The Shroud of Turin - Authentic Again!!!

[Flavius Clemens]

As I understand it, the earliest existant fragment of a gospel is a small scrap containing part of two late chapters of John, dated to around 125 AD found in Egypt and now in the Chester Beattie Library in Dublin. The dating is based at least in part on the style of writing.

Also I'm not sure about the suggestion that the cruxifiction only lasted 3 hours. Mark's gospel talks about it being from the third hour to the ninth hour, but there is a reference to the final three hours being a period of darkness (eclipse?). John also makes a reference to the trial happening at the sixth hour, but may be using Roman reckoning (Jewish reckoning counted from dawn, Roman from midnight.)

[Didz]

As I understand it, the earliest existant fragment of a gospel is a small scrap containing part of two late chapters of John, dated to around 125 AD found in Egypt and now in the Chester Beattie Library in Dublin. The dating is based at least in part on the style of writing.

I thought the Chester Beattie fragment contained Paul's letters to the churches and is dated from 200 AD.

I also thought that the Codex Tchacos containing the gospel of Judas was dated earlier but according to the web it is now dated 180 AD at the earliest, and may even by 4th Century based upon the language of the text.

[Flavius Clemens]

I thought the Chester Beattie fragment contained Paul's letters to the churches and is dated from 200 AD.

Oops, I think you're right and I was confusing the John fragment (which I have seen a facsimile of) with other small fragments that I saw in Dublin. I remember the Chester Beattie had a pretty early complete set of Paul's epistles but I forget when they had been dated to.