'Lost Gospel' claims Jesus was married, had children

Was Jesus married to Mary Magdalene and the
father of two?
That's what a scandalous new book based on
an ancient manuscript claims, saying Jesus was
not crucified, but instead raised a family. The
book, "The Lost Gospel," which will be available
on Wednesday, is based on a translation of an
Aramaic text found inside the British library, the
International Business Times reports.
Professor Barrie Wilson and writer Simcha
Jacobovici claim the mansucript reveals secrets
of Jesus' family life, the names of his two
children and his connection to powerful political
figures in the Roman Empire.
"Before anyone gets his/her theological back up,
keep in mind we are not attacking anyone's
theology," the book begins, according to the
Times. "We are reporting on text."
"The Lost Gospel" is based on a translation of
the Ecclesiastical History of Zacharias Rhetor,
written on treated animal skin, which was
brought to the United Kingdom in 1847 when
the British Museum bought it from an Egyptian
monastery, The Washington Post reported.
Scholars scrutinized the document and
discarded it as insignificant.
But Wilson and Jacobovici studied the text for
six years and believe it has an embedded
meaning.
In October, the British Library issued a
statement distancing itself from the book,
saying it "has no connection with the book other
than housing the manuscript used by research
for the authors."
The Times reports that Jacobovici has published
controversial takes on early Christianity in the
past, including a 2002 documentary on the
James ossuary, a relic believed to show Jesus
had a family. Later, the Discovery Channel
named the site one of the top 10 scientific
hoaxes of all time.
Jacobovici also worked on the Talpiot tomb, an
archeological site in Jerusalem that contained
an epigraph above an ossuary translated as
"Yeshua bar Yehosef" or "Jesus, son of Joseph."
In a 2007 documentary, Jacobovici and film
director James Cameron argue that the tomb
was Jesus' burial place, but many
archaeologists, theologians, language and
biblical scholars disputed this claim.