The Gospel of Judas
Robert Charroux says of Judas1: "...the myth of his betrayal (of Jesus) was invented..." and "...contrary to the reports of false witnesses, he played the part of a hero...". When Charroux wrote this in 1971 there was no copy of the Gospel of Judas known to exist.
Then in 2000 an almost intact copy was acquired by an antiquities dealer. Scholars dated the manuscript to around AD200-300. The text suggests that Judas had a special relationship with Jesus. He was asked by Jesus to "betray" him so that Jesus would be martyred. Jesus told him "...you will be cursed...". You can read all the details and download a transcript of the Gospel of Judas at the National Geographic website.
It is possible that the Vatican already had a copy of this gospel but kept it hidden. According to Wikipedia a Vatican spokesman said: "...the Vatican does not wish to suppress the Gospel of Judas. These are myths circulated by Dan Brown..." and "...the Vatican, by word of Pope Benedict XVI, grants the recently surfaced Judas' Gospel no credit with regards to its apocryphal claims that Judas betrayed Jesus in compliance with the latter's own requests."
In 2007 Jeffry Archer published his own version of The Gospel According to Judas2. Apparently he wanted to write the traditional story of Judas in the style of a New Testament gospel. He had to get permission from the Catholic Church to write his book and he worked under their close supervision. See the article at Times Online for the whole story.
Archer says his book was not inspired by the newly discovered manuscript. Who is he kidding? The Catholic Church prefers to maintain the status quo. Christianity has conveniently made Judas the villain. The Jews were blamed for the arrest and execution of Christ, thereby allowing Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor, to wash his hands of any responsibility.
1. Robert Charroux, Lost Worlds, Fontana UK 1974
2. Jeffrey Archer, The Gospel According to Judas, Macmillan UK 2007
3. Image shown above is from Caravaggio’s “Taking of Christ”
Then in 2000 an almost intact copy was acquired by an antiquities dealer. Scholars dated the manuscript to around AD200-300. The text suggests that Judas had a special relationship with Jesus. He was asked by Jesus to "betray" him so that Jesus would be martyred. Jesus told him "...you will be cursed...". You can read all the details and download a transcript of the Gospel of Judas at the National Geographic website.
It is possible that the Vatican already had a copy of this gospel but kept it hidden. According to Wikipedia a Vatican spokesman said: "...the Vatican does not wish to suppress the Gospel of Judas. These are myths circulated by Dan Brown..." and "...the Vatican, by word of Pope Benedict XVI, grants the recently surfaced Judas' Gospel no credit with regards to its apocryphal claims that Judas betrayed Jesus in compliance with the latter's own requests."
In 2007 Jeffry Archer published his own version of The Gospel According to Judas2. Apparently he wanted to write the traditional story of Judas in the style of a New Testament gospel. He had to get permission from the Catholic Church to write his book and he worked under their close supervision. See the article at Times Online for the whole story.
Archer says his book was not inspired by the newly discovered manuscript. Who is he kidding? The Catholic Church prefers to maintain the status quo. Christianity has conveniently made Judas the villain. The Jews were blamed for the arrest and execution of Christ, thereby allowing Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor, to wash his hands of any responsibility.
1. Robert Charroux, Lost Worlds, Fontana UK 1974
2. Jeffrey Archer, The Gospel According to Judas, Macmillan UK 2007
3. Image shown above is from Caravaggio’s “Taking of Christ”
posted by Robert Charroux at
9:58 AM
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