Francis Watson on the Coptic Fragment about Jesus' Relationships<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Mark Goodacre links to Francis Watson's short piece that suggest that the\u00a0Gospel of Jesus' Wife\u00a0is a fake. My gut feeling was that the fragment sounded\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/euangelion\/2012\/09\/francis-watson-on-the-coptic-fragment-about-jesus-relationships\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Francis Watson on the Coptic Fragment about Jesus' Relationships\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Mark Goodacre links to Francis Watson's short piece that suggest that the\u00a0Gospel of Jesus' Wife\u00a0is a fake. My gut feeling was that the fragment sounded\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/euangelion\/2012\/09\/francis-watson-on-the-coptic-fragment-about-jesus-relationships\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Euangelion\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/michael.bird.33\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2012-09-23T23:46:57+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/www.eerdmans.com\/Handlers\/ResizeImageHandler.ashx?ImageUrl=%7e%2fContent%2fSite146%2fProductImages%2f9780802840547.jpg&Width=165\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Michael F. Bird\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@mbird12\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Michael F. Bird\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/euangelion\/2012\/09\/francis-watson-on-the-coptic-fragment-about-jesus-relationships\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/euangelion\/2012\/09\/francis-watson-on-the-coptic-fragment-about-jesus-relationships\/\",\"name\":\"Francis Watson on the Coptic Fragment about Jesus' Relationships\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/euangelion\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2012-09-23T23:46:57+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2012-09-23T23:46:57+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/euangelion\/#\/schema\/person\/db6f6af97b8c96ade6856573d1e67fb3\"},\"description\":\"Mark Goodacre links to Francis Watson's short piece that suggest that the\u00a0Gospel of Jesus' Wife\u00a0is a fake. My gut feeling was that the fragment sounded\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/euangelion\/2012\/09\/francis-watson-on-the-coptic-fragment-about-jesus-relationships\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/euangelion\/2012\/09\/francis-watson-on-the-coptic-fragment-about-jesus-relationships\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/euangelion\/2012\/09\/francis-watson-on-the-coptic-fragment-about-jesus-relationships\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/euangelion\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Francis Watson on the Coptic Fragment about Jesus’ Relationships\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/euangelion\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/euangelion\/\",\"name\":\"Euangelion\",\"description\":\"A Post-Post-Modern Blog On Scripture, Faith and Following Jesus\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/euangelion\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/euangelion\/#\/schema\/person\/db6f6af97b8c96ade6856573d1e67fb3\",\"name\":\"Michael F. Bird\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/euangelion\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/33985cd4f41e365813d809405f3d6acf?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/33985cd4f41e365813d809405f3d6acf?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Michael F. Bird\"},\"description\":\"Mike Bird is Academic Dean and Lecturer in Theology at Ridley College in Melbourne, Australia.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/michael.bird.33\",\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/@mbird12\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UC21I7qYVHPsOzL9ujxiRWZA\",\"brandygrenier\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/euangelion\/author\/mbird\/\"}]}<\/script>\n","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Francis Watson on the Coptic Fragment about Jesus' Relationships","description":"Mark Goodacre links to Francis Watson's short piece that suggest that the\u00a0Gospel of Jesus' Wife\u00a0is a fake. My gut feeling was that the fragment sounded","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/euangelion\/2012\/09\/francis-watson-on-the-coptic-fragment-about-jesus-relationships\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Francis Watson on the Coptic Fragment about Jesus' Relationships","og_description":"Mark Goodacre links to Francis Watson's short piece that suggest that the\u00a0Gospel of Jesus' Wife\u00a0is a fake. My gut feeling was that the fragment sounded","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/euangelion\/2012\/09\/francis-watson-on-the-coptic-fragment-about-jesus-relationships\/","og_site_name":"Euangelion","article_author":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/michael.bird.33","article_published_time":"2012-09-23T23:46:57+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.eerdmans.com\/Handlers\/ResizeImageHandler.ashx?ImageUrl=%7e%2fContent%2fSite146%2fProductImages%2f9780802840547.jpg&Width=165"}],"author":"Michael F. Bird","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@mbird12","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Michael F. Bird","Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/euangelion\/2012\/09\/francis-watson-on-the-coptic-fragment-about-jesus-relationships\/","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/euangelion\/2012\/09\/francis-watson-on-the-coptic-fragment-about-jesus-relationships\/","name":"Francis Watson on the Coptic Fragment about Jesus' Relationships","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/euangelion\/#website"},"datePublished":"2012-09-23T23:46:57+00:00","dateModified":"2012-09-23T23:46:57+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/euangelion\/#\/schema\/person\/db6f6af97b8c96ade6856573d1e67fb3"},"description":"Mark Goodacre links to Francis Watson's short piece that suggest that the\u00a0Gospel of Jesus' Wife\u00a0is a fake. My gut feeling was that the fragment sounded","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/euangelion\/2012\/09\/francis-watson-on-the-coptic-fragment-about-jesus-relationships\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/euangelion\/2012\/09\/francis-watson-on-the-coptic-fragment-about-jesus-relationships\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/euangelion\/2012\/09\/francis-watson-on-the-coptic-fragment-about-jesus-relationships\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/euangelion\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Francis Watson on the Coptic Fragment about Jesus’ Relationships"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/euangelion\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/euangelion\/","name":"Euangelion","description":"A Post-Post-Modern Blog On Scripture, Faith and Following Jesus","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/euangelion\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/euangelion\/#\/schema\/person\/db6f6af97b8c96ade6856573d1e67fb3","name":"Michael F. Bird","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/euangelion\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/33985cd4f41e365813d809405f3d6acf?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/33985cd4f41e365813d809405f3d6acf?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Michael F. Bird"},"description":"Mike Bird is Academic Dean and Lecturer in Theology at Ridley College in Melbourne, Australia.","sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/michael.bird.33","https:\/\/twitter.com\/@mbird12","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UC21I7qYVHPsOzL9ujxiRWZA","brandygrenier"],"url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/euangelion\/author\/mbird\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/euangelion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3656","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/euangelion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/euangelion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/euangelion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/196"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/euangelion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3656"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/euangelion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3656\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/euangelion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3656"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/euangelion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3656"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/euangelion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3656"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}

