Two years ago—in fall 2023—the internet was abuzz over the publication of an ancient manuscript that seemed to contain material from one of the most famous gospels outside our New Testament: the Gospel of Thomas. The online chatter was immense, which was why I wrote a lengthy article analyzing this discovery.
Unbeknownst to most people, however, the same volume of the Oxyrhynchus Papyri (vol. 87) also contained two manuscripts of the New Testament, one from Romans and one from Revelation. But these received hardly any attention from the media. There was no buzz.
This disparity highlights an intriguing reality: There always seems to be a disproportionate cultural fascination with “lost” gospels or “hidden” texts about Jesus. Write an article about the canonical texts, and you might get a few hits. Write an article about a new, lost, or forgotten gospel—and how it changes everything we know about Jesus—and there’s a reasonable chance it’ll go viral. Read more»
Michael Kruger | “Why ‘Lost Gospels’ Go Viral—And The Real Ones Don’t” | October 16, 2025
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