Fresh Doubts Raised About Papyrus Scrap Known as ‘Gospel of Jesus’ Wife’

New evidence discovered by a skeptical young scholar has raised fresh doubts about the authenticity of the scrap of papyrus known as the “Gospel of Jesus’ Wife,” a relic that has provoked fascination and fury since it was unveiled nearly two years ago by an eminent historian of early Christianity at Harvard Divinity School.

The latest finding comes only weeks after the Harvard Theological Review published a long-awaited lineup of articles by experts reporting that scientific testing and close examination of the papyrus had found no apparent evidence of forgery. But detractors of the Jesus’ Wife fragment remained unconvinced, and the contents of those articles gave them new material to investigate.

Even the historian who first brought the papyrus to public attention, calling it a valuable clue that some early Christians believed Jesus was married, said this latest forgery accusation, by an American professor doing research in Germany, raises significant concerns and merits further examination, but is only one scenario and is not conclusive.