New Manuscript Discovery Shakes Christianity to the Core
Christopher Bailey on a Third-Century Find That Could Challenge Even The Da Vinci Code
The ruins of ancient Colocyntopolis (near modern al-q’Kh) went largely unnoticed until last year, when an itinerant spoon-sharpener fell through a hole in the ground and found himself in a third-century chamber or apartment, its furnishings preserved to a remarkable degree by the desert climate.
Since then, excavations made under the auspices of the Weekly World News have turned up a large number of fascinating objects. But of all the artifacts, none drew more attention than a nearly intact third-century birdcage. Upon examination, it was found to contain a nearly intact third-century bird and, lining the floor, the first few columns of a well-known Gnostic writing called the Pistis Sophia. You may recall the buzz of scholarly anticipation when it was announced that this manuscript differed in several significant details from the other known sources.
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Christopher Bailey , a Lutheran, writes about everything from Arthurian mythology to wireless networking. He spent a decade on the Upward Path in corporate America, but now must be counted among the backsliders.
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