The Dead Sea scrolls, the Gospel of Barnabas, and the New Testament

Plot

Whether the Gospel of Barnabas is genuine or not is a question tied to another question -- whether Jesus is God incarnate or not. For if Jesus is not God, then the present gospels of the New Testament fall apart and the search for an authentic gospel becomes inevitable. The Dead Sea Scrolls, The Gospel of Barnabas and the New Testament does a commendable job of authenticating The Gospel of Barnabas and in the process opens up an entirely new field of research. The Dead Sea Scrolls, ever since their discovery in 1947, have meant many things to many. Contrary to evangelic claims, their discovery has brought no meaningful evidence to strengthen traditional Christianity based on the New Testament. The evidence presented so far is of a dubious nature and the rationale is flimsy to say the least. According to Yusseff's thesis, Jesus' coming did not call for the abolition of the Abrahamic faith or the institution of a new faith based on the vicarious sacrifice of a man-god. He consistently maintains that Jesus is a link in the continuation of the Hebrew tradition. This is an exceedingly important point because until his coming, the Abrahamic faith was confined to the narrow racial and parochial concerns of the Israelites. Jesus broadened their concerns and diluted their rigid confines. That this led to termination of the Israelite dispensation was inevitable. But universalizing the Abrahamic tradition by enlarging upon its laws was left to another son of Abraham, Muhammad (pbuh).