Has Anyone Read The Gospel of Judas?

by cameo-d 6 Replies latest watchtower bible

• 

  cameo-d

  What did you think of it?

  excerpt from THE GOSPEL OF JUDAS
  A Talk with Elaine Pagels

  .......

  Anyone who joined this movement was aware that he or she could be killed for it, as many had been—Jesus' closet disciple Peter was crucified by the Romans, Paul was beheaded, while other followers of Jesus, like his brother James and his follower Stephen, were lynched by public mobs and riots.

  It was very dangerous to be a part of this movement. And one of the most troubling problems with anybody associated with it was, what do you do if you're arrested? What do you do, knowing that this could happen? Do you run? Do you accept persecution as if this were something God wanted?

  There is a Jewish tradition about persecution and about martyrdom which sees dying for God, as they called it, as a way of witnessing God's power. The followers of Jesus argued intensely about that question.

  And the Gospel of Judas is one of the writings that comes out of these intense, painful arguments involving the threat of violence—arrest, threat of torture and public execution. This shows us what DIDN'T become Christianity—and casts very new light on what did.

  For when Jesus' followers tried to make sense of how their messiah died, some suggested that Jesus died as a sacrifice—"he died for our sins." The idea that Jesus' death is an atonement for the sins of the world becomes the heart of the Christian message, for many. It's certainly the heart of the New Testament gospels.

  There Jesus, before he dies, tells his disciples, when you eat this bread you're eating my body, which I'm giving for you; you're drinking my blood when you drink this wine. Because I'm giving my body and my blood as a voluntary sacrifice for you. So the worship of Jesus' followers became a sacred meal in which people drank wine and ate bread, ceremonially reenacting the death of Jesus.

  We call it the Eucharist, the Mass. We're so used to it we hardly see that it's a cannibalistic feast.

  But whoever wrote the Gospel of Judas has Jesus laughing at the disciples, to say, what you're doing is ludicrous. Turning the death of Jesus into something like an animal sacrifice.

  Eating flesh and drinking blood ritually, even, is a kind of obscene gesture. This author, this follower of Jesus, sees the idea of Jesus dying for our sins as a complete misunderstanding of the whole message of Jesus.

  http://www.edge.org/3rd_culture/pagels07/pagels07_index.html
• 

  BabaYaga

  I have read bits and starts of it. As for your quote there, I do love Elaine Pagels, and have read most of her works on the Gnostic Gospels.

  This author, this follower of Jesus, sees the idea of Jesus dying for our sins as a complete misunderstanding of the whole message of Jesus.

  I wholeheartedly agree.
• 

  BabaYaga

  Nat'l Geo has a PDF available:

  http://www.nationalgeographic.com/lostgospel/_pdf/GospelofJudas.pdf
• 

  cameo-d

  Thank you, Baba!

  Judas, far from being the outcast portrayed in the New Testament, was Jesus' favored disciple. He alone of the disciples recognized Jesus' true nature as spirit, and Jesus rewarded him by naming him the highest spirit, the 13th, and revealing the truth to him.

  While the other disciples worshipped the biblical creator or demiurge who fashioned this world, Judas recognized that Jesus had been sent by the higher true God who existed beyond the demiurge in a purely spiritual realm.

  Jesus came to reveal this reality to humans so that they might know that their material bodies were not of God, but a lower substance designed by the evil demiurge to entrap their spirits and lead them astray.

  Death meant the shedding of that which was not part of the true self. It freed the spirit to return to the true God above the demiurge.

  http://www.miamiherald.com/opinion/inbox/story/993946.html
• 

  truthsetsonefree

  Because of the Church and subsequent events in history, many have come to believe that Jesus Christ was some holy man. But truth be told he could have been just another man who had a following, with all the associated problems that go along with that including dissent. If anyone in our modern day claimed any of the things that Christ is said to have claimed or been, we'd see him or her as a "nut", maybe even a cult leader. People adore these characters only because they are ancient and we have no way of knowing the full facts. So people (religious and non-religious) select those that they believe most probable. But human nature being what it is the likelihood is that Jesus was more as described above than any holy individual.
• 

  sir82

  Check out Bart Ehrman's book The Lost Gospel of Judas Iscariot for a brief synopsis and analysis. It's also quite fascinating to see how the document was discovered and finally, after decades in obscurity even after its discovery, brought to light.
• 

  cameo-d

  I found some very interesting conclusions based on Gospel of Judas on this page:

  http://www.rense.com/general71/defmo.htm

  excerpt:

  This gospel states that when Jesus appeared on earth, he performed miracles and spoke of mysteries. "Often he did not appear to his disciples as himself" the gospel states. On one occasion, when he found his disciples in "pious observance" and giving thanks to their god, he laughed and they asked why. In his answer, it is made abundantly clear that their god is not his god - he is not the son of their god, and they did not know his identity. In fact, he does not speak highly of their god. (This sentiment can be also found in the New Testament in John 8, where Jesus refers to their god as a liar, a murderer, and the devil.)

  Only moments after understanding this, Judas alone makes his observation: "I know who you are and where you have come from. You are from the immortal realm of Barbelo. And I am not worthy to utter the name of the one who has sent you."