Good Old Judas, So Long Judas
National Geographic magazine has unveiled a 26 page parchment document - The Gospel of Judas. In it, a conversation between Jesus and Judas is reproduced - and it appears that according to this Gospel, Jesus asked Judas to betray him. Christ tells Judas, "…you will exceed all of them. For you will sacrifice the man that clothes me."
In another section, Jesus tells Judas, “Step away from the others and I shall tell you the mysteries of the kingdom. Look, you have been told everything. Lift up your eyes and look at the cloud and the light within it and the stars surrounding it. The star that leads the way is your star.”
Hmm. Now, these documents apparently date from 300 BCE/AD, giving a lot of Biblical scholars the opportunity to poo-poo their authenicity. After all, Judas killed himself shortly after the betrayal, right? Bible Society chief executive James Catford said,“It really would be a miracle if Judas was the author of this document, because he died at least 100 years before it was written." Well, no. It means this copy was printed then, that doesn't mean the original text is that recent. After all, the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) are generally accepted to have been written long after the events they describe. What difference does it make? And really, doctrinally, what difference does this make to Christianity? I mean, I have always held the strong suspicion that if the events in the New Testament really fell out the way they're described, Jesus obviously knew who was betraying him. He calls out Judas at the Last Supper...the only clueless people at that table are the other Disciples who are pretty deep into their kosher wine at that point. So, Jesus knew who was going to turn him in to the Romans, and he didn't stop Judas from doing it. So isn't that called 'suicide by cop' nowadays? Also, wasn't it necessary for Christ to die in order for him to cleanse mankind of its sins? So, isn't Judas an integral part of that? I dunno. I can't quite believe this is a surprise to anyone. Maybe I just watched Jesus Christ Superstar too many times.
In other news, I almost got sprayed by a wild skunk in the alley behind my apartment. I think I'm going to move to Tennesee when I'm out of the Navy, not only because it's cheap and I have friends there, but because they had tornadoes today, and I miss those. I got 2 mix CD's from Hannah - and found another good band that you've never heard of called General Sherman. It
s an unfortunate name if you're from Atlanta, but their songs as near as I can tell aren't about burning the Shenandoah Valley and torching Tara. Monday I'm flying into DFW and driving into Shreveport for the week, so if you are somewhere in the I-20 corridor between Dallas and Shreveport, and want to hang out, let me know.
Oh yeah, and Annie is going to to Savannah College of Art and Design! So go here and tell her congratualtions for going to a really cool school in a very nice town. Let the Exodus from San Diego begin!
In another section, Jesus tells Judas, “Step away from the others and I shall tell you the mysteries of the kingdom. Look, you have been told everything. Lift up your eyes and look at the cloud and the light within it and the stars surrounding it. The star that leads the way is your star.”
Hmm. Now, these documents apparently date from 300 BCE/AD, giving a lot of Biblical scholars the opportunity to poo-poo their authenicity. After all, Judas killed himself shortly after the betrayal, right? Bible Society chief executive James Catford said,“It really would be a miracle if Judas was the author of this document, because he died at least 100 years before it was written." Well, no. It means this copy was printed then, that doesn't mean the original text is that recent. After all, the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) are generally accepted to have been written long after the events they describe. What difference does it make? And really, doctrinally, what difference does this make to Christianity? I mean, I have always held the strong suspicion that if the events in the New Testament really fell out the way they're described, Jesus obviously knew who was betraying him. He calls out Judas at the Last Supper...the only clueless people at that table are the other Disciples who are pretty deep into their kosher wine at that point. So, Jesus knew who was going to turn him in to the Romans, and he didn't stop Judas from doing it. So isn't that called 'suicide by cop' nowadays? Also, wasn't it necessary for Christ to die in order for him to cleanse mankind of its sins? So, isn't Judas an integral part of that? I dunno. I can't quite believe this is a surprise to anyone. Maybe I just watched Jesus Christ Superstar too many times.
In other news, I almost got sprayed by a wild skunk in the alley behind my apartment. I think I'm going to move to Tennesee when I'm out of the Navy, not only because it's cheap and I have friends there, but because they had tornadoes today, and I miss those. I got 2 mix CD's from Hannah - and found another good band that you've never heard of called General Sherman. It
s an unfortunate name if you're from Atlanta, but their songs as near as I can tell aren't about burning the Shenandoah Valley and torching Tara. Monday I'm flying into DFW and driving into Shreveport for the week, so if you are somewhere in the I-20 corridor between Dallas and Shreveport, and want to hang out, let me know.
Oh yeah, and Annie is going to to Savannah College of Art and Design! So go here and tell her congratualtions for going to a really cool school in a very nice town. Let the Exodus from San Diego begin!
a) The "Judas Gospel" has been around for years, and National Geographic (which isn't actually a scholarly organization so to speak, just people with a lot of money who paid a bunch for the parchment) just decided to "unveil" it recently and make a big to-do to get people to go crazy over it (probably because of all the DaVinci Code madness)
b) The synoptic gospels are Matthew, Mark, and Luke. John came much later and is not generally regarded as being as credible as the first three, which came earlier. The most popular theory is that Mark came first and Matthew and Luke drew from Mark, and possibly another, unknown source, called the "Q" source (from the greek 'Quelle' meaning source)
Hehe... sorry... I took a college Bible course this semester and learned all about scholarly biblical research, and all the misinformation flying around about the Judas gospel and the Jesus papers and that damn DaVinci Code (did I mention I work in a bookstore?) is driving me CRAZY. Ignore the hype and study it, people! STUDY!!!!
::ahem:: I'm okay now.
Posted by
Natalie |
1:34 AM
What college Bible course did you take? I don't think we had the same teacher. I'm not even sure we had the same Bible.
Yes, John came slightly earlier than Matthew, Mark, and Luke, but according to my class John drew material from Q as well. But quite honestly, as far as accuracy vs. chronological distance from the actual events is concerned, all four gospels are about even from a historical standpoint.
Frankly, does anyone buy into the idea that Dan Brown is onto something with his ridiculous so-called novel? I could see getting worked up over the Judas Gospel because that actually has historical significance and may offer insight into the life of Chris. But the idea that Jesus shacked up with Mary Magdalene is absurd to me.
Also, if National Geographic isn't actually a scholarly organization, I guess I'd better demand a refund for my old subscription money that went toward archeological excavations, the reclamation of Sue the Tyrannosaur, and some of the purdiest pictures I ever did see in every issue.
Posted by
Hannah |
9:31 PM
That was supposed to be "insights into the life of Christ," not "the life of Chris." Frankly, I don't want any insights into the lives of any Chrises I can think of.
Posted by
Hannah |
9:34 PM
The idea that Christ hooked up with Mary Magdalen isn't new, nor invented by Dan Brown. Christ's divinity wasn't even official Christian doctrine until after the fourth century and the Council of Nicea. Many early Christians considered Christ to be a man, divinely inspired, but still a man. And as far as whether or not he and mary did knock boots, how does that affect the message of salvation? I just don't get it. Also, let's be clear. According to the Bible, Jesus knew who had betrayed him to Pilate. He let it happen, because it had to happen that way for him to fulfill various Messianic obligations. So, really, the idea that Jesus and Judas were in on the betrayal together should hardly surprise anyone. I don't see where the misinformation lies. And yes, the Judas Gospel has been around for years.Lots of years. I believe that's the point, right?
Posted by
Aaron |
9:58 PM