: ‘Begone and depart from me, because thou art the devil and seekest to cause me offence!’ And he threatened the eleven, saying: ‘Woe to you if ye believe this, for I have won from God a great curse against those who believe this.’ ”
The seventy-first chapter states:
“Then said Jesus: ‘As God liveth, I am not able to forgive sin, nor is any man, but God alone forgiveth.’ ”
Early anti-Trinitarian movements
Luchian, the Bishop of Antioch. And Luchian’s disciple, Arius (270-336), was even more famous. Arius was excommunicated by Alexander, (d. 328), the Bishop of Alexandria, who later became the Patriarch of Istanbul. Upon this, Arius went to his friend Eusabios, the Bishop of Nicene (Iznik). Arius had so many adherents around him that even Constantine, the Emperor of Byzantium, and his sister joined the Arian sect. Also, Pope Honorius, conceded that Jesus was only a human being and that it was wrong to believe in three gods. (Pope Honorius, who died in 630, was officially cursed [anathematized] by the Spiritual Council that assembled in Istanbul in 678, 48 years after his death.)
European opposition to the Trinity
In 1547, L.F.M. Sozzini, influenced by Camillo, a Sicilian priest, appealed to the Frenchman Jean Calvin (1509-1564), who was one of the most outstanding religious authorities of Christendom and the founder of Calvinism, and challenged him, saying:
“I do not believe in Trinity.” He also said that he preferred the Arian doctrine and rejected the theory of the “Original Sin.” (This sin is said to be the Prophet Adam’s major sin, and the reason why Hadrat Îsâ had been sent to this world as an atonement for that sin). This is a principle doctrine of Christianity.
His cousin, F.P. Sozzini, published a book in 1562, and therein he categorically rejected the deity of Jesus. In 1577, Sozzini moved to the city of Klausenburg, Transylvania, because Sigismund, the leader of that country, was against the doctrine of Trinity. Also, Bishop Francis Davis (1510-1579) of the same country was utterly against Trinity and had established a sect denying Trinity. Because this sect was established in the city of Rocow, Poland, its adherents were called Racovians. They all believed Arius. This Arian belief endured through the ages; even Isaac Newton later rejected the Trinity and upheld belief in one God.
Why the Gospel of Barnabas remains controversial
Historical facts exhibit that the existing Gospels have lost their credibility in the eyes of many Christian clergy, who acknowledge that the Gospel of Barnabas is the only true Bible. This insurrection seems to have goaded the Popes and their associates into an assiduous activity to liquidate the Gospel of Barnabas.
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