'Gospel of Judas' gives new view of Jesus' betrayer

From today's ABC news (www.abc.net.au/news)... my comments follow

'Gospel of Judas' gives new view of Jesus' betrayer

Judas Iscariot, vilified as Christ's betrayer, acted at Jesus' request in turning him over to the authorities who crucified him, according to a 1,700-year-old copy of the "Gospel of Judas".

In an alternative view to traditional Christian teaching, the Judas gospel shows the reviled disciple as the only one in Jesus' inner circle who understood his desire to shed his earthly body.

"He's the good guy in this portrayal," said Bart Ehrman, a religion professor at the University of North Carolina in the US.

"He's the only apostle who understands Jesus."

The Judas gospel's introduction says it is "the secret account of the revelation that Jesus spoke in conversation with Judas Iscariot".

Later, it quotes Jesus as saying to Judas: "You will exceed all of them (the other disciples) for you will sacrifice the man who clothes me."

Professor Ehrman says the gospel suggests that Judas was a "trapped spirit".

"And salvation comes when we escape the materiality of our existence and Judas is the one who makes it possible for him to escape by allowing for his body to be killed."

Rev Donald Senior, president of Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, says the document reveals the diversity and vitality in early Christianity.

"The question becomes ... does this tradition, this alternative story, if you like, in the gospel of Judas have a claim that in some sense is equal to the rival claim of the gospel tradition?" he said.

The Judas gospel is being published in book form by National Geographic and pages from the papyrus manuscript will be on display at the society's museum in Washington.

The manuscript will ultimately be housed at the Coptic Museum in Cairo. Reuters

_____________________________________

Well is this an alternative view?

It is clear from this excerpt that the Gospel of Judas is just another gnostic writing.

The Gnositcs were a diverse group of related religions with a common view-point. Their commonality was in their belief that the physical world is basically evil and that salvation is found in the knowledge ("gnosis") of how to escape the limitations of the flesh. They borrowed freely from all kinds of religions, including christianity.

Jesus was a real problem for the gnostics. How can God who is pure take on the evil frailty of flesh? Different sects came up with different explanations.

Gnosticism was a big problem for the church (and in different forms remains so today). The Gospel and Epistles of John were written as a refutation of gnosticism.

The problem of gnosticism is this: it adds something to grace. Every heresy ends up being "Jesus plus". In the case of gnosticism it is "Jesus plus hidden knowledge."

We don't need anything other than the death of Jesus to redeem our sins. We don't need to escape the world of the flesh. In fact the scriptures clearly teach that in the new life we will be given new bodies.

The gospel of Judas is not a new and interesting perspective on christianity. It is just another boring old form of an old sect.