Definition of Apocryphal Gospels

The Bible was definitely written around the 1st century AD. C. In it there are four stories about the life of Jesus: the gospel of Mark, Luke, John and Matthew. However, there are other gospels that are not integrated into the Bible, as they were not recognized by the religious authorities because they understood that they were not inspired by God. These texts are known as the apocryphal gospels.

In the religious context of Christianity, the apocryphal word refers to sacred texts that are not part of the official canon. For this reason, there is a distinction between the canonical and the apocryphal gospels.

Christianity took its first steps around AD 30. C when a group of Jews came together to follow the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth

The followers of Jesus told stories about the new messiah and finally these stories were collected in the New Testament. The first gospel is believed to have been that of Mark and was probably written around 70 AD. C. Together with the other three gospels already mentioned, they make up the official version of Christianity.

Main apocryphal gospels

The Gospel of Peter is a story about the life of Jesus. In the text it is stated that the Author it was the apostle Peter himself. This text was discovered in Egypt in the 19th century and caused a great impact among biblical scholars and scholars because it tells the facts related to the resurrection of Jesus.

The Gospel of Thomas was discovered in 1945 in the town of Nag Hammadi in Egypt. These are manuscripts with 114 sentences attributed to Jesus of Nazareth. Experts consider that this text was part of a philosophical current of the third century AD. C, the movement Gnostic.

The Gospel of Mary Magdalene was discovered in the nineteenth century and specialists place it within the current of Gnosticism. On this text only some fragments are preserved. Although it was not written by Mary Magdalene, it has received this name because it mentions a disciple of Jesus and it is believed that it could be Mary Magdalene.

The Gospel of Judas, probably written by the Cainites around the 2nd century AD. C, presents a positive version of the apostle who betrayed Jesus, Judas Iscariot. For some specialists this interpretation of the manuscript is erroneous and is due to an error in the translation of the original text.

More questions than answers

On these gospels there is much controversy and disparity of opinions. Scholars ask all kinds of questions: Were they banned for theological reasons or for other interests? Why did they disappear? Was there a doctrinal battle to impose a model of Christianity on others?

At the Council of Nicea in the fourth century AD. C the foundations of Christianity were established

When Emperor Constantine converted to Christianity the Roman Empire adopted this religion as an officer. At that time there was no doctrinal cohesion among Christians and in that historical context it was decided to organize the Council of Nicea in 325 to establish the basic principles of the faith Christian.

The purpose of the council was twofold: to unify the faith and unite the empire. The bishops and priests meeting at Nicaea agreed on religious dogmas and, at the same time, some texts were proclaimed official (the canonical gospels) and others unofficial (the gospels Apocrypha).

Fotolia photos: Julia / Pepitoid