'Gospel of Judas' Called An Authentic Fabrication

The New York Sun ^ | April 7, 2006 | BRUCE CHILTON

[presidio9]

The National Geographic Society released the manuscript of what is called "The Gospel of Judas" yesterday. By National Geographic's own account, a team first assembled by the Maecenas Foundation has been working on the text since 2001. As a result of press releases tied to publication of the text, widespread coverage has repeated the claim that this is an authentic and unique representation of the historical relationship between Jesus and Judas, and that Jesus encouraged Judas to betray him.

Despite the careful work by scholars that has gone into a document of obvious interest, I have to express disappointment when I see National Geographic stoop so low into hyperbole as to distort the significance of this discovery.

In its release, National Geographic repeatedly states that it has "authenticated" the document. Several press outlets have simply repeated those claims. But "authentic" turns out to be a slippery term as used by the National Geographic Society. No scholar associated with the find argues this is a first century document, or that it derives from Judas. The release says the document was "copied down in Coptic probably around A.D. 300," although later that is changed to "let's say around the year 400." This amounts to saying that "The Gospel of Judas" is an authentic fabrication produced by a group of Gnostics in Egypt. Gnostics believed that their direct knowledge of heaven permitted them to understand what no one else knew, or could know by historical knowledge. For ancient Gnostics to believe in their own powers of divination is charming; for their flights of imagination to be passed off as historical knowledge in our time is dishonest or self-deceived.

During the second century, a theologian of the Catholic Church named Irenaeus referred to a writing named "The Gospel of Judas." Was that

[Ptaz]

You said: Is this the Gospel where Jesus warns against global warming, and denounces Bush?


Did he also invent the Internet....Shucks that was Al Gore.

[BenLurkin]

Yes, very Clintonian.

[jec41]

Finally a Gospel the evos will believe.!!!!

Doubtful except that the evos might be Christian. Most will not care one way or another about another philosophical religious food fight.

[WKB]

Doubtful except that the evos might be Christian.



Christian \evo
I still find that to be the epitome of an oxymoron

[Right Wing Professor]

The statement was that all the works except two were unequivocally first century. In fact, four are almost certainly second century, and parts of the rest are debated. More than four is a whole lot different than two.

[jec41]

Christian \evo I still find that to be the epitome of an oxymoron

Tell it to the Catholic church. They would applicate your evaluation that they are oxymoron's.

[WKB]

IMHO The Catholic Church is an oxymoron in more ways
than one.

[jw777]

Dan Rather stands by the authenticity of the non-authentic documents.

[presidio9]

More than four is a whole lot different than two.

Not really, when you are talking about four letters. One letter is the equivalent of one chapeter of a Gospel. A Gross exaggeration might have been to say that none of the NT was written after AD 100. Virtually all of it was written before.

[presidio9]

Do either of you actually understand the meaning of the term "oxymoron?"

[metmom]

Hmmmm.....seems to me Judas didn't have a lot of time time pen his gospel after betraying Jesus.

ROTFLOL. That's the best one yet. Too bad those who are promoting the whole idea didn't take that into account first. Makes them look like the fools that they are.

[presidio9]

ping

[redgolum]

I used to love NG. But because of junk like this I let my subscription lapse a long time ago.

[redgolum]

It is pretty similar. Mormons have gnostic elements also, and many of the so called "New Agers" are really just watered down gnosticism.

[BeHoldAPaleHorse]

One of the participants had to point out to her that "Katie, the DaVinci Codes are a work of fiction."

Katie does not strike me as being the brightest bulb in the chandelier.

[redgolum]

There are some texts the quote various parts of the Gospels that can be dated to right around the turn of the 1st century. But as for surviving manuscripts, not many.

For that matter we don't have very many surviving manuscripts from that time period at all. That is why the Qumran scrolls causes such a sensation.

[WKB]

ox·y·mo·ron (ŏk'sē-môr'ŏn', -mōr'-) pronunciation n., pl. -mo·ra (-môr'ə, -mōr'ə) or -rons. A rhetorical figure in which incongruous or contradictory terms are combined, as in a deafening silence and a mournful optimist.

[lawgirl]

EXACTLY what I was thinking.

[hawkaw]

One of the participants had to point out to her that "Katie, the DaVinci Codes are a work of fiction."

Noooo way!

That is way to funny.

And she is now CBS' anchor lady of serious news .... LOL!!!!!

[hummingbird]

"...it was created using a stylus that hadn't been invented until AD 378.

Heh, heh, heh.....another "Great Moment in Buckhead History."

?8^)