The Gospel of Barnabas · Chapter 90
Faith and the Danger of Asking “Why?”
When the prayer was done, his disciples again drew near to Jesus, and he opened his mouth and said: 'Draw near, John, for to-day will I speak unto thee of all that thou hast asked. Faith is a seal whereby God sealeth his elect: which seal he gave to his messenger, at whose hands every one that is elect hath received faith. For even as God is one, so is the faith one. Wherefore God, having created before all things his messenger, gave to him before aught else the faith which is as it were a likeness of God and of all that God hath done and said. And so the faithful by faith seeth all things, better than one seeth with his eyes; because the eyes can err; nay they do almost always err; but faith erreth never, for it hath for foundation God and his word. Believe me that by faith are saved all the elect of God. And it is certain that without faith it is impossible for anyone to please God. Wherefore Satan seeketh not to bring to naught fasting and prayer, alms and pilgrimages, nay rather he inciteth unbelievers thereto, for he taketh pleasure in seeing man work without receiving pay. But he taketh pains with all diligence to bring faith to naught, wherefore faith ought especially to be guarded with diligence, and the safest course will be to abandon the "Wherefore," seeing that the "Wherefore" drove men out of Paradise and changed Satan from a most beautiful angel into a horrible devil.'
Then said John: 'Now, how shall we abandon the "Wherefore" seeing that it is the gate of knowledge?'
Jesus answered: 'Nay, rather the "Wherefore" is the gate of hell.'
Thereupon John kept silence, when Jesus added: 'When thou knowest that God hath said a thing, who art thou, O man, that thou shouldst say, forsooth, "Wherefore hath thou so said, O God: wherefore hast thou so done?" Shall the earthen vessel, perchance say to its maker: "Wherefore hast thou made me to hold water and not to contain balsam?" Verily I say unto you, it is necessary against every temptation to strengthen yourself with this word, saying "God hath so said": "So hath God done": "God so willeth"; for so doing thou shalt live safely.'
When the prayer was finished, his disciples again drew near to Jesus, and he said: 'Come closer, John, for today I will speak to you about everything you have asked. Faith is a seal by which God seals his elect. He gave this seal to his messenger, from whose hands every elect person has received faith. Just as God is one, so faith is one. Because God created his messenger before all things, he gave him faith before anything else, as a likeness of God and of all that God has done and said. Thus, through faith, the faithful see all things more clearly than anyone sees with the eyes, for the eyes can err—indeed, they almost always do—but faith never errs, because its foundation is God and his word. Believe me: all God's elect are saved through faith, and without faith it is impossible for anyone to please God. Satan therefore does not seek to destroy fasting, prayer, almsgiving, or pilgrimages; rather, he even urges unbelievers to practice them, because he delights in seeing people work without receiving payment. But he strives with all diligence to destroy faith. Faith must therefore be guarded with special care, and the safest course is to abandon the question "Why?" because the question "Why?" drove man out of Paradise and changed Satan from a most beautiful angel into a horrible devil.'
Then John said: 'How, then, can we abandon the question "Why?" when it is the gateway to knowledge?'
Jesus answered: 'No; rather, the question "Why?" is the gateway to hell.'
John then remained silent, and Jesus added: 'When you know that God has said something, who are you, O man, to say: "Why have you said this, O God? Why have you done this?" Can the earthen vessel say to its maker: "Why have you made me to hold water and not balsam?" Truly, I tell you that against every temptation you must strengthen yourself with these words: "God has said so. God has done so. God wills it so." By doing this, you will live safely.'
When the prayer was done, his disciples again drew near to Jesus, and he opened his mouth and said: 'Draw near, John, for to-day will I speak unto thee of all that thou hast asked. Faith is a seal whereby God sealeth his elect: which seal he gave to his messenger, at whose hands every one that is elect hath received faith. For even as God is one, so is the faith one. Wherefore God, having created before all things his messenger, gave to him before aught else the faith which is as it were a likeness of God and of all that God hath done and said. And so the faithful by faith seeth all things, better than one seeth with his eyes; because the eyes can err; nay they do almost always err; but faith erreth never, for it hath for foundation God and his word. Believe me that by faith are saved all the elect of God. And it is certain that without faith it is impossible for anyone to please God. Wherefore Satan seeketh not to bring to naught fasting and prayer, alms and pilgrimages, nay rather he inciteth unbelievers thereto, for he taketh pleasure in seeing man work without receiving pay. But he taketh pains with all diligence to bring faith to naught, wherefore faith ought especially to be guarded with diligence, and the safest course will be to abandon the "Wherefore," seeing that the "Wherefore" drove men out of Paradise and changed Satan from a most beautiful angel into a horrible devil.'
Then said John: 'Now, how shall we abandon the "Wherefore" seeing that it is the gate of knowledge?'
Jesus answered: 'Nay, rather the "Wherefore" is the gate of hell.'
Thereupon John kept silence, when Jesus added: 'When thou knowest that God hath said a thing, who art thou, O man, that thou shouldst say, forsooth, "Wherefore hath thou so said, O God: wherefore hast thou so done?" Shall the earthen vessel, perchance say to its maker: "Wherefore hast thou made me to hold water and not to contain balsam?" Verily I say unto you, it is necessary against every temptation to strengthen yourself with this word, saying "God hath so said": "So hath God done": "God so willeth"; for so doing thou shalt live safely.'