'Gospel of the Lots of Mary' found hidden inside 1,500-year-old book

Daily Mail ^ | 4 February 2015 | Victoria Woollaston

[SunkenCiv]

An ancient gospel has been discovered in the pages of a diminutive book dating back to the 6th century.

The text, dubbed the 'Gospel of the Lots of Mary' is written in Coptic and contains oracles that would have been used to provide support and reassurance to people seeking help for problems.

It is not a gospel in the traditional sense, because it doesn't predominantly teach about Christ, and its translator suggests that the discovery could rewrite the ancient definition and purpose of gospels.

The ancient book was given to Harvard University's Sackler Museum in 1984 by Beatrice Kelekian, in memory of her husband Charles Dikran Kelekian.

Her father-in-law Dikran Kelekian's was said to be 'an influential trader of Coptic antiquaries', but the origin of the book is unknown.

The text was studied by Professor Anne Marie Luijendijk from Princeton University.

She told LiveScience that when she deciphered the first line, which referenced a 'gospel', she expected to read about Jesus and his life.

The 160-page codex contains a series of 37 short passages and measures just 3 inches (75mm) tall and 2.7 inches (68.7mm) wide.

A person seeking an answer to a particular query or concern would have opened the book on a random page to read a statement designed to serve as an answer.

Instead, she found what is described in her book 'Forbidden Oracles? The Gospel of the Lots of Mary' as a '5th or 6th century Coptic book of oracular answers.'

...The full translation of the book's opening reads: '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 (or: will seek) with his whole heart will obtain what he seeks.'Only do not be of two minds'.

[SunkenCiv]

full title, "'Gospel of the Lots of Mary' found hidden inside 1,500-year-old book: Ancient text was used to seek divine answers"

[SunkenCiv]

[BenLurkin]

Small dimensions.

[GeronL]

uh-huh

[spokeshave]

..The full translation of the book's opening reads: '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 (or: will seek) with his whole heart will obtain what he seeks.'Only do not be of two minds'.

.....works today as well.

[married21]

When future archeologists come across the “for Dummies” series of books, what wrong turns will it cause them to take?

I’m just saying that having to rethink what “Gospel” means after seeing one title that appears to apply the term in a different way may cause a lot of erroneous “rethinking” to occur.

[sportutegrl]

So someone used Mary’s name without permission to market a magic 8 ball?

[Leroy S. Mort]

A person seeking an answer to a particular query or concern would have opened the book on a random page to read a statement designed to serve as an answer.

In other words, a 6th century Magic 8-Ball.

[Alex Murphy]

An ancient gospel has been discovered in the pages of a diminutive book dating back to the 6th century. The text, dubbed the 'Gospel of the Lots of Mary' is written in Coptic and contains oracles that would have been used to provide support and reassurance to people seeking help for problems. It is not a gospel in the traditional sense, because it doesn't predominantly teach about Christ....

"Lots of Mary....doesn't predominantly teach about Christ...."

[Raycpa]

James 1:8

[beethovenfan]

She was in real estate?

[UCANSEE2]

[Salvation]

Interesting.

[kaehurowing]

A Gospel of Our Lady of Perpetual Motion

[ConservativeMind]

That's okay. The Catholic church will add that right into their Bible, regardless of its provenance.

[flaglady47]

“That’s okay. The Catholic church will add that right into their Bible, regardless of its provenance.”

That’s snide for no good reason. Feel good about yourself now?

[null and void]

A person seeking an answer to a particular query or concern would have opened the book on a random page to read a statement designed to serve as an answer.

In other words, a 6th century Magic 8-Ball.

In other words, precisely the way that some Christians use the Bible today.

[SunkenCiv]

Heh... there’s also the less well known Gospel of the Marys of Lot, it’s about the gay bars in Sodom and Gomorrah.

[Dr. Bogus Pachysandra]

“A person seeking an answer to a particular query or concern would have opened the book on a random page to read a statement designed to serve as an answer.”

Sounds kind of like the I Ching method.

[chesley]

I don’t know. What is it that God says about divination?