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Today's Top Five

1. The Gospel of Judas beyond the ecstatic headlines
There are signs of a backlash against the initial suggestions that the Gospel of Judas could shake the foundations of Christianity. After an initial wave of poor reporting and misrepresentation, articles now are in corrective mode, noting that this newly released manuscript is far too young, unreliable, and anachronistic to tell us anything about Jesus or Judas, and it seems to offer little new information even about second- and third-century Gnosticism. There seems to be growing doubt that this is even the Gospel of Judas discussed by Irenaeus.

Some of the best and worst analysis pieces are appearing in familiar media outlets, but those truly interested in the scholarly discussions will want to head elsewhere. The usual Biblioblogs are full of interesting comments (though most are surprised that this is making so many headlines). Mark Goodacre is busy as always, but Stephen C. Carlson's Hypotyposeis, which has posted on the Gospel of Judas for more than a year, is Weblog's blog of choice for this topic. Carlson has a great post, for example, on The Gospel of Judas vs. The Da Vinci Code. Ben Witherington has been very busy, too (1 | 2 | 3 | 4) but one wishes that he'd provide outside links once in a while. If you really want to read what Bible scholars from Bart Ehrman to Darrell Bock are saying to each other, go beyond the blogs and check out the e-mail lists. Weblog's favorite is XTalk: Historical Jesus and Christian Origins (494 members), but Ancient Near East (582 members) and textualcriticism (317) are worth checking out, too.

If you want to be really cool, though, tell your friends about a little-known document that's even more amazing than the Gospel of Judas. It's called the Epistle of Judas, and it makes some pretty wild claims. First, the document is reportedly older than almost any New Testament book, and it draws heavily upon non-canonical Jewish literature. It includes some odd stories like the archangel Michael fighting with the Devil over a corpse, and quite a bit of discussion about sexual indulgence. Unlike most New Testament books, the Epistle of Judas appears to be written in Judea itself. The book makes the dramatic claim that its author, Judas, was the brother of the apostle James (the first leader of the church). Judas apparently makes a subtle claim that he's Jesus' brother, too.

This Epistle of Judas includes some advice that may be applicable for those frustrated with all the hype over the much-later Gospel of Judas. "Have mercy on those who doubt," Judas wrote. "Save others by snatching them out of the fire; to others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh." *

2. North Central University replaces student newspaper editors
North Central University, an Assemblies of God school, has demoted the editor-in-chief and news editor of the campus newspaper, The Northern Light. Gordon Anderson, president of the university, told Inside Higher Ed that school officials and donors were upset over the paper's coverage of a pending visit to the school by the Soulforce Equality Ride, a gay advocacy group, and with an opinion piece criticizing the Assemblies of God doctrine of speaking in tongues as initial physical evidence of baptism in the Holy Spirit. Anderson said that the fact that the editor and news editor are married provides little assurance of editorial oversight of news pieces. In an interview with the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, the editors called the move "censorship" and said they had earlier decided to stop production of the paper as a protest against what they call orders "to only publish things that cast North Central in a positive light." The articles are available online, as are blogs from the removed editor and various supporters. The school's website says the paper exists in part "to give students a forum in which to discuss current events … The opinion section is a venue where students should be free to express their opinions on matters that concern them. This includes columns or commentaries that advocate change in university policy or practice."

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April (Web-only) 2006, Vol. 50