Posted on 01/12/2006 7:42:57 AM PST by Alouette
Proposed ‘rehabilitation’ of the man who was paid 30 pieces of silver to identify Jesus to Roman soldiers in the Garden of Gethsemane, comes on the ground that he was not deliberately evil, but was just ‘fulfilling his part in God’s plan, the London Times reports
Judas Iscariot, the disciple who betrayed Jesus with a kiss, is to be given a makeover by Vatican scholars, according to the London Times.
The proposed “rehabilitation” of the man who was paid 30 pieces of silver to identify Jesus to Roman soldiers in the Garden of Gethsemane, comes on the ground that he was not deliberately evil, but was just “fulfilling his part in God’s plan,” the London Times said.
Christians have traditionally blamed Judas for aiding and abetting the Crucifixion, and his name is synonymous with treachery. According to St Luke, Judas was “possessed by Satan.”
According to the London Times, a campaign led by Monsignor Walter Brandmuller, head of the Pontifical Committee for Historical Science, is aimed at persuading believers to look kindly at a man reviled for 2,000 years.
Mgr Brandmuller told fellow scholars it was time for a “re-reading” of the Judas story. He is supported by Vittorio Messori, a prominent Catholic writer close to both Pope Benedict XVI and the late John Paul II.
Signor Messori said that the rehabilitation of Judas would “resolve the problem of an apparent lack of mercy by Jesus toward one of his closest collaborators.”
He told La Stampa that there was a Christian tradition that held that Judas was forgiven by Jesus and ordered to purify himself with “spiritual exercises” in the desert.
'Judas portrayed with a hooked nose'
In scholarly circles, it has long been unfashionable to demonize Judas and Catholics in Britain are likely to welcome Judas’ rehabilitation.
The London Times quoted Father Allen Morris, Christian Life and Worship secretary for the Catholic Bishops of England and Wales, as saying, “If Christ died for all — is it possible that Judas too was redeemed through the Master he betrayed?”
The “rehabilitation” of Judas could help the Pope’s drive to improve Christian-Jewish relations, which he has made a priority of his pontificate.
Some Bible experts say Judas was “a victim of a theological libel which helped to create anti Semitism” by forming an image of him as a “sinister villain” prepared to betray for money.
In many medieval plays and paintings Judas is portrayed with a hooked nose and exaggerated Semitic features. In Dante’s Inferno, Judas is relegated to the lowest pits of Hell, where he is devoured by a three-headed demon.
The move to clear Judas’s name coincides with plans to publish the alleged Gospel of Judas for the first time in English, German and French. Though not written by Judas, it is said to reflect the belief among early Christians — now gaining ground in the Vatican — that in betraying Christ Judas was fulfilling a divine mission, which led to the arrest and Crucifixion of Jesus and hence to man’s salvation, according to the London Times.
'Fell headlong'
Mgr Brandmuller said that he expected “no new historical evidence” from the supposed gospel, which had been excluded from the canon of accepted Scripture.
But it could “serve to reconstruct the events and context of Christ’s teachings as they were seen by the early Christians.” This included that Jesus had always preached “forgiveness for one’s enemies.”
Some Vatican scholars have expressed concern over the reconsideration of Judas. Monsignor Giovanni D’Ercole, a Vatican theologian, said it was “dangerous to re-evaluate Judas and muddy the Gospel accounts by reference to apocryphal writings. This can only create confusion in believers.”
The Gospels tell how Judas later returned the 30 pieces of silver — his “blood money” — and hanged himself, or according to the Acts of the Apostles, “fell headlong and burst open so that all his entrails burst out."
So was the thief on the Cross who repented of his sins. The problem is, no one knows if Judas repented or not. Even as he strangled upon the rope, he could have been repenting and unable to reverse his imminent death.
"Judge not", and all that...
Thats just it though.
No one that claims Christ as their Saviour pays for their sins. We have a gift in Jesus that did that for us.
If we had to pay for our sins...Christs sacrifice on the cross would be incomplete. We know thats not true.
yeah, that would be unfortunate.
The idea that Judas was blamed because he was Jewish is just nutty. Whoever titled this article does his readers a disservice; Vatican scholars debating a position doesn't constitute a "Vatican move".
The only thing about which Brandmuller appears to have spoken recently, is Islam.
From Lepanto to Baghdad, There’s a Road that Leads through Rome.
An interesting and honest comment. I have thought for years that RC's are always church shopping,( some ultra-conservatives I know boast that they drive past 6 or so other parishes to the one with Gregorian chant.) I guess it could be likened to being in an HMO,,you know you have to stay in network, choose from the approved participating providers. Really very protestant this activity.
So you don't know why there are 30,000 Protestant denominations? Am I wrong to assume it's because they all believe something different? Or is it because they all have (ack!) different TRADITIONS? That couldn't possibly be. Protestants live and worship by Scripture alone!
But to paraphrase one of your earlier answers, "since you're not actually attending a Protestant church, how would you know what every one believes?"
Simple deduction proves they can't all have the same interpretation. If they do, and they choose to be separate, it would seem to be an obvious rejection of Christ's prayer for unity in His church and clearly not inspired by the Holy Spirit.
