Infancy Scriptures

Q

My question is about the so-called “Infancy Scriptures.” I saw a TV special on them and was surprised at how the Lord was depicted, supposedly as an angry and unruly child. The special said that Jesus had to learn how to master His emotions as any child would and that later He became a great leader. Do you buy any of this? What exactly are these “Infancy Scriptures”? They seem disrespectful to me!

A

You may be referring to the so-called Infancy Gospel of James. The earliest copy surfaced in the 10th Century and contains numerous errors. For example James, being a son of Mary, would have known that her father was named Heli, not Joachim. (Heli is listed in Luke 3:23 as Joseph’s father in law.)

It has been universally discredited by evangelical scholars. There’s only one Biblically verified incident between the Lord’s birth and His entry into ministry at age 30, and that’s in Luke 2:41-50 when He was 12.

Over the years several other fake gospels have appeared, such as the ones supposedly by Thomas and Judas. Dismiss these and any others that depart from or dispute the Biblical record as heresy since they attempt to deny the deity of our Lord.