Smithsonian TV Yanks “Jesus’ Wife” World Premiere

By Nigel Tomes, Oct. 1, 2012

It was supposed to air Sunday, Sept. 30, a one-hour special on the “Gospel of Jesus’ Wife.” The announcement read, “Smithsonian Channel Premieres GOSPEL OF JESUS' WIFE Tonight, 9/30”. It was part of the media blitz unleashed by Harvard University & Prof. Karen King when she unveiled a small papyrus fragment dubbed “The Jesus’ Wife Gospel.” Viewers anticipating the Smithsonian documentary were told that “a team of scholars has confirmed that a 4th century codex written in the ancient Egyptian Coptic language refers to the wife of Jesus. This is the first reference to Jesus being married that has been found in an ancient text, … Smithsonian Channel will detail for the 1st time Dr. King's findings in the world premiere of the one-hour special The Gospel of Jesus’ Wife tonight, September 30 at 8 p.m. ET/PT.” [TalkTVworld.com] A promotion clip called the Jesus’ Wife papyrus "one of the most significant discoveries of all time." We note that none of this promotional material raised the issue of authenticity; it was simply assumed that the papyrus and its inscription were genuine.

Smithsonian delays 'Jesus wife' film as doubts mount

Viewers eagerly waiting the TV special were disappointed. As the broadcast time approached the Smithsonian website added a small note saying this program is "not currently airing." The USA Today reported the “Smithsonian delays 'Jesus wife' film as doubts mount.” Other media sources were more blunt—“Smithsonian Yanks Jesus’ Wife.” Readers were told that “the Smithsonian TV Channel has postponed plans to broadcast a documentary on the discovery of a ‘Jesus’ wife’ papyrus that a Vatican newspaper declares is a probable fake.”[USA Today, Sept, 28, 2012] The Washington Post said the broadcast has been postponed "until the text undergoes further tests." Obviously events did not unfolded in the way Dr. King and Harvard might have hoped. What went wrong?

Harvard bypasses Academic Review Process

The normal academic process for new discoveries is for the researcher to submit his/her report detailing the findings to a reputable academic journal in that field. The article is reviewed by experts who submit objections, comments and suggestions. Reviewers also recommend the article should be rejected or accepted for publication (perhaps with revisions). It is typically at this point—when the peer-reviewed article is accepted for publication, or when it’s published —that the media are informed, news conferences and press releases inform the public of significant research results.

Harvard grabs the Publicity Spotlight

In the case of the “Jesus’ Wife Gospel,” Harvard & Dr. King chose to short-circuit this process. Instead of awaiting the results of experts’ review of Dr. King’s claims, Harvard grabbed the publicity spotlight, launching a carefully orchestrated media campaign designed for maximum sensational impact in the public’s eyes. As Dr. King prepared to present her preliminary findings before a select group of 20 Coptic scholars in Rome, Harvard launched a publicity blitz using its website, with press conferences trumpeting Dr. King’s claims. Plus people were informed an article was forthcoming in the Harvard Theological Review (HTR), Jan. 2013. It appeared that the normal peer-review process would be circumvented by publishing research by a Harvard Divinity School professor, Dr. King, in their own in-house journal (HTR).

The net result of Harvard’s “end run” around the peer-review process is that Dr. King’s claims about the “Jesus’ Wife Gospel” will be evaluated in the public forum, under the media’s gaze, rather than within the “ivory towers” of academia.

Blogosphere changes Debate Rules

A decade ago Harvard’s strategy would have over-ridden all objections. The combination of high-profile news coverage, news interviews, video clips and prime time documentaries would have spread Dr. King’s claims world-wide carrying all objections before it. A Smithsonian (or Discovery) Channel documentary would‘ve played a key role in that strategy. Objections by other scholars would have been limited to muffled voices in academic conferences and technical articles in obscure journals gathering dust in University libraries. However, the advent of the Blogosphere has changed all that. It has “leveled the playing field,” giving regular scholars a forum where their voices can be heard by the public, without the backing of a mass-media campaign like Harvard’s.  

Immediate Response: two-thirds “extremely skeptical,” one-third “false”

Coptic scholars at the Rome conference might be justified in thinking their conference was high-jacked by the publicity circus surrounding the “Jesus’ Wife Gospel.” They quickly took to the Blogosphere to register their responses. Prof. King’s audience of expert Coptic scholars immediately expressed skepticism about her claims the “Jesus’ wife” inscription was genuine. Early Christian scholar, Christian Askeland said that at the conference specialists there were divided between two-thirds who were extremely skeptical, and one-third convinced the fragment was false. “I have not met anyone who supports its authenticity,” he blogged from the Rome conference.[Reuters, Naomi O’Leary, Fri., Sep. 28] Since Dr. King’s claims were unveiled to great fanfare, skeptics found a ready hearing among the interested public. The news media began to pay attention.

“It’s not looking good for authenticity”--Bart Ehrman

Over the last few weeks the reservations and objections of scholars have only accumulated. As the Boston Globe reported “so far... no prominent scholar has yet offered a strong endorsement of the fragment’s authenticity.”[Lisa Wangsness, Boston Globe, Sept. 27, 2012] UK New Testament scholar, Dr. Francis Watson, took to the Internet, posting papers online, arguing — persuasively, to some in the field — that the fragment’s text is probably a modern forger’s pastiche of words and phrases taken from the single surviving copy of the Gospel of Thomas. Summing up the situation so far, Bart Ehrman, professor at the Univ. of N. Carolina, Chapel Hill, said, “the jury is out still, but it’s not looking good for authenticity.” [Boston Globe, Sept. 27, 2012]

Harvard & Smithsonian Back Down

The Harvard Theological Review has already backed away from their commitment to publish an article by Dr. King on the “Jesus’ Wife Gospel.”  The delay or cancellation of the Smithsonian TV Channel’s “World Premiere” on the (so-called) “Gospel of Jesus’ Wife,” is a further reflection of the fact that the rising tide of critics’ legitimate questions regarding this document’s authenticity cannot be ignored.