Well maybe. In Acts, it says he "having fallen down headlong, burst in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out". Doesn't say he fell from the rope. Doesn't say how he fell headlong, but nothing about hanging.
Millenarianism is the bread and butter of fundamentalist interpretation - post, pre, whatever. The Rapture, again, pre-trib, mid-trib, post-trib, etc. The Catholic Church unequivocally rejects both of these theologies.
If the denominations are arguing over how to worship, they're arguing over matters of tradition, which should scandalize all Protestants since that was the crux of the break with Rome back at the Reformation.
Where we differ is on the non essentials
So Protestants continue to reject Christ's prayer for unity within His flock over "non-essential" issues? I would not want to be accountable for that before God.
I looked into the Passion plays of Europe during the "Passion of the Christ" uproar. I found problems associated with Passion plays to be rather rare and almost exclusively confined to German areas.
"I can remember in the mid-sixty's when as a young man I saw the Headlines:Pope Forgives Jews for Jesus's"
You've been had by the MSM. The Pope didn't "forgive" Jews he simply restated doctrine and mentioned that any tribalist interpretation was wrong.
What about Matthew 27:5?
"Then last of all he sent his son to them, saying, 'They will respect my son.' But when the vinedressers saw the son, they said among themselves, 'This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and seize his inheritance.' So they took him and cast him out of the vineyard and killed him. ... Now when the chief priests and Pharisees heard His parables, they perceived that He was speaking of them." (Matt. 21:37-39,45)
"Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ." (Acts 2:36)
"The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified His Servant Jesus, whom you delivered up and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let Him go. But you denied the Holy One and the Just, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, and killed the Prince of life, whom God raised from the dead, of which we are witnesses." (Acts 3:13-15)
Because Judas was doomed to suffer for the sins he was to commit. But they were also actions necessary for the prophecies to be fulfilled and his role was mandated by God. Judas suffered the same fate all sinners face. He was separated from communion with God.
Did God decree that separation? Did Jesus?
My reading of the Scriptures is that God, through the proof in the life of Jesus, forgives ALL sins. All that is required is belief in Jesus and true contrition. If Judas repented his actions and believed in Jesus then he is now sitting with Jesus in Heaven.
My belief is that there is no time limit on accepting God's message delivered through Jesus' life. Even after we die, if we accept God's love, which He has proven through the sacrifice of His Son, we are forgiven, regardless of our sins. We don't have to convince Him. We have to convince US!
The message of Jesus is that anyone will be forgiven, even Judas. That is fundamental. Whether Judas has learned that lesson is an entirely separate question and one that we won't be able to answer till we are in no position to tell anyone else.
There *is* such a thing known as "harmonization of Scripture passages," you know. The Gospel account in Matthew 27:5 is entirely unambiguous: he "went and hanged himself." Both that and the verse from Acts 1:18 that you cite are *equally* inspired. In this case, they are not even seemingly contradictory, and the harmonization is easy. He hanged himself, the rope broke (or the thing he attached the rope to broke), and he plummeted to earth, where his "bowels gushed out." Whether he was still alive or already dead when this happened isn't stated, but that is of no importance to the question here. He *clearly* had the intention of killing himself via hanging. Neither account contradicts the possibility, while one states it emphatically.
If I told you that I went on a trip to Europe and visited Paris, does that in itself *deny* that I may have also visited Rome and any number of other places? Of course not. I just didn't happen to give an exhaustive accounting of my trip to you. But you can hardly say that the omission "proves" that I didn't go anywhere besides Paris. Omission is not denial.
Judas ABSOLUTELY hanged himself. At some point, his body fell to earth and burst open. End of story.
Thanks. I was merely hoping he'd check the verse and get the message. Nice analysis of the situation.
Yet, those who commit suicide often do not have this understanding. They still may have, however, that small seed of faith..which is all salvation requires.
Some of us make large mistakes in life, mistakes they may believe that God can not forgive unless they make the ultimate sacrrifice. The ultimate unknown: "Will God know and fogive?"death at my own hand.
>Dispensationalist, premillenialists, postmillenialists, evangelicals, 7th-Day adventisits, Jehova's Witnesses, for starters all have different ideas of Revelation.<
Again your ignorance is showing.Dispensationalist, premillenialists, postmillenialists, evangelicals are not denominations.I infact Evangelicals within the same denomination are proponents of all of the ..ists.None of which effect salvation.Jehova's Witnesses are a cult and are not Christian because they deny the Divinity of Jesus Christ.
>So Protestants continue to reject Christ's prayer for unity within His flock over "non-essential" issues? I would not want to be accountable for that before God.<
We are unified at the base of the cross.I could care less wheather you refuse to be sprinkled rather than partaking of Biblical Baptism.(If you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ you are in his kingdom)I could care less if you sing the notes I prefer instruments.I could care less wheather you beliebve in election or free will all that matters is you believe on the Son of God.
The biggest impediment to Unity in Christianity is the refusal of Roman Catholics to take Communion with the rest of Christianity.We accept your testimony that you know the Lord and will allow you to sit at our communion table any day if you know Jesus.
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