Posted on 04/04/2005 10:11:49 AM PDT by robowombat
2005-03-30 Gospel of Judas back in spotlight after 20 centuries Swiss foundation seeks to shed light on controversial Christian text named after apostle said to have betrayed Jesus. By Patrick Baert - GENEVA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- About 2,000 years after the Gospel according to Judas sowed discord among early Christians, a Swiss foundation says it is translating for the first time the controversial text named after the apostle said to have betrayed Jesus Christ.
The 62-page papyrus manuscript of the text was uncovered in Egypt during the 1950s or 1960s, but its owners did not fully comprehend its significance until recently, according to the Maecenas Foundation in Basel.
The manuscript written in the ancient dialect of Egypt's Coptic Christian community will be translated into English, French and German in about a year, the foundation specialising in antique culture said on Tuesday.
"We have just received the results of carbon dating: the text is older than we thought and dates back to a period between the beginning of the third and fourth centuries," foundation director Mario Jean Roberty said.
The existence of a Gospel of Judas, which was originally written in Greek, was outlined by a bishop, Saint Irenee, when he denounced the text as heretical during the second century.
"It's the only clear source that allows us to know that such a Gospel did exist," Roberty explained.
The foundation declined to say what account Judas is said to give in his alleged gospel.
According to Christian tradition, Judas Iscariot betrayed Jesus Christ by helping the Romans to find him before he was crucified.
"We do not want to reveal the exceptional side of what we have," Roberty said.
The author of the text is unknown.
"No one can clearly state that Judas wrote it himself," Roberty said, while pointing out that the other gospels were probably not written by their supposed authors either.
The four recognised gospels of the New Testament describe the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ and are said to record his teachings from the eyes of four of his disciples, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.
The Roman Catholic Church limited the recognised gospels to the four in 325, under the guidance of the first Christian Roman emperor, Constantine.
Thirty other texts - some of which have been uncovered - were sidelined because "they were difficult to reconcile with what Constantine wanted as a political doctrine," according to Roberty.
The foundation's director said the Judas Iscariot text called into question some of the political principles of Christian doctrine.
It could also to some extent rehabilitate Judas, whose name has often come to symbolise the accusation of deicide - God-killing - levelled by some Christian teachings against the Jewish people, he added.
After the manuscript is restored, the text is due to be translated and analysed by a team of specialists in Coptic history led by a former professor at the University of Geneva, Rudolf Kasser.
Jean-Daniel Kaestli, an expert on gospels who has seen the manuscript, said the discovery was "very interesting", although the papyrus was in a bad state.
He added that it was not going to lead to a revolutionary change in the vision of the Bible, although it could shed some new light on parts of Christianity's holy text.
The Maecenas Foundation, which aims to protect archaeological relics found in poor countries, hopes to organise exhibitions around the manuscript and to produce a documentary on the process of unravelling the text.
The full launch is due in Easter 2006.
Gospel of Judas back in spotlight after 20 centuries Swiss foundation seeks to shed light on controversial Christian text named after apostle said to have betrayed Jesus. By Patrick Baert - GENEVA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- About 2,000 years after the Gospel according to Judas sowed discord among early Christians, a Swiss foundation says it is translating for the first time the controversial text named after the apostle said to have betrayed Jesus Christ.
The 62-page papyrus manuscript of the text was uncovered in Egypt during the 1950s or 1960s, but its owners did not fully comprehend its significance until recently, according to the Maecenas Foundation in Basel.
The manuscript written in the ancient dialect of Egypt's Coptic Christian community will be translated into English, French and German in about a year, the foundation specialising in antique culture said on Tuesday.
"We have just received the results of carbon dating: the text is older than we thought and dates back to a period between the beginning of the third and fourth centuries," foundation director Mario Jean Roberty said.
The existence of a Gospel of Judas, which was originally written in Greek, was outlined by a bishop, Saint Irenee, when he denounced the text as heretical during the second century.
"It's the only clear source that allows us to know that such a Gospel did exist," Roberty explained.
The foundation declined to say what account Judas is said to give in his alleged gospel.
According to Christian tradition, Judas Iscariot betrayed Jesus Christ by helping the Romans to find him before he was crucified.
