There is internal evidence within the Gospel of the Holy Twelve which suggests that it was written in ancient times. Ouseley first published his book in 1892. Anything which showed up in this book but which was not in other books available at the time would be evidence for its authenticity if these passages subsequently showed up in authenticated texts which were discovered later. This appears to be the case.
According to Ouseley this document dated from the first century AD and somehow managed to escape the orgy of book burning which the emperor Constantine instituted when he converted to Christianity. In order to get Constantine to convert, officials in the Christian church at the time had to agree to expunge certain concepts from Christian doctrine and literature. The three main concepts that were expunged were reincarnation, the equality and rights of women and vegetarianism and our obligations toward animals.
You can read more of this story at:
http://www.tdi.net/jbrooks/The_Rev_G_J_R_Ouseley.htm
http://www.tdi.net/jbrooks/Introduction_To_The_Gospel_Of_The_Holy_Twelve.htm
Several passages in the Gospel of the Holy Twelve relate to the equality of women. Here are a few of these passages:
Lection LII
9. As it is above, so it is below. As it is within, so it is without. As on the right hand, so on the left. As it is before, so it is behind. As with the great so with the small. As with the male, so with the female. When these things shall be seen, then ye shall see the kingdom of God.
10. For in me there is neither Male nor Female, but both are One in the All perfect. The woman is not without the man, nor is the man without the woman.
These two passages bear a remarkable similarity to several sayings in the Gospel of Thomas which was found by archeologists in a Gnostic library in the neighborhood of Nag-Hamadi in upper Egypt in 1949.
(22) Jesus saw children who were being suckled. He said to his disciples: These children who are being suckled are like those who enter the Kingdom. They said to Him: Shall we then, being children, enter the Kingdom? Jesus said to them: When you make the two one, and when you make the inner as the outer and the outer as the inner and the above as the below, and when you make the male and the female into a single one, so that the male will not be male and the female not be female, when you make eyes in the place of an eye, and a hand in the place of a hand, and a foot in the place of a foot, and an image in the place of an image then shall you enter the Kingdom.
The minor differences between these two passages could certainly be accounted for by differences in translation style.
The following passage also contains similar correlations:
Lection LXVI
13. And one said unto him, Master, when shall the kingdom come? And he answered and said, When that which is without shall be as that which is within, and that which is within shall be as that which is without, and, the male with the female, neither male nor female, but the two in One. They who have ears to hear, let them hear.
Also compare this to the following passage from the Gospel of Thomas:
(106) Jesus said: When you make the two one, you shall become sons of Man, and when you say: "Mountain, be moved", it will be moved.
The mystical concept of "making the two one" is not found in the Bible but it is found abundantly in both the Gospel of the Holy Twelve and in the Gospel of Thomas. There are many other correlations between these two books that, for the sake of brevity, I have not mentioned.
Notice that in both "Gospels" God is spoken of as being both male and female. This is common in Buddhist and Hindu teachings but is not at all common in Roman Christianity. The rest of the Gospel of the Holy Twelve can be found at:
http://www.tdi.net/jbrooks/Holy_12_1.htm
There are several translations of the Gospel of Thomas available on the web. These are linked from:
http://home.epix.net/miser17/Thomas.html
Another document that seemed out of context in relation to the "expurgated" Bible is the Essene Gospel of Peace which was "translated from Aramaic by Edmond Bordeaux Szekely".
Here is the author's forward from the Essene Gospel of Peace:
Translated from Aramaic by Edmond Bordeaux Szekely
Gospel of Peace which was "translated from Aramaic by Edmond Bordeaux Szekely".
Here is the author's forward from the Essene Gospel of Peace:
Translated from Aramaic by Edmond Bordeaux Szekely
FOREWORD
Nearly two thousand years have passed since the Son of Man taught the way, the truth, and the life of mankind. He brought health to the sick, wisdom to the ignorant and happiness to those in misery. He conquered half of humanity and the whole of civilization of the West. This fact proves the eternal vitality of the Master's words, and their supreme and incomparable value.
The content of this book represents only about a third of the complete manuscripts which exist in Aramaic in the Secret Archives of the Vatican and in old Slavonic in the Royal Archives of the Habsburg (now the property of the Austrian Government).
We owe existence of these two versions to the Nestorian priests who, under pressure of the advancing hordes of Genghis Khan, were forces to flee from the East towards the West, bearing all their ancient scriptures and ikons with them.
The ancient Aramaic texts date from the 3rd century after Christ, while the old Slavonic version is a literal translation of the former. Exactly how the texts traveled from Palestine to the interior of Asia into the hands of the Nestorian priests, archeologists are not yet able to reconstruct for us.
We have nothing to add to this text. It speaks for itself. The reader who studies the pages that follow with concentration, will feel the eternal vitality and powerful evidence of these profound truths which mankind needs today more urgently than ever before.
"And the truth shall bear witness of itself." "And the truth shall bear witness of itself."
London, 1937 EDMOND BORDEAUX SZEKELY
Excerpts from the Essene Gospel of Peace can be found at various places on the web with the most comprehensive being at:
http://www.inetex.com/joanne/esseneteachings.htm
In the Essene Gospel of Peace Jesus teaches lepers about a healing diet. This diet is strongly vegetarian. There did not seem to be any correlate in the New Testament to this vegetarian lifestyle but a large portion of the Gospel of the Holy Twelve promotes kindness to animals and vegetarianism.
The fact of Jesus' travels to Persia, India and Tibet is mentioned in both the Gospel of the Holy Twelve and in the Life of Saint Issa. Though efforts have been made to discredit the authenticity of this book, its existence was confirmed by three subsequent travelers to the monastery where it was initially found. This monastery is in a portion of Tibet that is now controlled by India so there is a good chance that the original scroll is still in existence.
A new translation of the Gospel of the Holy Twelve has recently been published under the name "The Gospel of the Nazirenes" edited by Alan Wauters and Rick Wyhe. I have a commentary on this translation by a gentleman named Peter Novak for anyone who is interested.