The Gospel of Judas by Rodolphe Kasser, Marvin Meyer (Editor), Gregor Wurst (Editor), Marvin W. Meyer (Editor), Bart D. Ehrman (Editor)
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(Paperback - Reprint)
- Pub. Date: June 2008
- 224pp
- Sales Rank: 118,322
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Product Details
- Pub. Date: June 2008
- Publisher: National Geographic Society
- Format: Paperback, 224pp
- Sales Rank: 118,322
- ISBN-13: 9781426200489
- ISBN: 142620048X
- Edition Number: 2
- Edition Description: Reprint
Synopsis
For 1,600 years its message lay hidden. When the bound papyrus pages of this lost gospel finally reached scholars who could unlock its meaning, they were astounded. Here was a gospel that had not been seen since the early days of Christianity, and which few experts had even thought existed–a gospel told from the perspective of Judas Iscariot, history’s ultimate traitor. And far from being a villain, the Judas that emerges in its pages is a hero.
In this radical reinterpretation, Jesus asks Judas to betray him. In contrast to the New Testament Gospels, Judas Iscariot is presented as a role model for all those who wish to be disciples of Jesus and is the one apostle who truly understands Jesus.
Discovered by farmers in the 1970s in Middle Egypt, the codex containing the gospel was bought and sold by antiquities traders, secreted away, and carried across three continents, all the while suffering damage that reduced much of it to fragments. In 2001, it finally found its way into the hands of a team of experts who would painstakingly reassemble and restore it. The Gospel of Judas has been translated from its original Coptic to clear prose, and is accompanied by commentary that explains its fascinating history in the context of the early Church, offering a whole new way of understanding the message of Jesus Christ.
Biography
Rodolphe Kasser, Ph.D., a professor emeritus on the Faculty of Arts at the University of Geneva, is one of the world’s leading Coptologists. He has organized the restoration and prepared the editio princeps of codex Tchacos, containing the Gospel of Judas and three other Coptic Gnostic texts.
Marvin Maeyer, Ph.D., Griset Professor of Bible and Christian Studies at Chapman University Albert Schweitzer Institute, is one of the foremost scholars on Gnoticism, the Nag Hammadi Library and texts about Jesus outside the New Testament.
Gregor Wurst, Ph.D., is professor of Ecclesiastical History and Patristics at the University of Augsburg, Germany.
Bart D. Ehrman, Ph.D., is the James A. Gray Distinguished Professor and Chair of the Department of Religious Studies, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and an expert on early Christianity.
Customer Reviews
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In My Opinionby M_L_Gooch_SPHR
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July 03, 2009: This book was a Christmas present from my wife in 2006. I have read it twice and refer back to it on occasion.
As a fan of Ehrman and Meyer, I was delighted to see both embedded in this singular work. While as a conservative believer, I often find myself at odds with both writers, I really enjoy their intellectual approach to critical thinking and the resulting theories. I wish I was a smidgeon as knowledgeable as these two. This book is akin to reading a tome where Hannibal Lecter turns out to be an undercover officer for the FBI. Quite a different turn of events. The Gospel of Judas is of the same ilk. While the traditional Judas is the betrayer of Jesus, this Judas is in on the inside loop from the beginning. And while this disturbs many, a close reading of the canonical NT reveals to me the same story. I have since early days, considered Judas's role as one of necessity and pre-formed prior to the arrest. Many today dismiss the so-called Gnostic gospels as being a small fringe in the early church. Before we denote this fringe title to them we must bear in mind that a large percentage of modern archeological finds are of the Gnostic theme. Thereby it is quite possible they were more wide-spread than the Orthodox Church would have us believe. This is not to say they are right or wrong. It is just another one of those messy facts that we should include in our thinking. Additional excellent reading is: Misquoting Jesus: The Story Behind Who Changed the Bible and Why (Plus), The First Paul: Reclaiming the Radical Visionary Behind the Church's Conservative Icon, Jesus, Interrupted: Revealing the Hidden Contradictions in the Bible (And Why We Don't Know About Them), Dethroning Jesus: Exposing Popular Culture's Quest to Unseat the Biblical Christ, God's Problem: How the Bible Fails to Answer Our Most Important Question--Why We Suffer Greater Than You Think: A Theologian Answers the Atheists About God. I hope you find this review helpful. Michael L. GoochI Also Recommend: Misquoting Jesus, God's Problem, Jesus, Interrupted, The First Paul, Dethroning Jesus.
Interestingby Anonymous
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September 05, 2007: While I am not convinced that this particular text was written by the traditional church, I can see how it would be excluded if it was. The concepts in this text are closer to Judaism or the Gnostic concepts than the Christian community. If this text had been included in the typical Christian Bible, we would have a very different religion, indeed.
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