2 of 2

The reason that lost Gospels like Judas disappeared is not, as some are now claiming, that "orthodoxy" is simply a record of the winners writing history. Rather, these Gnostic texts were rejected precisely because they had rejected the Christian continuity with historic Jewish faith. Orthodoxy was a serious attempt to be faithful to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob rather than to seek the little-G god within.

Finally, the Gospel of Judas appeals to our American neighbors because we have made a religion out of diversity.

Americans have a phobia about making commitments to truth. (Witness all the ranting in the mainstream media after 9/11 against fundamentalisms in particular and religion in general. Merely believing that you know the truth, it was claimed, is tantamount to breeding terrorism.) An ancient document that propagates an upside-down reading of the Judas-Jesus relationship reinforces this prejudice. The tendency to grasp at excuses for not making a commitment to live out a particular truth was illustrated by National Public Radio commentator Peter Manseau. He compared the Gospel of Judas to Jesus Christ Superstar and concluded: "Whether it is the Gospel according to Judas, Thomas, Mary Magdalene, or even Andrew Lloyd Webber, each one reminds us, with the shock of an electric guitar in the desert, that both faith and history are more complicated than we imagine."

That kind of hazy thinking, like Superstar itself, belongs to the early '70s. Can we please grow up?

Copyright © 2006 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.

More on the Gospel of Judas includes:

Books & Culture's Books of the Week
Betrayed Again | The Gospel of Judas Roadshow.

The Jesus and Judas Papers: A Look at Recent Claims about Jesus | Questions about history may be sincere, but make no mistake: There is an agenda at work. (April 13, 2006)

Weblog: Kisses for Judas | The Gospel of Judas beyond the ecstatic headlines (April 11, 2006)

The Judas We Never Knew | Disgraced disciple actually conspired with Jesus, according to newly released Gospel of Judas. Should we believe it? (April 6, 2006)

Weblog: Good News for Judas | Times of London: Vatican to "rehabilitate" Judas's reputation (Jan. 13, 2006)

See more in our Da Vinci Code, Bible, and Theology pages.

first page |  2 of 2

share this page

June 2006, Vol. 50, No. 6