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"Sharp nosed?" Yep, the "Oxyrhynchus Papyri" were named after the place name they were found, from Wiki:"The town was named after a species of fish of the Nile River which was important in Egyptian mythology as the fish that ate the penis of Osiris, though it is not known exactly which species of fish this is."

TMI! (too much information) I know.

I'm currently reading an excellent book on the recognition of the Gospels, by Dr. C. E. Hill, (Who Chose the Gospels?) and contrary to the unsupported opinion of most liberal (and mostly non-Christian) bible scholars today (folks like Bart Ehrman) there is ample evidence that by Irenaus' day (ca. AD 125-202) the 4 Gospels we all know, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John--of Apostolic origin--were well established as canonical (BIBLE) among orthodox (and persecuted) Christians.

It seems to be a post-modernist fantasy that nobody had any idea what writings about Jesus to trust until Constantine...probably due to Dan Brown's DaVinci Code, which all scholars regard as rubbish.

To believe that writings written 100 and more years AFTER Jesus' death and resurrection (contra the 4 Gospels, of 1st Century origin...), by cultic groups (equivelant to JW's or Mormon's today) opposed to Christianity... were given equal credibility among Christians (routinely thrown to lions in this era--for believing those Gospels) really is pure speculation and wishful thinking.

Egypt was a center of cultic/heretical activity in the early centuries AD. The fashionable cult which violently opposed orthodox Christians then was Gnosticism, and the "Oxyrhynchus Papyri" are simply fragments of Gnostic writings found in an ancient garbage dump.

The only reason scholars get so excited about them is their age....and the only reason paper so old survived is Egypt's desert climate. Still, garbage is still garbage, no matter how old.

We will no more find out credible history about Jesus from these writings, than we find credible history of pre-Columbian America in the writings of Joseph Smith.

The fashionable cult which violently opposed orthodox Christians then was Gnosticism, and the "Oxyrhynchus Papyri" are simply fragments of Gnostic writings found in an ancient garbage dump.

Yes, well, the Christians handsomely repaid whatever "violence" the Gnostics gave them, now didn't they? What the Pope and the King of France did to the Cathars in Languedoc made Satan blanch. But hey, it got the job done - every last man, woman and child put to the sword in the entirety of mid to south western France.

And then mercilessly slandered and mocked in memory forever after.

But it was their own fault. Heresy is heresy. You choose to be a heretic, you pay the price. Right?