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Here's what one scholar says about the papyrus, which he thinks is a fake:
SUMMARY
In my article, I argue that the GJW fragment may be a modern fake. Virtually all of its individual phrases are taken directly from the Coptic version of the Gospel of Thomas – the best-known and most complete of the ancient gospel texts that have come to light over the past century or so. The author has used a kind of “collage” technique to assemble the items selected from Thomas into a new
composition. While this is a very unlikely way for an ancient author to compose a text, it’s what might be expected of a modern forger with limited facility in the Coptic language. http://markgoodacre.org/Watson2.pdf
According to the NY Times, "However, experts say that kind of cobbling does not prove it was forged, because such amalgamations show up in authentic ancient texts as well. "
The NY Times also notes that one of the conference organizers (at which Dr. King presented) has raised concerns. One is that the "find" wasn't from a dig but, rather, from the antiquarian market and thus requires "numerous precautions" to establish reliability and authenticity.
He also criticizes the sensationalism that could've been avoided if Dr. King had not gone to the news media first. Dr. Camplani states, “In this case, the excessively direct link between research and journalism — that makes short shrift of the long periods required by more serious scientific discussion — had already occurred before the conference.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/29/w...referring-to-jesus-wife-is-probably-fake.html
SUMMARY
In my article, I argue that the GJW fragment may be a modern fake. Virtually all of its individual phrases are taken directly from the Coptic version of the Gospel of Thomas – the best-known and most complete of the ancient gospel texts that have come to light over the past century or so. The author has used a kind of “collage” technique to assemble the items selected from Thomas into a new
composition. While this is a very unlikely way for an ancient author to compose a text, it’s what might be expected of a modern forger with limited facility in the Coptic language. http://markgoodacre.org/Watson2.pdf
According to the NY Times, "However, experts say that kind of cobbling does not prove it was forged, because such amalgamations show up in authentic ancient texts as well. "
The NY Times also notes that one of the conference organizers (at which Dr. King presented) has raised concerns. One is that the "find" wasn't from a dig but, rather, from the antiquarian market and thus requires "numerous precautions" to establish reliability and authenticity.
He also criticizes the sensationalism that could've been avoided if Dr. King had not gone to the news media first. Dr. Camplani states, “In this case, the excessively direct link between research and journalism — that makes short shrift of the long periods required by more serious scientific discussion — had already occurred before the conference.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/29/w...referring-to-jesus-wife-is-probably-fake.html
