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The So-Called ‘Gospel’ of Judas: Unmasking an Ancient Heresy
Breakpoint with Charles Colson ^ | 4/12/2006 | Charles Colson

Posted on 04/13/2006 8:12:35 AM PDT by Mr. Silverback

Welcome to Holy Week, American style. Just as millions of Christians are preparing to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus, the media is once again out to debunk historical Christianity.

Just last weekend I was in an airport bookstore and saw the new book counter filled with numerous editions of The Da Vinci Code. Then I picked up the New York Times, and there I was greeted with the headline on the front page that read, “In Ancient Document, Judas, Minus the Betrayal.”

You probably have seen the hype, including a one-hour National Geographic TV spectacular: After seventeen hundred years, the story goes, the long-lost text of the so-called “Gospel of Judas” has re-surfaced. It claims that Jesus secretly told Judas to betray Him; so Judas is really a good disciple.

Well, it’s not a new discovery. This “new gospel” and the heresy it espouses—Gnosticism—were rejected as fiction by Christian leaders and the Church as early as 180 A.D.

Gnosticism was an attempt to add to Christianity an essentially Eastern worldview dressed up with Christian language. It was presented to the Roman world as the true Gospel—complete with endless mysteries that only those with secret knowledge could unravel. Many unsuspecting people were enthralled with Gnostic writings, particularly their sometimes gory and salacious initiation ceremonies. Christian pastors and theologians repeatedly rejected all forms of Gnosticism, until, by the middle of the third century, it had all but disappeared.

But now it is back with a vengeance, with supposed discoveries and works like Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code. It provides the means for Christianity’s detractors to debunk the historical Jesus, and it certainly sells books. Seven million copies of The Da Vinci Code is testimony to that. Gnosticism has particular appeal today because of the postmodern age, which has rejected historical truth. So you can find God any way you wish, through your own group. This, of course, is the belief that is at the root of the spreading New Age movement.

The danger is that we have a biblically illiterate population. People today don’t know—maybe don’t care—whether there is a difference between the Gospel of Judas and the Gospel of John. They are unfamiliar with the work of the ancient canonical councils of the Church (which rejected the Gnostic “gospels” time and again) or even of the basic creeds or confessions of the Christian Church. Sadly, people are as gullible today as ever.

Now it is tempting to get angry at National Geographic and the liberal press for unleashing this fraudulent “gospel” at the beginning of the holiest week of the year. But don’t. Instead, let’s use the media attention to debunk the debunkers, to point out to friends that this regurgitated Gnosticism—the Da Vinci Code and the “gospel” of Judas included—is nothing more than historically unsupportable fantasy.

Then we can point them to the knowledge that is accessible to all people that has been accessible to Christians for two thousand years and proven historically accurate. It’s called the Bible.

But whatever you do, get informed first. Come to our website (see further reading below) or call us here at “BreakPoint” (1-877-322-5527) and find some of the resources that we are offering. And get busy because millions can be suckered in—unless you and I set the record straight.


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Culture/Society; Editorial; News/Current Events; Philosophy
KEYWORDS: breakpoint; charlescolson; davincicode; elainepagels; epigraphyandlanguage; gnosticgospels; gnosticism; godsgravesglyphs; gospelofjudas; heresy; judas; judasiscariot; letshavejerusalem
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There are links to further information at the source document.

If anyone wants on or off my Chuck Colson/BreakPoint Ping List, please notify me here or by freepmail.

1 posted on 04/13/2006 8:12:36 AM PDT by Mr. Silverback
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To: 351 Cleveland; AFPhys; agenda_express; almcbean; ambrose; Amos the Prophet; AnalogReigns; ...

BreakPoint/Chuck Colson Ping!

If anyone wants on or off my Chuck Colson/BreakPoint Ping List, please notify me here or by freepmail.

2 posted on 04/13/2006 8:13:25 AM PDT by Mr. Silverback ("I was in such a hurry to climb that tree, I punched a squirrel.")
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To: Mr. Silverback

Oh, geez. Brown's book is FICTION. Mother Goose is more factual.

I've accidently flipped to the Judas show a few times, but never can get through a few minutes before flipping channels again.


3 posted on 04/13/2006 8:19:10 AM PDT by mtbopfuyn
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To: Mr. Silverback
It provides the means for Christianity’s detractors to debunk the historical Jesus, and it certainly sells books. Seven million copies of The Da Vinci Code is testimony to that.

Uh, dude, The Da Vinci Code is fiction. To get mad over that is like the Muslims getting mad over The Satanic Verses, minus the death threat.

4 posted on 04/13/2006 8:19:32 AM PDT by antiRepublicrat
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To: Coleus; MHGinTN

Ping!


5 posted on 04/13/2006 8:19:47 AM PDT by Mr. Silverback ("I was in such a hurry to climb that tree, I punched a squirrel.")
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To: Mr. Silverback
no surprise here as Jesus has been hated since he was born. To quote Jesus himself...

John 15:

18 If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you.

19 If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.

6 posted on 04/13/2006 8:20:04 AM PDT by Battle Hymn of the Republic
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To: Mr. Silverback

i saw that show ... judas said that Jesus appeared as a kid during the last supper, told him that only judas was worthy of the eternal secrets among other oddities ... sounded like the DemUnderground existed around the year 200ad


7 posted on 04/13/2006 8:22:14 AM PDT by InvisibleChurch (But even if he does not...)
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To: Mr. Silverback
Christian pastors and theologians repeatedly rejected all forms of Gnosticism, until, by the middle of the third century, it had all but disappeared.