{"id":3656,"date":"2012-09-23T19:46:57","date_gmt":"2012-09-23T23:46:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/euangelion\/?p=3656"},"modified":"2012-09-23T19:46:57","modified_gmt":"2012-09-23T23:46:57","slug":"francis-watson-on-the-coptic-fragment-about-jesus-relationships","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/euangelion\/2012\/09\/francis-watson-on-the-coptic-fragment-about-jesus-relationships\/","title":{"rendered":"Francis Watson on the Coptic Fragment about Jesus’ Relationships"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Mark Goodacre<\/a> links to Francis Watson\u2019s short piece<\/a> that suggest that the\u00a0Gospel of Jesus\u2019 Wife\u00a0<\/em>is a fake. My gut feeling was that the fragment sounded like a hodge podge of Gospel of Thomas and maybe Gospel of Philip, but I\u2019m no Coptologist. Yet Watson gives a line by line discussion of the fragment and its comparison with Gospel of Thomas.<\/p>\n

I won\u2019t say that it is a slam dunk, but I think Watson has put forward a very good case for its inauthenticity. But again, the jury is still out.<\/p>\n

$\"\"$ On the topic of Francis Watson, take note of his forthcoming book\u00a0Gospel Writing<\/em>: A Canonical Perspective\u00a0<\/em>(Eerdmans, 2013). Here\u2019s the blurb:<\/p>\n

That there are four canonical versions of the one gospel story is often seen as a problem for Christian faith: for, where gospels multiply, so too do apparent tensions and contradictions that may seem to undermine their truth claims.\u00a0In\u00a0Gospel Writing<\/em>, Francis Watson argues that differences and tensions between canonical gospels represent opportunities for theological reflection, not problems for apologetics. In exploring this claim, he proposes nothing less than a new paradigm for gospel studies \u2014 one that engages fully with the available noncanonical gospel material so as to illuminate the historical and theological significance of the canonical.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"