About this title: For 1,600 years its message lay hidden. When the bound papyrus pages of this lost gospel finally reached scholars who could unlock its meaning, they were astounded. Here was a gospel that had not been seen since the early days of Christianity, and which few experts had even thought existed-a gospel told from the perspective of Judas Iscariot, history's ultimate traitor. And far from being a villain, the Judas that emerges in its pages is a hero. In this radical reinterpretation, Jesus asks Judas to betray him. In contrast to the New Testament Gospels, Judas Iscariot is presented as a role ...
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Description: Good. Dust Cover Missing. Light shelf wear and minimal interior marks. Millions of satisfied customers and climbing. Thriftbooks is the name you can trust, guaranteed. Spend Less. Read More. read more
Description: Good. Purchasing this book supports the King County Library System Foundation. Thriftbooks and KCLSF have partnered to help raise additional funds for the library system. Ex-Library book-will contain library markings. Light shelf wear and minimal interior marks. Millions of satisfied customers and climbing. Thriftbooks is the name you can trust, guaranteed. Spend Less. Read More. read more
Description: Very Good. Great condition for a used book! Minimal wear. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy! read more
Description: Good. Former Library book. Shows some signs of wear, and may have some markings on the inside. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy! read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: National Geographic
Date Published: 2006-04-06
ISBN-13:9781426200427ISBN:1426200420
Description: Very Good. Binding is tight and square. Text is clean and bright. DJ is good with some minor wear. Careful packaging and fast shipping. We recommend EXPEDITED MAIL for even faster delivery! read more
"Very intelligent treatment of the subject. Enjoyed the 4 sections on the Gospel of Judas, especially that of Meyer and Ehrman. Was pleasantly surprised that Ehrman's material was as clear and illuminating as it turned out to be. Had read his book on this gnostic gospel and was put off by his approach at that time, but this effort was much more to the point. Good read."
"As a child in Sunday School I was always the thorn in the side of my teachers. The Judas problems (there were two for me) always nagged me and I could not get a straight answer from anyone. This "Gospel" does offer insight/validation about my childish concerns, if you can see through the Gnosticism.
Problem 1: if, as Jesus said, everything about his life was foretold by the Prophets, including his "betrayal" and death, then Judas was only fulfilling his role in the prophesies when he kissed Jesus. At the Last Supper, Jesus excused Judas early, telling him to go and do what he must. My problem is/was: how can it be a "betrayal" when he's fulfilling the prophesies and was directly commanded by his Lord to do it? Judas believed he was acting according to Jesus' wishes. This Gospel seems to be trying to fill in the backstory for Judas.
Problem 2: if Judas was indeed fulfilling the prophesies, why kill himself afterward? And how did he die? The Bible says he gutted himself and he hung himself. Which one is it? (This part always made the teachers blow spittle: caught in an obvious contradiction, some part of the Bible had to be wrong... but who can tell which part? This contradiction has quelled so many ravenous Southern Baptists asking me if I believe the Bible is the literal Word of God, therefore infallible. Regardless, I spent a lot of time in the hall at Sunday School. I remember more than one pastor expressing concern for my eternal soul because I couldn't keep my questions to myself (at which point I would ask about the child Jesus asking questions in the Temple and why was that okay and it wasn't okay for me to do the same thing; my mom had the best answer: "You're not Jesus"))
Thanks to this book I now have a beginner's understanding of Gnosticism. I'm convinced that Judas neither hung himself nor gutted himself (my best guess is that he is the mysterious unnamed disciple who accompanied and cared for Mary in her old age; this book would have you believe he took time to dictate/write his Gospel. After that he is lost to time). Most of all I believe Judas was given a divine mission to help Jesus complete the prophesies - let's face it, without the crucifixion there would be no resurrection and Christianity would have been over before it started. A mortal tapped by the divine for a Holy mission would not throw away his entry into Heaven by ending his own life. Furthermore, the other disciples must have been aware of all of this. One would think they would have hunted Judas down and slaughtered him for his "betrayal" if that was what they believed. Instead we're left with a stone-faced silence in the New Testament except for the footnote that he killed himself in various ways. Was this post-publication editing or embellishment? Wouldn't that be tampering with the infallible unchangeable Word of God?
So what, then, is the greater sin: tampering with the Bible/Gospel Truth or believing that Jesus knew what he was doing when he invited Judas to join the disciples - thus there was no "betrayal"?"
"Very interesting Gnostic text and intelligent discussion. Of course, I don't feel any of the Gnostic texts are authentic to the 1st c, most experts place them in the 2nd c. which is far too late to be an accurate narrative.
The Gnostics had radical beliefs and I see this Gospel as a 2nd c propaganda piece to promote their desire to radically alter Christianity from Everyone can be saved to just the enlightened can be saved. Despite my deep skepticism about the authenticity of the Gospel, the author does an excellent job of presenting it and explaining the text in the context of the 2nd c. early Christian Church without accepting or rejecting the text.
It is a fascinating read and a must for anyone interested in the early history of the church."
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