About this title: This author team, writing in an engaging, accessible style, is the first to reflect on the recent discovery of the "Gospel of Judas" and how that text provides insight into explaining how Jesus' followers understood his death, why Judas betrayed Jesus, and why God allowed it.
Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is described below.
Description: Good. 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
Description: Good. 0670038458 Former library item may have library binding and show stamps, stickers or other marks. Items not meeting quality expectations may be returned. Due to the large scale of our operation, we do not have access to the specific contents/condition of our items. read more
Description: Good. 0670038458 Former library item may have library binding and show stamps, stickers or other marks. Items not meeting quality expectations may be returned. Due to the large scale of our operation, we do not have access to the specific contents/condition of our items. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Viking, New York
Date Published: 2007
ISBN-13:9780143113164ISBN:014311316X
Description: Good in Good jacket. 5 1/2" x 8 1/2" HARDCOVER. Ex-library w/usual stamps & stickers. Text clean & bright; binding tight; minor wear to dustjacket. read more
Description: VG+ in NF jacket. Hardcover first printing, book has a small area of soiling on the fore-edge of the pages as its only flaw, dustjacket is in excellent condition with the original price present and no remarkable flaws, ". the unveiling of the long-lost Gospel of Judas. " read more
Description: Good. 159722717X Former library item may have library binding and show stamps, stickers or other marks. Items not meeting quality expectations may be returned. Due to the large scale of our operation, we do not have access to the specific contents/condition of our items. read more
Description: Brand New. Hardcover. The discovery of The Gospel of Judas, first published in April 2006, rocked scholars and laypeople alike. Now two celebrated scholars illustrate how this text helps us understand the reaction of Jesus' followers to his death, why Judas betrayed Jesus, and why God allowed it. Pagels (Beyond Belief) and King (The Gospel of Mary of Magdala) illuminate the intellectual context behind Jesus's teaching to Judas and show how early Christian authors used conflict among the ... read more
Description: Good. Purchasing this item supports Pierce County libraries. Thriftbooks and PCL 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
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics)
Date Published: 2008
ISBN-13:9780143113164ISBN:014311316X
Description: Very Good. Very minor rubbing to some edges of cover Nice clean copy! May have price sticker on cover and minor shelfwear. Overall a very good book! read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Viking Adult
Date Published: 03/06/2007
ISBN-13:9780670038459ISBN:0670038458
Description: New. 0670038458 Reading Judas: The Gospel of Judas and the Shaping of Christianity-Reading Judas: The Gospel of Judas and the Shaping of Christianity-Brand New Item! Will have slight wear from sitting on our shelves. Binding: Hardcover ISBN13: 9780670038459 Size: 5.5 x 8.4 x 1 in. We are professional and prompt. read more
Edition: First Printing
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Viking
Date Published: 2007
ISBN-13:9780670038459ISBN:0670038458
Description: Very Good + in Very Good jacket. Very Good Plus/Very Good condition, clean tight unmarked first print copy (full number line), dust jacket shows minor curl along top edge on front, front flap a bit loose probably used as bookmark, dj NOT price-clipped. read more
"The reader of an Elaine Pagels book learns that that much of early Christian literature--whether canonical or gnostic--has an agenda, an idea that the author is trying to promote or argue against. The pseudonymous author of the Gospel of Judas was dismayed by the way the early church fathers celebrated and encouraged martyrdom and so constructed a narrative in which Jesus discourages self-sacrifice in God's name. This was a minority viewpoint, of course, and eventually labeled heretical by the proto-orthodox church, just one more voice silenced in what used to be an incredibly diverse religion."
"This book reads a little like a conspiracy theory and the authors seem so convinced of the merits of their subject that they gloss over the inconsistencies and hypocrisies of Gnostic thought.
"The author of the Gospel of Judas could not reconcile his beleif in a deeply loving, good God with a particular idea other Christians held at the time: that God desired the bloody sacrificial death of Jesus and his followers." (pg. xvi)
"we can now see more clearly that the early history of Christianity was tumultuous - a time of intense reflection, experimentation, and struggle involving every fundamental issue." (pg. xix)
"What would so trouble a loyal disciple after a long and arduous time devoted to his teacher, that he would betray him to the enemies who for years had wanted to kill him?" (pg. 3)
"The betrayer always intrigues us more than the disciples who remain loyal." (pg. 4)
"Iranaeus was the first, so far as we know, to insist that the church 'has only four gospels, not more and not fewer.'" (pg. 6)
"Each version pictures Jesus increasingly in control of what happens. The vulnerable Jesus becomes more and more powerful from gospel to gospel, from the earlier accounts to the later ones." (pg. 24)
"To admit that one of Jesus' closest followers actually had turned upon him and betrayed him was an enormous disgrace. If it was not true, would Jesus' followers have risked bringing such shame upon the movement?" (pg. 30)
"Most conflicts the gospels describe show that Christian groups, then and now, were able to accept a variety of viewpoints on conroversial issues without dividing...the canon tolerated considerable diversity of viewpoint, so to speak, 'within the family.'" (pg. 40)
"The problem for the Gospel of Judas is not simply resistance to martyrdom. He does not criticize the martyrs themselves, nor does he say that dying as a martyr is a bad thing. Rather, he is angry at the meaning other Christians give to the deaths of Jesus and his followers, targeting those who claim that God desired Jesus' death as a sacrifice that God not only wills but commands." (pg. 49-50)
Consider the way in which the authors gloss over the Gospel of Judas' latent dualism and other-worldly focus. (pg. 64)
"The way a person envisions God affects the way one lives." (pg. 65)
Consider the implications of the Gospel of Judas on the eucharist: that it is a ritual more man-made than God-given. (pg. 67)
Consider the way in which Gnostic dualism ends up encouraging the same careless attitude about human life the Gospel of Judas attributes to martyrs and the defenders of martyrdom. (pg. 81)
Consider the Pelagian overtones of Gnostic thought: the pursuit and discovery of special knowledge achieves salvation. (pg. 98)
"Leaders like Iranaeus devoted decades of their lives to establishing the structures of creed, canon, clergy, believing that the movement's survival depended on them - and in some ways they may have been right, for their are limits to how many different views any group can accomodate, perhaps especially in times of trouble." (pg. 102)"
"I'm always surprised by how compelling non-fiction is when I actually give it a chance--especially non-fiction about Jesus and such.
I appreciated the way this book used the Gospel of Judas to shed light on the controversies, politics, and agendas of the early Church leaders. But I think what I liked most was the non-judgmental tone of this book. She didn't point fingers at early Church leaders as "suppressors" of Sacred Texts, nor did she denounce the non-Canonical Gospels as being invalid or heretical. The exploration here was balanced, lending respect to all sides. I don't think that's easy to pull off in general, but especially not in writing about religion.
I was glad the book included the Gospel of Judas, too, although I had to go over the ending twice. I was surprised by how little attention the Gospel actually gave to Judas' betrayal; it was almost like an afterthought. Everything I'd heard about the Gospel up to this point fixated on that. Just goes to show the value of going to the source (well, almost; I didn't learn Aramaic or anything)."
"King and Pagels together?! Great pairing for a good read however, if you have already read Pagels's work on the Gnostic gospels or on Judas specifically you may find much of the material in this book to be repeating. Still, as I can't translate this work myself I appreciate any and all literature on the subject/material and this is absolutely worth a read."
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