There is an ancient text where Jesus is described as a werewolf
(ORDO NEWS) — In March 2013, newspaper headlines were full of reports of a newly deciphered Egyptian text dating back almost 1,200 years, which inconsistently described Jesus as having the ability to shape-shift.
But just as quickly as the story hit major news sites around the world, it disappeared and hasn’t been mentioned much since.
Why did the study and research related to this text sink into oblivion? Why has there been little scholarly debate about Jesus as a werewolf?
Judas used kiss to point to were-Jesus, says Coptic text
An ancient text written in Coptic on behalf of St. Cyril of Jerusalem, an eminent theologian who lived in the fourth century, tells part of the story of the crucifixion of Jesus with apocryphal plot twists, some of which have never been seen before.
They became known through a translation by Roelof Van den Broek of the University of Utrecht in the Netherlands, and published in Pseudo-Cyril of Jerusalem on the Life and Passion of Christ: A Coptic Apocrypha.
An ancient text explains why Judas used the kiss to betray Jesus. According to the canonical Bible, the apostle Jude betrays Jesus in exchange for money, using a kiss for identification, which leads to Jesus’ arrest.
This apocryphal account explains that the reason Judas used the kiss is because Jesus had the power to shapeshift.
Then Judas said: How can we arrest Him [Jesus], because He does not have one appearance, but His appearance changes.
Sometimes He is ruddy, sometimes white, sometimes red, sometimes wheat-colored, sometimes ascetic-pale, sometimes a youth, sometimes an old man.
This leads Judas to use the kiss as a means of identification. If Judas had given the arrestees a description of Jesus, he might have changed the form. After kissing Jesus, Judas tells the people who he is, a werewolf or not.
This understanding of the kiss of Judas is rooted in the distant past. According to Van den Broek, the explanation of the Judas kiss is first found in Origen, a theologian who lived between 185 and 254 AD.
In his work “Contra Celsum”, the ancient writer states that “to those who saw him [Jesus], he did not seem the same to everyone.”
However, Van den Broek is careful to note that he does not suggest that Jesus was in fact a werewolf, only that some people in early Christian times may have believed him to be.
The text is one of 55 Coptic manuscripts that were found in 1910 by villagers digging for fertilizer at the site of the ruined monastery of the Archangel Michael of the Desert near Al-Hamuli in Egypt.
Apparently, in the 10th century, the monks buried the manuscripts of the monastery in a stone vat for safekeeping.
The monastery ceased its activity around the beginning of the 10th century, and the text was rediscovered in the spring of 1910.
In December 1911, along with other texts, it was acquired by the American financier J.P. Morgan. His collections and described text are now held by the Morgan Library and Museum in New York.
Although the headlines that appeared at the time of the announcement were quite sensational and described the text as containing information destroying Christianity, the scholar-publisher never claimed anything of the sort.
It is also clear that this text is not a hoax, but the real thing , published by a respected scholar and renowned academic publication (EJ Brill).
Why hasn’t such a compelling text led to further research, interpretation, or discussion among scholars regarding Jesus as a werewolf?
—
Online:
Contact us: [email protected]
Our Standards, Terms of Use: Standard Terms And Conditions.
