The Gospel According to Keitel
“Don’t abandon me now. Without you, the world can’t be saved, there’ll be no redemption. Without us together, the sacrifice can’t be made.”
–Jesus to Judas, “The Last Temptation of Christ”
The first English translation of the Gospel of Judas will soon be published:
For 2,000 years Christianity has portrayed Judas as the treacherous apostle who betrayed his divine master with a kiss, leading to his capture and crucifixion.
…
But the Gospel of Judas puts Judas in a positive light, identifying him as Christ’s favourite disciple and depicting his betrayal as the fulfilment of a divine mission to enable the crucifixion — and thus the foundation of Christianity — to take place.This view is similar to that held by the Gnostics — members of a 2nd Century AD breakaway Christian sect, who became rivals to the early Church. They thought that Judas was in fact the most enlightened of the apostles, acting in order that mankind might be redeemed by the death of Christ. As such they regarded him as deserving gratitude and reverence.
I wonder how people like Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson — or for that matter Pope Benedict XVI, Rowan Williams or Gordon B. Hinckley — will respond?
On second thought, make that, “I wonder whether people like Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson — or for that matter Pope Benedict, Rowan Williams or Gordon B. Hinckley — will respond?
Apocryphal texts, like facts, are stubborn things.
More thoughts from To The People, California Yankee, PoliBlog.
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04 06 06
YOu know, I think Gnostism was one of the first heresies! What an interesting perspective. Is it sorta like: "It is not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more.." kinda logic? Intriguing. I shall check it out. Thanks for sharing this information.
[Kip replies: I'm surprised how much traction this story is getting. Some are attributing it to "Da Vinci Code" mania.]
04 07 06
Well KIP:
Ignorance and stupidity abound. Whenever I sense that in myself, time to stop and THINK!!! Have a nice weekend btw:)
And I think it is interesting that there is a lot of distrust of science, yet carbon dating has verified some scripturual veracity and debunked others and methinks picking and choosing is nothing new…
There are other works known as gospels, the Gospel of Thomas comes to mind, which aren't acknowledged as canonical. There are some conspiracy theorists that allege that non-canonical gospels were supressed to preserve the agenda of the four Gospels, but in the case of Thomas, it is more more sexist than even the Church would tolerate, in addition to other heresies. This is no doubt in the same boat. Scholarly thought on Judas was that he probably viewed Christ as a different kind of Messiah, who would lead an army to free Israel from Roman domination. His betrayal was, therefore, an act of retribution for Jesus not "performing." It will be interesting to see how scholars view the translation, but I could care less what Falwell and Robertson think on this or any other issue. They are jerks. As for the Pope, the Church didn't need these things to be translated to deem them non-canonical. The Church has in that respect already spoken.
The Gnostics were indeed heretics, not just a breakaway sect.
The Last Temptation of Christ was, from almost every angle, a horrifically bad movie. Fundamentalists made the producers a ton of money for protesting its release.
If anyone is interested, the National Geographic Channel will have a program on the manuscript this coming Sunday at 8pm. It will be rebroadcast twisce thereafter if that conflicts with your Sopranos/Grays Anatomy plans.