"We do not want to reveal the exceptional side of what we have," Roberty said.
The author of the text is unknown.
"No one can clearly state that Judas wrote it himself," Roberty said, while pointing out that the other gospels were probably not written by their supposed authors either.
The four recognised gospels of the New Testament describe the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ and are said to record his teachings from the eyes of four of his disciples, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.
The Roman Catholic Church limited the recognised gospels to the four in 325, under the guidance of the first Christian Roman emperor, Constantine.
Thirty other texts - some of which have been uncovered - were sidelined because "they were difficult to reconcile with what Constantine wanted as a political doctrine," according to Roberty.
The foundation's director said the Judas Iscariot text called into question some of the political principles of Christian doctrine.
It could also to some extent rehabilitate Judas, whose name has often come to symbolise the accusation of deicide - God-killing - levelled by some Christian teachings against the Jewish people, he added.
After the manuscript is restored, the text is due to be translated and analysed by a team of specialists in Coptic history led by a former professor at the University of Geneva, Rudolf Kasser.
Jean-Daniel Kaestli, an expert on gospels who has seen the manuscript, said the discovery was "very interesting", although the papyrus was in a bad state.
He added that it was not going to lead to a revolutionary change in the vision of the Bible, although it could shed some new light on parts of Christianity's holy text.
The Maecenas Foundation, which aims to protect archaeological relics found in poor countries, hopes to organise exhibitions around the manuscript and to produce a documentary on the process of unravelling the text.
The full launch is due in Easter 2006.
well that doesn't bode well for the position of the church on the gnostic gospels. Many people here paint themselves as experts on the Word and I'm hoping some of them will set us straight.
The scholarly literature on the New Testament books is (of course) huge and easily accessible. There is no attempt here to discuss them individually. Here is their approximate order of composition:
I and II Thessalonians
~50 CE
I and II Corinthians
54-56
Galatians
~56
Romans
56-57
Colossians
~61
Philemon
~61
Philippians
~62
Gospel according to Mark
65-70
Gospel according to Matthew
80-85
Acts and Gospel according to Luke
85-90
Hebrews
85-90
Gospel according to John
90-100
Revelation of John
~95
Ephesians, James, and I Peter
95-100
I, II, and III John
100-110
I and II Timothy and Titus
110-130
Jude, II Peter
130-150
Horse manure
Latin had no "J"s.
That's why Pilate inscribed on the cross:
Iesvs Nazarenvs Rex Ivdaeorvm
Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Judeans.
Not this nonsense again.
True. Don't have the references here, but I recall the first authoritative listing of what would become the cannon of the New Testament being in a Christmas letter sent out by one of the apostolic church bishops some time in the 2nd century A.D.
As for Constantine, he had a tremendous influence on the development of institutional Christianity by: 1) stopping the persecution of Christians, 2) by proclaiming official tolerance of the religion, 3) by adopting it as the official and only religion of the Roman Empire and finally, 4) by sponsoring a series of conferences to bring together church leaders and regularize Christian doctrine and practice. Whether or not the long partnership between church and state has been for good or for bad is the subject of a centuries-long discourse and many books.
Me too. All one has to do is scan the text and see that the "lost gospels" are no where near the level of scripture.
To be included in the Bible a book needed to meet several specific qualifications.The most important consideration for whether a NT book was inspired was that it had apostolic authority. The Apostles, as eyewitnesses of everything dealing with Christ, had a unique position and personal authority because they were chosen by Christ. It is this unique personal authority of the Apostles that assures the truth or canonicity of the NT books.
BAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! You are one funny dude.
thax for the link
Which church? Therein lies the rub.
and thanx too.
Not exactly.
the one which calims to know which of these are in and which should be out and made the decision about 1700 years ago.
No surprises there. The Gnostics were famous for taking existing scripture and corrupting it to support their peculiar doctrines. The Marcionites did the same thing
Those guys are dead. If not, they have to be really old.
Same thing with the Nag Hammadi texts, the point I'm making is not necessarily what the content is, but the fact they were put in jars, sealed, and buried for two thousand years. So the fact they were undiscovered and not mentioned does not prove whether they are or are not authentic.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.