I was mildly curious to read the the entry over at 3quarksdaily about the lost Gospel of Judas. I actually found the story of the long and strange journey of the text more interesting than National Geographic’s dramatic, media-whore unveiling. Get your sneak preview of the magazine’s coverage!
What I don’t understand is what everyone has against Judas Iscariot. This fellow in the NG story seems to sum up best what the world thinks of Judas:
“This lost gospel, providing information on Judas Iscariot — considered for 20 centuries and by hundreds of millions of believers as an antichrist of the worst kind—bears witness to something completely different from what was said [about Judas] in the Bible,” said Rodolphe Kasser, a clergyman and former professor in the Faculty of Arts at the University of Geneva in Switzerland.
I may have been raised a believer and may not now be a practicing Catholic, but I AM NOT one of those people who thinks Judas is such an asshole. The newly revealed text says Judas was only obeying his master’s wishes when he betrayed Jesus with a kiss. I, for one, believe Judas. And here’s why…
Through the catechism classes I had to sit through before being confirmed when I was 13, I was sternly warned and told to be filled with the fear of God about playing the lottery and hanging posters — all “sins” that break the commandant of “Thou shall not have any other gods before me.” My sources tell me this is the first commandment.
But when it came to learning about the New Testament and Jesus’ betrayal by Judas, usually taught right before Easter, the lessons were never God-fearing, never diatribes about Judas being the antichrist. Instead I have memories of feeling sadness, maybe pity, for what Judas went through. But I also remember thinking, there was something orchestrated about the whole kiss-on-the-cheek scene in the Garden of Getsemany. It was like Jesus knew what Judas was going to do and Judas knew that Jesus knew, and Jesus knew that Judas knew that he knew. I could never shake the feeling that Jesus and Judas were in cahoots with each other about what was going to happen.
And really, when you think about it, even if Judas did happen to betray Jesus and this Gospel of Judas is a hoax, I don’t think believers should be piling on all this hate on Judas. I think instead we should thank Judas. For if he hadn’t betrayed Jesus with a kiss, Jesus wouldn’t have been put through all the hell of being whipped, crowned with thorns and nailed and left to die a cross. And guess what, people, if Jesus hadn’t died on the cross, there would be no ressurection, no Christianity, no being SAVED and no wars fought in the name of Christ. Uh, I guess that last part isn’t something to be thankful for. Damn, Judas, was it really worth 30 silver coins to plunge us into two thousand years of repeated bloodshed?
The way I see it, Judas just helped Jesus become the most famous Jew in history. Depending on how you look at it, I guess that makes Judas the second most famous Jew. It’s all about getting publicity, people, even 2000 years ago. And Judas knew exactly what he was doing.
UPDATE: The CBC News has got a good angle on the Gospel of Judas story, including more insight from Rodolphe Kasser who I quoted above.
