The Gospel of Jesus’s Wife was a papyrus artifact discovered and translated by Karen King and other scholars. The artifact was translated to mention “Jesus’s wife” which ended up causing a massive discourse around the artifact in the Coptic and religious studies communities. King faced much scrutiny once this artifact was proven fake, especially from scholar Leo Depuydt who largely criticized this artifact and its illegitimacy, as well as the supposed interpretation. Due to this discourse, a large discussion around feminism spread like wildfire. Karen King essentially became a punching bag for male judgment: she faced claims that her feminist beliefs contributed to her believing the artifact to be real, despite that the main Coptic translator…show more content… Depuydt begins his response to King stating, “Bedtime story for the budding little grammarian. Set in larger font to accommodate the unformed inquisitive mind.” Not only is this condescending, but it is largely unprofessional. To use the font Comic Sans and a passive-aggressive tone, responding to a female scholar who carried herself very professionally in her response, is simply horrific. This is not a one-off occurrence either as he also uses this passive-aggressive tone in The Alleged Gospel of Jesus’s Wife: Assessment and Evaluation of Authenticity: “If the forger had used italics in addition, one might be in danger of losing one’s composure.” A scholar employed at Brown, a well-renowned Ivy League university, is somehow permitted to publish articles with this degree of unprofessionalism? It becomes alarmingly clear that women simply cannot be taken seriously in a field largely dominated by men. Instead of leveling with King and having a grown-up discussion, he finds resolve in behaving as if she cannot comprehend what he is talking about. I find this incredibly ironic as many claim King was misguided as a feminist