"Disappeared?" Is that what they call it when the Emporer Constantine slaughtered them all?
8 posted on 04/13/2006 8:22:54 AM PDT by MatD
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Mr. Colson hit the nail on the head. This "gospel" of Judas is a hoax and heresy. Any true Christian can see right through this ridiculous claim.

If any Christian believes this garbage, then they need to get into a good bible study.

That's my 2 cents.


9 posted on 04/13/2006 8:23:08 AM PDT by micho
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To: Mr. Silverback
Well, it’s not a new discovery. This “new gospel” and the heresy it espouses—Gnosticism—were rejected as fiction by Christian leaders and the Church as early as 180 A.D.

Gnosticism was an attempt to add to Christianity an essentially Eastern worldview dressed up with Christian language. It was presented to the Roman world as the true Gospel—complete with endless mysteries that only those with secret knowledge could unravel. Many unsuspecting people were enthralled with Gnostic writings, particularly their sometimes gory and salacious initiation ceremonies. Christian pastors and theologians repeatedly rejected all forms of Gnosticism, until, by the middle of the third century, it had all but disappeared.

This is all I need to know.
The endless TV programs about the "Bermuda Triangle", "UFOs" and "Bigfoot", remind me of both the gullibility and persistence of moonbat subjects, and the large following that they enjoy.

My personal conviction is that we can't even unravel what happened, exactly, 100 years ago in our own culture and country and, yet, some are obsessed with finding "hidden" meaning or fact in long lost myths and fabrications.

Most of us are busy enough with our daily lives that we have no time for mischief. Others, obviously, have a lot more time than knowledge and good sense, and are forever digging up myths to "re-examine".
Contemporary Americans are mostly ignorant of the role that fabrications and negative propaganda played throughout history, primarily around the time of the Reformation. Just become familiar with the outrageously juvenile and primitive beliefs and gullibility of modern illiterate muslims, and you have a good grasp of what most of history has been like.

10 posted on 04/13/2006 8:25:33 AM PDT by Publius6961 (Multiculturalism is the white flag of a dying country)
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The church in America has been made ripe for neo-Gnosticism years of shallow theology. We treasure personal faith at the expense of belonging to a true community of faith that stretches back through countless generations of true believers.

No longer are the creeds studied and dissected for the truth they hold.> We forget that the ancient creeds were written to refute ancient heresies. We think they are useless, but look at where we are now.

11 posted on 04/13/2006 8:25:56 AM PDT by Gamecock ("I save dead people" -- God (Eph 2:5))
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To: Battle Hymn of the Republic

I have been a Christian all my life. But the more I read about the early and middle Christian eras the more I find that the bible as we know it has been rewritten how many times and how much has been lost in these rewritings??????


12 posted on 04/13/2006 8:27:44 AM PDT by snowman1
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To: Mr. Silverback

Garbage like this just makes my faith stronger.


13 posted on 04/13/2006 8:29:38 AM PDT by Catholic Canadian (Formerly Ashamed Canadian - thank you Stephen Harper!)
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To: antiRepublicrat
The Da Vinci Code is fiction.

True enough, but there is enough fact twisted and mixed into it to make it highly pernicious, and there are a good number of people (one of whom cornered me and nearly killed me with boredom at the feed store some time back) who believe that there is a str5ong factual basis for what the book presents as fiction.

14 posted on 04/13/2006 8:30:19 AM PDT by Mad Dawg (If you find yourself in a fair fight, you did not prepare properly.)
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To: mtbopfuyn
Oh, geez. Brown's book is FICTION.

So was Uncle Tom's Cabin. Many people, including Brown himself, believe the book is a form of historical fiction.

15 posted on 04/13/2006 8:30:30 AM PDT by Mr. Silverback ("I was in such a hurry to climb that tree, I punched a squirrel.")
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To: Mr. Silverback
As a Christian, I must say it is a complete embarrassment the way that Christians are threatened by a fictional book.

Dan Brown is forced to build a fortified fence around his Rye NH home because of hostilities and threats from fruitcakes over his book.

It's also embarrassing that most don't know the word Gospel has nothing to do with religion, it means "word" and nothing else.

My suggestion is to be secure in your faith and instead of making a ass of yourselves attacking writers of fiction and old documents that even NG acknowledged are without provenance.
16 posted on 04/13/2006 8:31:03 AM PDT by HEY4QDEMS (Doing the job Americans will do, paying the taxes illegals don't pay.)
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the media is once again out to debunk historical Christianity

Fair enough given that they provide conservatives with yet another golden opportunity to plumb the depths of rabid barking moonbattyness in Old Media.

17 posted on 04/13/2006 8:31:19 AM PDT by Milhous (Sarcasm - the last refuge of an empty mind.)
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To: Mr. Silverback

Jesus said it would have been better had Judas not even been born.........End of Story!


18 posted on 04/13/2006 8:31:30 AM PDT by Boanarges
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To: Catholic Canadian
Garbage like this just makes my faith stronger

You Sir/Madame are among the few who see so clearly.

God Bless
19 posted on 04/13/2006 8:32:50 AM PDT by HEY4QDEMS (Doing the job Americans will do, paying the taxes illegals don't pay.)
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To: Mad Dawg

I have argued with people right here on FR who have stated flatly "The book is fiction, but the history in the book is fact."

Of course, all they had to back up the claim was the book itself.


20 posted on 04/13/2006 8:34:37 AM PDT by Skooz (Chastity prays for me, piety sings............Modesty hides my thighs in her wings......)
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