The Gospel of Philip

What is it? The Gospel of Philip

How was it discovered? In the Nag Hammadi library in Egypt in 1945

Who wrote it? We don't know. Neither the Apostle Philip nor Philip the Deacon mentioned in the New Testament. Both would have been dead by the time this story was written.

Furthermore, the gospel of Philip does not claim to have been written by Jesus' disciple Philip. It is titled "The Gospel According to Philip" due to Philip being the only disciple of Jesus who is named in the story (gotquestions.org).

When do liberals claim it was written? 180-250 AD.

When was it really written? Biblical scholar Ben Witherington III dates it to the third century.

So what's the problem?

1. It's not a gospel. Like the Gospel of Thomas, it doesn't tell the story Jesus' birth, life, death, and resurrection. At best, it is a Gnostic Sermon.
2. Late date. It is dated too late to take seriously as a first-hand account.
3. It lacks apostolic authorship and early church usage. There is no evidence that any Church Father validated this document as a true Gospel. On the other hand, all the books of the New Testament have demonstrated apostolic authorship.
4. It denies creation by God and calls it a mistake (Newman). "The world came about through a mistake. For he who created it wanted to create it imperishable and immortal. He fell short of attaining his desire. For the world never was imperishable, nor, for that matter, was he who made the world (Gospel of Philip)."
5. It denies the Virgin Birth (Newman). "Some said, 'Mary conceived by the Holy Spirit.' They are in error. They do not know what they are saying. When did a woman ever conceive by a woman? Mary is the virgin whom no power defiled. She is a great anathema to the Hebrews, who are the apostles and the apostolic men.… And the Lord would not have said 'My Father who is in heaven' unless he had had another father, but he would have said simply 'my father.' (Gospel of Philip)."

6. It is grossly heretical at times. "God is a man-eater. For this reason, men are sacrificed to him. Before men were sacrificed, animals were being sacrificed, since those to whom they were sacrificed were not gods (Gospel of Philip)."

   "The eucharist is Jesus. For he is called in Syriac, 'Pharisatha,' which is 'the one who is spread out', for Jesus came to crucify the world (Gospel of Philip)."

In Summary, the Gospel of Philip is full of Gnosticism and heretical views on creation, Jesus, the Trinity, and the Virgin Birth. We cannot trust this document to provide reliable information about the life of Jesus of Nazareth.

Related: Gospel of Mary | Gospel of Thomas | Gospel of Philip | Gospel of Judas | Gospel of Barnabas

Resources:

• Dating: http://www.naminggrace.org/id65.htm
• Gospel of Philip. http://www.gnosis.org/naghamm/gop.html
• Newman, Robert C.: http://www.ibri.org/Ppt-DaVinciCode
• Witherington, Ben III: http://www.benwitherington.com/