A New Gospel? Nah.
National Geographic will be airing a television special sometime soon about "The Gospel of Judas". In order to hype their product, [Is that the correct expression?] NG has announced this as if this "Gospel" were a new discovery. I have already been asked about it twice since yesterday, not including a phone call from an area newspaper for my reaction. The reporter seemed to think that this would shake the very foundation of our religion. The reporter seemed to be having a rather dull day at the copy desk. I was a great disappointment to her.
Historically speaking, the "Gospel of Judas" has been known of for approximately 1857 years, and it was already de-bunked as nonsense in the mid-2nd Century.
However, as with "The DaVinci Code", those who know little about such matters will consider this some sort of "startling revelation". The truth is "The Gospel of Judas" is a product of Gnosticism, the first errant teaching and true heresy of Christianity.
[Those who participated in the Lenten series will recall our discussion of Gnosticism.]
As I read in yesterday's New York Times, the opening verse says it all:
The most revealing passages in the Judas manuscript begins, "The secret account of the revelation that Jesus spoke in conversation with Judas Iscariot during a week, three days before he celebrated Passover."
What did Jesus ever do in secret? Were any of the four accepted Gospels written to reveal secret information? [The answer is "no", by the way.] The whole point of his ministry was that, among other things, our relationship with God was/is based on an openness that transcends borders, cultures, words, etc.
On the other hand, the whole basis of Gnosticism was that some had received "secret knowledge" not made privy to other Christians. Not surprisingly, those who received this "knowledge" tended to be among the wealthier and higher placed members of their communities. Clearly, this was a complete and perhaps deliberate misinterpretation of the Christian message.
There were a variety of Gospels tossed around at one time during the early days of Christianity, but it has been the four that we know that were considered authentic and were of great use in the formation and mission of those early Christian communities. It is on those four that all we know of Jesus, and all that we call theology, is based.
For more information about this interesting time in the life of the church, I would recommend The Churches the Apostles Left Behind by Raymond E. Brown. It is available through on-line booksellers for about $10.00.
[Update: A colleague reminds me that it was in 129 A.D./C.E. that this "Gospel" was repudiated, not 149. So, it was originally dismissed 1877 years ago.]
Historically speaking, the "Gospel of Judas" has been known of for approximately 1857 years, and it was already de-bunked as nonsense in the mid-2nd Century.
However, as with "The DaVinci Code", those who know little about such matters will consider this some sort of "startling revelation". The truth is "The Gospel of Judas" is a product of Gnosticism, the first errant teaching and true heresy of Christianity.
[Those who participated in the Lenten series will recall our discussion of Gnosticism.]
As I read in yesterday's New York Times, the opening verse says it all:
The most revealing passages in the Judas manuscript begins, "The secret account of the revelation that Jesus spoke in conversation with Judas Iscariot during a week, three days before he celebrated Passover."
What did Jesus ever do in secret? Were any of the four accepted Gospels written to reveal secret information? [The answer is "no", by the way.] The whole point of his ministry was that, among other things, our relationship with God was/is based on an openness that transcends borders, cultures, words, etc.
On the other hand, the whole basis of Gnosticism was that some had received "secret knowledge" not made privy to other Christians. Not surprisingly, those who received this "knowledge" tended to be among the wealthier and higher placed members of their communities. Clearly, this was a complete and perhaps deliberate misinterpretation of the Christian message.
There were a variety of Gospels tossed around at one time during the early days of Christianity, but it has been the four that we know that were considered authentic and were of great use in the formation and mission of those early Christian communities. It is on those four that all we know of Jesus, and all that we call theology, is based.
For more information about this interesting time in the life of the church, I would recommend The Churches the Apostles Left Behind by Raymond E. Brown. It is available through on-line booksellers for about $10.00.
[Update: A colleague reminds me that it was in 129 A.D./C.E. that this "Gospel" was repudiated, not 149. So, it was originally dismissed 1877 years ago.]
posted by Vicar at 3:48 AM
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