There is a bit of pathos in the prominence given here to the publication of the Gospel of Judas. The story appeared prominently on the front page of Ha'aretz. Prominent radio talk shows interviewed leading experts and asked time and again, would the revelation work to end the religious basis of anti-Semitism?
For those not in the loop, the Gospel of Judas surfaced in a Coptic translation discovered in an Egyptian desert repository. Tests find it to be an ancient document, perhaps from the third century, which tells a story that Judas was the favored disciple; his turning over Jesus to the Roman authorities was in keeping with Jesus' wish to be put to death in order to free his spirit from the encumbrance of his body.
What was found was a copy in Coptic of a Gospel composed many years earlier, known to Church fathers, and kept out of the New Testament. Whether the story it tells is historically true or not is lost to us. Scholars recognize that early Christians conceived of numerous ideas not canonized, or accepted by those who put together the New Testament. The assignment of the name Judah (Jew) to the disciple defined as evil may well have been made in order to further the emphasis against the Jews. The modern recognition that the New Testament was composed several decades after Jesus' death, and is something other than true history recorded in real time, is part of the effort made by Catholics and others to discount its accusations against the Jews. It is common among scholars to view the New Testament as designed to tell the story of a new and weak religious community, concerned to justify itself in the eyes of Roman authorities and to cast aspersions on the dominant Jews.
Roman Catholic Church leaders have said in recent days that they do not expect the Gospel of Judas to alter Church doctrine. What was categorized with other heresies many centuries ago will not easily win recognition as authentic. Changing the canonized Christian Bible will be especially difficult when there are many Christian churches, each with its own authorities and inclinations, in a period when the issue of authenticity is very much open to question in religious circles as well as elsewhere. A century ago Albert Schweitzer wrote his doctoral dissertation around the question of finding what is real in the New Testament's material about Jesus. Since then numerous other scholars have worked the field, typically admitting that there is a great deal of uncertainty. Replacing one set of tendentious stories with another does not make a great deal of intellectual sense.
The Hebrew Bible also has its problems as historic text, as is well known to anyone who has entered the endless list of books and articles that wrestle with the problems of finding historic reality in a collection of good literature composed before historians worried about portraying accuracy. As in the case of the New Testament, those who contributed to the accumulation of the Hebrew Bible as we know it decided in favor of some stories, and against others. Scholars see real signs of political conflict between those who wanted to advance one group of priests, or the Temple in Jerusalem, against other claimants of being the true priests, or the site that should have a monopoly of being the Holy Temple. What we read as ancient Jewish history is no more certain in its details than what we read about Jesus and the disciples in the New Testament. We read the stories of the winners: those who wrote the history that came to be accepted as authentic.
We should hope for the best in the continuing efforts of the Roman Catholic Church and other Christian leaders to accept Jews as something other than Christ killers. But it may be that the cartoonist of Ha'aretz got the story better than the serious writer of the front page article. He pictures two worried fathers of the Church, with one of them saying, "That Judah is again causing problems."
Posted by Ira Sharkansky at April 09, 2006 11:17 PMIra,
The last paragraph of your post got me to chuckle, but on further thought (without seeing the cartoon) I suppose that the humor is masking an ugly truth about anti-semitism in Christianity.
As a person of faith, I have many doubts about the historical accuracy of the translations of canonical (old and new testament) and non-canonical books. I try to build my faith on the message that God loves us and wants the best for us. I know that does not help us reach agreement on the accuracy of biblical books, much less the details of proper religious doctrine between religious faiths.
My observations regarding this gospel of judah are simple. It is news not because this is the modern day incarnation of the scopes trial that will shake the church and its doctrine. It is news because there was simply an opportunity to poke the church in the eye. Pure entertainment by the media for the media.
Prior to this story, the media ran a story about a science professor's conjecture regarding the account of Jesus walking on water. The scientist claimed that Jesus might have walked on ice due to the climate during that time. Whatever. The scientist is entitled to his opinion, but it wouldn't survive a serious peer review. However the media ran with the story on every news channel. Just part of poking the church in the eye.
There is absolutely no expectation by the media tha the church will change due to the gospel of judah. The media just likes to remind the church of its flaws, and chiefly among those flaws is its history (post and present) of anti-semitism.
Tim
Posted by: Tim on April 12, 2006 10:41 PMEverything is in Gods hand. He wouldn't have people for nearly 2000 years to not know about this and than show us the truth. We are special but not that special.
Posted by: john on April 20, 2006 05:14 PMi is dunno why i is stumble unto tis webbie... maybe is BIG BOSS planning... i is jus finish watching the waste my time THE GOSPEL OF JUDA... really is waste my tiem... simple thing make until is so complicated... take wat paper and burn lah burn... then smell the chao da smell then say paper is very old... from year 300 plus one... kao.... watch until i is wanna sleep... out of point... every body is also know why they is keep coming out with this kinda title... da vici coat lah... and gosple of juda... cos like tat then is ppl will be interested to read mah... then ppl is like to think tat they is vely cleber... so they is bely impress to know after smelin the chao da smell they is know how long is the paper ago... so next tiem at kopitiam talk big tat tiem is can let go some of this general knowledge... then ppl will see them up... kao... like tat is must well lemember barca vs milan score... can talk even more....
paiseh la... u is can delete my entry any tiem you want... i is jus write write for fun one... but BIG BOSS is like to make thing simple to understand for us... so tat we is can understand.... but ppl is also one kind... they is dun like to listen to simple answer... they is like to listen to cheem cheem stuff then is feel tat is shiok.... if got tiem... read BIG BOSS GOOD BOOK is better then is find da vinci coat walk thru plus counter attack guide.... and gosple of juda uninstall freeware... if every tiem one of these clowns is backside itchy come out with new theory and new story board... then i is no need to read BIG BOSS GOOD BOOK liao lah.... is like play basketball... every tiem ppl fake i jump... kao... cannot make it...
tat's all.. heehee
Posted by: isaiah on April 21, 2006 11:00 AMI guess growing up in the midWest prevented me from seeing antiSemitism by Catholics.
I still remember back in the second or third grade (and Judas didn't mean Jew to us then) and we were to discuss who was the bad person in the Crucifixtion of Christ. Was it Herod, Judas, the disciples or whomever? I remember Judas was considered the most loved and he was just filling a role. We were even left to wonder if he still had a place in heaven. That is my background.
I loved hearing and reading some of the stuff from the newly discovered document because that stuff doesn't get out of the archives of the Vatican very often.
I was also told there were a lots of writings that the Church is keeping hidden because it doesn't want us to be able to form different opinions.
The new book of Judah fits my thoughts on Judas better than the Church's version of the betrayal. But what I can't reconcile right now is why the suicide (if it were suicide).
Posted by: swatter on April 26, 2006 07:52 AMSwatter-to comment on the suicide thing,i believe it was b/c he felt a guilt at turning his friend over...just a thought...
Posted by: Mia on April 30, 2006 03:47 PM