New Gospel Discovered, The Lots Of Mary (Mother Of Christ)

An ancient 1500 year-old book containing an unknown gospel written in Coptic (an Egyptian language) has finally been deciphered. The opening of the gospel says:

“The Gospel of the lots of Mary, the mother of the Lord Jesus Christ, she to whom Gabriel the Archangel brought the good news. He who will go forward with his whole heart will obtain what he seeks. Only do not be of two minds.” 

Livescience.com reports:

Anne Marie Luijendijk, a professor of religion at Princeton University, discovered that this newfound gospel is like no other. “When I began deciphering the manuscript and encountered the word ‘gospel’ in the opening line, I expected to read a narrative about the life and death of Jesus as the canonical gospels present, or a collection of sayings similar to the Gospel of Thomas (a non-canonical text),” she wrote in her book “Forbidden Oracles? The Gospel of the Lots of Mary” (Mohr Siebeck, 2014).

What she found instead was a series of 37 oracles, written vaguely, and with only a few that mention Jesus.

The text would have been used for divination, Luijendijk said. A person seeking an answer to a question could have sought out the owner of this book, asked a question, and gone through a process that would randomly select one of the 37 oracles to help find a solution to the person’s problem. The owner of the book could have acted as a diviner, helping to interpret the written oracles, she said.

Alternatively, the text could have been owned by someone who, when confronted with a question, simply opened an oracle at random to seek an answer.

The 37 oracles are all written vaguely; for instance, oracle seven says, “You know, o human, that you did your utmost again. You did not gain anything but loss, dispute, and war. But if you are patient a little, the matter will prosper through the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”

Another example is oracle 34, which reads, “Go forward immediately. This is a thing from God. You know that, behold, for many days you are suffering greatly. But it is of no concern to you, because you have come to the haven of victory.”

Throughout the book “the text refers to hardships, suffering and violence, and occasionally one finds a threat. On the whole, however, a positive outlet prevails,” Luijendijk wrote in her book.

Another interesting example, that illustrates the ancient book’s positive outlook, is oracle 24, which reads, “Stop being of two minds, o human, whether this thing will happen or not. Yes, it will happen! Be brave and do not be of two minds. Because it will remain with you a long time and you will receive joy and happiness.”