Book of Judas
Today the BBC News announced that a team of researchers are making public the Book of Judas which was translated by various scholars from ancient script. Basically the Book paints a different picture of Judas than we currently know. It shows Judas as one of the more favored Apostles and that he was instructed by Christ to betray Him as opposed to Judas doing it of his own accord. What are your thoughts on this?
I believe if nothing else this would be interesting to read at least once. Anything that sheds light deeper into a subject that I am interested in such as the Gospels is worth at minimum a once over. You can see the relating article containing some of the history and story behind the discover of the "Gospel of Judas" here.
Like most other books of the Bible, this was indeed not written in the time of Jesus. Its going to be interesting to read about what other beliefs were held about Jesus in the first and second centuries, and it is known to date back to early second century. Iraneaus of Lyons wrote about it in 180, saying it was from a gnostic sect of christianity that was related to Cain. So we know it existed before 200 AD. Whether it will tell us anything new, I doubt it. What is learned will not be accepted as true any way. It will go by the way side with the many other books that are tossed away as heretical because they are of gnostic origin.
Edited: konquererz on 7th Apr, 2006 - 1:22am
The more I'm reading about this, the more I think it makes a lot of sense. Just as Adam and Eve "fell that man might be," Judas had a necessary part to play in the role of "helping" Jesus to be crucified and fulfill his earthly mission. I'm very excited to find the full text and read it for myself. I understand that there will be a TV special this coming Sunday on the National Geographic channel, if anyone has access to it.
I'm quite intrigued! Here is an interview from the NPR about it: https://www.npr.org
JERRY JOHNSTON: CHRISTIANS ARE IN FOR A BUMPY RIDE
The other night, I finally read `The Gospel of Judas.` If you missed the news, `Judas` is an ancient gospel that was recently unearthed. It is meant to embellish the `official` gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, and add to the growing list of Gnostic gospels such as Mary and Thomas.
Ref. https://deseretnews.com/
This would make for interesting reading, but it won't change anything for me personally, regarding Jesus or Judas and his betrayal of Jesus. It is not my call to say whether Judas was right or wrong, or whether he was told to betray Jesus or not. In the end, it is up to God to determine and judge Judas by his actions. Let's not forget that Judas was one of the 12 disciples and followed Jesus throughout his ministry, so he was not a bad person. I do believe that was his purpose in life, and it is up to the Lord to determine whether Judas will be punished for this or saved because of his allegiance to Jesus as a disciple.
Gospel of Judas
The recent feuding over discoveries of a lost gospel of Judas, the purported tomb of Jesus and even Noah's ark only hints at the interest in seeing archaeology illuminate biblical tales.
Ref. https://www.usatoday.com/tech/science/colum...e-to-eden_N.htm