This morning I read the Gospel of Judas. All 7 pages of it, downloaded from the National Geographic website.
Full Disclosure: I'm not a NewTestament or Early Christian Scholar--just a layperson with an interest in Christian history who has read some books about it but has never had a formal class on the subject. My opinion here is worth what you're paying for it.
It's quite a trip. The introduction says that it is "the secret account of the revelation that Jesus spoke in conversation with Judas Iscariot during a week three days before he celebrated Passover." I don't pretend to have much understanding of the Gnostics. But I don't think you have to be very conversant with the period to note the weirdness of this text. For example, Judas tells Jesus that he knows Jesus is from "the immortal realm of Barbelo." Barbelo???
Then there's a bunch of references to the "great and holy generation" and the "aeons". Aeons? Jesus refers to a being called "the Self-Generated", the "incorruptible generation of Seth", and the "luminaries." The word "Christ" appears in connection with the listing of the "lost angels" who ruled over the underworld. Huh???
The whole thing is riddled with missing lines (from disintegrated papyrus) and words. But even if all the words were there, I think it would still read like incomprehensible babble. It reminds me of some of the worst New Age ravings--Scientology gone amok, if you can imagine.
The Gospel of Judas doesn't resemble Jewish or orthodox Christian cosmology or theology in any way. I think anyone who reads it will find the fact that it was not taken seriously by the early Church perfectly understandable. The book of Revelation is crystal clear compared to this.
It's a great time we live in, when the translation of a text like this is available to everyone on the internet. You can read and judge for yourself whether it adds or subtracts anything from your understanding of Jesus. As the Reformation was advanced by the development of the printing press and the translation of the Bible from Latin to the vernacular, so the world wide web enables the priesthood of all believers to access information without the intermediary of the media and scholarly commentary.
And that is a very good thing. Thanks be to God!
Full Disclosure: I'm not a NewTestament or Early Christian Scholar--just a layperson with an interest in Christian history who has read some books about it but has never had a formal class on the subject. My opinion here is worth what you're paying for it.
It's quite a trip. The introduction says that it is "the secret account of the revelation that Jesus spoke in conversation with Judas Iscariot during a week three days before he celebrated Passover." I don't pretend to have much understanding of the Gnostics. But I don't think you have to be very conversant with the period to note the weirdness of this text. For example, Judas tells Jesus that he knows Jesus is from "the immortal realm of Barbelo." Barbelo???
Then there's a bunch of references to the "great and holy generation" and the "aeons". Aeons? Jesus refers to a being called "the Self-Generated", the "incorruptible generation of Seth", and the "luminaries." The word "Christ" appears in connection with the listing of the "lost angels" who ruled over the underworld. Huh???
The whole thing is riddled with missing lines (from disintegrated papyrus) and words. But even if all the words were there, I think it would still read like incomprehensible babble. It reminds me of some of the worst New Age ravings--Scientology gone amok, if you can imagine.
The Gospel of Judas doesn't resemble Jewish or orthodox Christian cosmology or theology in any way. I think anyone who reads it will find the fact that it was not taken seriously by the early Church perfectly understandable. The book of Revelation is crystal clear compared to this.
It's a great time we live in, when the translation of a text like this is available to everyone on the internet. You can read and judge for yourself whether it adds or subtracts anything from your understanding of Jesus. As the Reformation was advanced by the development of the printing press and the translation of the Bible from Latin to the vernacular, so the world wide web enables the priesthood of all believers to access information without the intermediary of the media and scholarly commentary.
And that is a very good thing. Thanks be to God!
6 comments:
I think learning about the other "gospel" type texts - gnostic and otherwise - is fascinating from an academic point of view.
At the same time, the media hype over it makes me crazy. Their lack of understanding and research would astounds me, until I remember the instances back when I worked for my state's senate. No matter how straightforward a bill or a situation, the media always got basic facts wrong.
It does not seem to occur to the press that people fought and thought and debated and prayed long and hard about what made the Canon.
I suppose 800 years from now folks will be examining film segments from the cutting room floor and postulating all sorts of theories about what conspiritorial cabal "suppressed" these insightful, brilliant out-takes . . .
well, it sounds like you understood it perfectly.
Of course the first question folks should ask is why should we assume a document written no earlier than late 2nd century should be given any more credence than the eyewitness accounts written much earlier, i.e. the Gospels
I have to add to the comment on media hype even though it is slightly off topic. On Palm Sunday the Fox news anchor (with video of Pope Benedict in the background) explained that Palm Sunday was the observance of Jesus' entry into Jerusalem for the *first* time.
Elaine
Norman, OK
Aaaaarrrggggghhhhh!
Post a Comment