More Secret Scriptures 3: The Apocryphal Apocalypses of John

November 13, 2017 by Tony

(The latest in a series of posts about little-known Christian Apocrypha that could not be included in my recent book, Secret Scriptures Revealed: A New Introduction to the the Christian Apocrypha, to be released later this month)

The earliest Christian apocalypse is the canonical Book of Revelation ascribed to John. The focus of this text is the end-time battle between cosmic powers of good and evil, with Jesus leading the heavenly host against the forces of Satan and the Beast. With the victory of Jesus, Satan and his minions are thrown into a lake of fire, and the faithful are raised from death to live forever in a new heaven and earth ruled by God. But the story does not end there for John; he is called on again to receive new visions in several other apocalypses in his name.

The Apocalypse of Saint John the Theologian (commonly known as 2 Apocalypse of John), available in Greek and Arabic and perhaps composed in Syria in the fourth century, is written as a supplement to the canonical text with John asking Jesus for additional information, such as a more detailed physical description of the Beast and details about the conditions of life after the second coming. The righteous dead, whether children or senior citizens, will “rise as thirty-year-olds” (10), Jesus says, and physical divisions will be no more: “Just as the bees do not differ one from another, but are all of the same appearance and size, so every …

More Secret Scriptures 2: Letters from Jesus to Peter and Paul

November 13, 2017 by Tony

(The second in a series of posts about little-known Christian Apocrypha that could not be included in my recent book, Secret Scriptures Revealed: A New Introduction to the the Christian Apocrypha, to be released later this month)

While reading Bart Ehrman's latest book, Forgery and Counterforgery: The Use of Literary Deceit in Early Christian Polemics (Oxford 2013), I came across a reference to, apparently, lost letters of Jesus to Peter and Paul. These letters are not typically mentioned in studies of the Christian Apocrypha, though they should be part of the discussion of apocryphal letters of Jesus (particularly the Abgar Correspondence).

The reference is found in Augustine's Harmony of the Gospels (De cons. Evang.). Augustine is refuting claims that Jesus composed texts of magic. It's interesting that Augustine's method of refutation is to point out that Jesus could not have written to Paul since Paul was not a Christian until after Jesus' death. Here is the relevant excerpt (1.14-16; translated by S.D.F. Salmond, from Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, First Series, Vol. 6. Edited by Philip Schaff. Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Publishing Co., 1888):

14. But, indeed, these persons rise to such a pitch of folly as to allege that the books which they consider to have been written by Him contain the arts by which they think He wrought those miracles, the fame of which has become prevalent in all quarters. And this fancy

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New Article on Secret Mark by Viklund and Paananen

June 7, 2013 by Tony

Roger Viklund's online article, "Tremors or Just an Optical Illusion?A Further Evaluation of Stephen Carlson's Handwriting Analysis" (see HERE; and expanded upon in Timo Paananen's blog HERE and HERE), has now appeared in a peer-reviewed journal. The complete bibliographical details are: Roger Viklund and Timo S. Paananen, "Distortion of the Scribal Hand in the Images of Clement's Letter to Theodore," Vigiliae Christianae 67 (2013): 235-247. Their conclusion:

In sum: all the signs of forgery Carlson unearthed in his analysis of the handwriting in Clement’s Letter to Theodore disappear once we replace the printed images Carlson used with the original photographs. Looking at the artefacts, Carlson concluded that the “apparently hurried cursive was executed more slowly than it purports to be” and that the “writer had not fully mastered the style of handwriting”. An opposite conclusion has recently been reached (independently of us) by Venetia Anastasopoulou, who had access to the high-quality images of the manuscript, and possesses professional training, degrees, and experience in the field of forensic document examination. For Anastasopoulou, the script in Clement’s Letter to Theodore is “written spontaneously with an excellent rhythm”, while the “movement of the writing indicates a hand used to writing in this manner”.

Though Carlson is to be commended for his insight that the tools of forensic document examination could advance the debate, the execution of his project has left much to be desired. Based on the comparison of the images presented above we suggest that there is no “forger’s tremor”

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More Secret Scriptures: John and the Young Bishop of Ephesus

November 13, 2017 by Tony

In celebration of the release of my new book, Secret Scriptures Revealed: A New Introduction to the Christian Apocrypha, I am running a series of posts on texts that could not be included in the book due to space considerations (so many texts, so little room). The first of these is a story about the apostle John transmitted by Clement of Alexandria in his Quis dives salvetur (42.1-15). I only recently came across the story and I am surprised that it is not featured in the popular Christian Apocrypha collections, nor is it mentioned in the standard introductions to the Acts of John. The translation below is taken from an online edition of Eusebius's Ecclesiastical History 3.23, which excerpts the text from Clement's work (translated by Arthur Cushman McGiffert from Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series, Vol. 1).

1. At that time the apostle and evangelist John, the one whom Jesus loved, was still living in Asia, and governing the churches of that region, having returned after the death of Domitian from his exile on the island.

2. And that he was still alive at that time may be established by the testimony of two witnesses. They should be trustworthy who have maintained the orthodoxy of the Church; and such indeed were Irenaeus and Clement of Alexandria.

3. The former in the second book of his work Against Heresies, writes as follows: And all the elders that associated with John the disciple of the Lord in Asia

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