Re: Gospel of Judas

I think it is apropos because it shows how shoddy the science is for this.
This text is:

1. Written in Coptic
2. Dates from the late third to early fourth century (and thus could have
been what Ireneus was referring to in his writings)
3. Unknown provenance. This is reminiscent of the James Ossuary where BAR
ended up with egg on their face. This has already given some archaeologists
pause. When the Metropolitan Museum was forced to return some of their
collection to the Italians, the seedy underbelly of "private dealers" was
exposed.
4. Flatters the alleged author

So, it is probably a legitimate gnostic "gospel" but to breathlessly
conclude like some scholars that it may have been written by Judas is just
plain silly.

Compare with the canonical Gospels:

1. Written in Greek for older copies
2. Copies dates from as early as the early second century
3. Known provenance and many locations.
4. Does not flatter the future leaders of the church. To me, this is one of
the things that "rings true" about the canonical Gospels. Given the
male-dominated society of the time, having men embarassed by women would not
be recorded unless of course it was true. Specifically in the resurrection
account it is the women who believe and the disciples are fickle. This gives
Mary Magdalene a far more exalted place than the Da Vinci Code would hope
to. It is ironic that the Da Vinci Code portrays gnosticism as more pro
woman given the Gospel of Thomas states that women are saved by becoming
male.

On 4/6/06, Randy Isaac <randyisaac@adelphia.net> wrote:
>
> I'm not sure why National Geographic is getting involved in this. Is this
> really novel?
>
> http://www.theolympian.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060406/NEWS/60406077
> Maybe it's marginal for our list too.
>
> Randy
>
>
> National Geographic reassembles 1,700-year-old 'Gospel of Judas'
>
> THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
>
> WASHINGTON -- For 2,000 years Judas has been reviled for betraying Jesus.
> Now a newly translated ancient document seeks to tell his side of the story.
>
> The "Gospel of Judas" tells a far different tale from the four gospels in
> the New Testament. It portrays Judas as a favored disciple who was given
> special knowledge by Jesus -- and who turned him in at Jesus' request.
>
> "You will be cursed by the other generations -- and you will come to rule
> over them," Jesus tells Judas in the document made public today.
>
> The text, one of several ancient documents found in the Egyptian desert in
> 1970, was preserved and translated by a team of scholars. It was made public
> in an English translation by the National Geographic Society.
>
> .........
>
Received on Fri Apr 7 09:17:04 2006