Posted on 04/09/2006 3:45:01 PM PDT by jude24
1. Others again declare that Cain derived his being from the Power above, and acknowledge that Esau, Korah, the Sodomites, and all such persons, are related to themselves. On this account, they add, they have been assailed by the Creator, yet no one of them has suffered injury. For Sophia was in the habit of carrying off that which belonged to her from them to herself. They declare that Judas the traitor was thoroughly acquainted with these things, and that he alone, knowing the truth as no others did, accomplished the mystery of the betrayal; by him all things, both earthly and heavenly, were thus thrown into confusion. They produce a fictitious history of this kind, which they style the Gospel of Judas.
(Excerpt) Read more at ccel.org ...
The Gospel of Judas is suprising only to those who are unaware of the process by which the New Testament canon was crystallized. This comes as a shock to those who assume the New Testament was always an integrated whole, unaware of the Church's role in identifying and collating authoritative, authentic, inspired Scripture from among the hundreds if not thousands of Christian writings with varying degrees of orthodoxy.
Ping
Excellent find. That online library of the Fathers is a great tool though there is no really good search engine. By the way, I have spent the past few days trying to explain just what you've said in post #1.
Thanks for the link. I do have a very nice searchable edition of the Ante & Post Nicene Fathers on CD...and it was a bit on the pricey side! :)
Was Irenaeus alive during Jesus' lifetime? Of course not.
His views of the facts regarding the relationship of Judas and Jesus are thus unimportant.
It is true that the earliest Gospel (Mark) was the least anti- Judas story. As each successsor Gospel was written 20-30 years later, Judas was transformed into an evil figure, tansformed into a figure that was intended to defame Jews in general. This was to serve Rome's interests.
I saw the documentary on the National Geographic Channel, and was quie impressed. There is even talk of declaring Judas a saint. Food for thought.
How many untruths have we been taught all these years?
Judas was no saint. He deliberately betrayed Jesus Christ primarily because of his keen interest in destruction of the Romans.
It is documented that Judas was a member of the Zealot party, and probably expected Jesus to use his miraculous powers to zap the Romans. The etymology of "Iscariot" is in fact related to Sicarii, a sect of the Zealots committed to the violent overthrow of Rome. If Judas was a Sicarius (which may or may not be historically possible), then it's possible that he saw Jesus as the Messiah in the fashion expected by the Zealots: a military leader who would zap the Romans into oblivion. If this scenario was the case, then Judas may well have been trying to force Jesus into a position where he had to reveal himself as the divinely appointed warrior-king who would destroy his enemies.
However, as Jesus' message of peace and forgiveness became more clear to Judas, he probably began to doubt Jesus as the Christ. The Jewish elders, whose egocentric anger was stirred by Christ's selfless teachings, sought His removal from the public forum.
Jesus was arrested, beaten and executed as the result of a conspiracy financed by the Jewish Sanhedrin. The Sanhedrin paid Judas to find and arrest Jesus, and thus began Christ's unfortunate persecution.
And as for Judas' supposed betrayal?
Craig Hill, professor of New Testament at Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, D.C., would let the villain off history's hook, papyrus or not.
"What Jesus did — raising crowds and civic unrest — would have gotten him killed anywhere in the Roman Empire," Hill said.
Who cares what Craig Hill says.
Zealots sought the complete destruction of the Romans, which was an action Jesus did not come here to do.
When Judas realized that Jesus came to offer peace and salvation to all people, he believed that Jesus was not the Christ and thus betrayed Him for 30 pieces of silver.
If Judas was carrying out the will of God as this so-called "Gospel" says, then why did he commit suicide shortly thereafter?
This "Gospel" is in complete contradiction with Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. John's Gospel indicates that Judas was overcome by Satan at the Last Supper. So who are you going to believe? The Beloved Apostle, or Judas?
What you say may very well be true. And many parts of the Gospel of Judas may also be true. There is not that much contradiction.
John appears to be the least reliable of the four accepted Gospels, and had an agenda of marginalizing and insulting the existing Jewish community. Mark was completely neutral about Judas, and it is believed that that Gospel is the most authoritative and earliest version of what really transpired.
Judas was and is under the O.T. judgment of the Jews. And how does one know if Judas did not repent for his actions before his death, such as the thief on the cross that believed, and would see Christ in paradises which some would argue is the non burning side of hell the side that Christ took captive and lead to heaven upon His resurrection. How does one know if Judas was one of them?
People like to vilify Judas and the Jews for the crucifixion of Christ, but my bible says that He laid down His life and that no man no demon no angel and certainly no devil had the power to take it!
Well, I simply refuse to believe that Jesus knowingly asked Judas to betray him as suggested by this National Geographic program.
It just doesn't make any sense at all.
I believe the word of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John over Judas any day of the week.
Given that Easter is here, I suspect that this program is yet another attempt by the MSM to distort Christianity and thus dishearten its believers.
If anything, the Gospel of Judas makes you have even more respect and love for Jesus, not less.
I always thought that Judas was a cartoon figure in the Gospel of John anyway. After all, what “betrayal” is Judas performing? He points out Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. This is hardly an action worthy of payment because Jesus wasn’t exactly in hiding.
George Washington penned a secret biography that I have in my possession, and I am willing to sell it to you. No need to worry that it is 200+ years after the fact. In in, he proclaims that he was actually in league with Benedict Arnold, and never really had tried to win that war with the British.
Are you interested? Perhaps National Geographic would be.
I'm certain that the Dan Rather Documents section at CBS news would give big money....
Is that the one where he confessed to wearing women’s clothing just like dear of dad?
What an outstanding find. I've heard the document reveals George Washington and Benedict Arnold were also actually French and consequently if we are all true patriots, we must now accept our French heritage...
(I agree with you, ... IMHO, the most telling sign of the GOJ' s insignificance is the commentary performed by its advocates reveals an almost complete dearth of spiritual knowledge as taught in the 66 books of our canon. If the GOJ had any significance it would at least be consistent with the rest of Scripture.)
This also indicates this battle is for the unbeliever and religious institutions as opposed to the believer and the Church.
Well, gee. That settles it then.
Hehehe
Emmet,
I believe your take is as close to the truth as we can get, given the gospel accounts. And as I believe that Judas may have began to doubt the Savior once he realized that Jesus did not come to bring "peace" (hence, destroying his enemies), but a "sword" (hence, furthering the division among the Jews which would certainly thwart the Zealots plans), it was not until after he witnessed the Lord's atoning sacrifice that he realized he actually was the Christ. Once that realization manifested, he could not bear the weight of guilt and pain, resulting in his subsequent suicide.
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