I've been fascinated by the recent translation of the second century Gospel of Judas. (makes me wish we got the National Geographic Channel - though perhaps the magazine will follow up)
I happened to be in the car while an NPR show was discussing it with a panel that included one of the translators (it was written in Coptic, a language still used today, and apparently making a slight resurgence in Egypt), and two other bible scholars, one an evangelical.
From the moment I heard that the gist of this 'new' Gospel was that Judas was 'in on it' and was simply doing Jesus' bidding so that things would transpire as they were supposed to it was a bit of an 'of course' revelation to me. My many trips through Holy Week as a young Catholic made it pretty clear that Jesus knew what his fate was going to be (and sought it) and was doing everything possible to make it happen. Of course Judas' actions were part of the plan. That makes total sense to me, while it apparently blows the mind of the 'literal' and 'one and only' Bible crowd.
I learned a bit more listening to the show today, namely that in this Gospel Judas doesn't exactly make the others look too good. They in returned bashed him and so what you seem to have is a bit of high school drama playing out among the disciples, with Jesus as the coolest kid. A large number of them wanted to be known as Jesus closest confidant, and Peter and Paul generally won out.
There are lots of reasons not to read too much into this Gospel, with it's later attribution and nearly two millenia of Judas bashing to contend with, but it is fascinating. Add it to the other fascinating Gospels floating out there (Mary of Magdalen - not a prostitute no matter what anyone tells you, and crazy Thomas with his descriptions of Jesus' journey into hell and back) and you've got a far more interesting religion than I was ever exposed to as a child. Black and white nothing.
This does nothing to change my atheistic tendencies, but does fuel more thoughts about the religion as a whole and where it came from and how it got there. There was significant discussion about that status of the early church and how generally disjointed it was, how 'Jewish' it was likely to become, and who became its principal spokespeople. Of course this all flows in and around the whole Da Vinci Code and its related though admittedly sketchy ideas of Jesus life following his 'crucifixion' and his subsequent family and their descendants.
All of it really trips my trigger.
Oh yeah, in Greek, which virtually all of the original Gospels were first written in, the word for 'betrays' can also be translated as 'turns over', a subtle distinction that has perhaps been at the center of 2000 years of Judas bashing.
Link to the English translation as a pdf.
12 comments:
Wow, to think a movie about the secrets of the Bible is coming out this summer... what are the chances...
I do find this intensely fascinating, as well. If I had time to devote to another serious hobby, this would be on the short list. I would like to do more reading, as I find time. Johnsons both have read some really interesting books-I need to get the names again. Of course, it'll be another month and a half till I get done with godddamn Moby Dick.
Long, long before it came to this point-like back in my Sunday school days, I am almost positive I was having thoughts of "Come on, you're telling me that if Jesus didn't REALLY want them to get him, he couldn't have done something? Jedi mind trick? Levitate and float away? SOMETHING?" Obviously, there's that whole praying in Gethsemane thing-but if that's the case that it is the plan that God & Jesus allegedly discussed what needed to happen-then why WOULD everyone come down so hard on Judas. It's mind boggling how it doesn't make sense when it's reduced to it's most simple pieces of logic. It does make me wonder what all those groups are doing who are supposedly spending countless hours in "Bible study." I've not heard tell of a critical deconstruction that's come out of it yet. Always seems like it's more of the kind of stuff that went on when I was dragged into a Bible study with a group of Campus Crusaders for Christ at Wartburg. Again, Pee Wee on the boxcar.
Most of Moby Dick is really good. Some of the chapters on the specifics of whaling got to be a bit much. Especially the parts after the whales are caught.
I was watching the National Geographic channel last night. They were trying to scientifically explain the 10 plagues. Interesting, but the timing is so perfect for all these plagues that there is no way it could happen without divine direction.
They also tried to explain how the red sea was split, but agian the timing so too perfect to be by chance. I saw advertisements for the show that Mixdorf wants to see. There is suggestion that the Red Sea was interpreted incorectly. Some say that it was the Reed Sea, not the Red Sea. I am glad that faith does not require scientific explanation.
10 Plagues (at least by that name) are new to me - I'll have to Wikipedia them.
As for the parting of the Red Sea, I'm in the camp that trying to find a scientific solution to something like that is like trying to find a scientific solution to how the horses that pulled Apollo's chariot didn't get burned by the sun. It's irrelevant.
Fact is that all of that Old Testament stuff wasn't written down for centuries, and we've all played the telephone game.
For the literal Bible believers out there I ask - let's start with Genesis. Which is it? Did Eve come from Adam's rib or was she created exactly the same as Adam? Both are in the first chapters of Genesis and they are wildly contradictory.
The one that seems to have been adopted (Adam's rib) most completely could be the source of thousands of years of female subjegation by men, stripping them of rights and making them second class citizens. The other puts them on more or less equal footing, at least until the snale shows up.
Ooh. Ten Plagues - good stuff.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ten_plagues
Blood
Frogs
Lice
Flies (or wild animals depending on translation)
Disease
Boils
Hail and Fire
Locusts
Darkness
Death of firstborn (Passover-related)
These are the same sorts of things that crazies like Pat Robertson like to ascribe to God's wrath about AIDS, homosexuality or our decadent lifestyle.
Luckily for us, 3000 years of science has allowed us to understand that plagues of darkness are solar eclipses, and in fact we know when they're coming. People hang outside with pinhole cameras to watch them.
Locust 'plagues' have occured in Africa within the last couple of years.
Blood - red tide?
Disease (related to livestock) - mad com/bird flu anyone?
And so on.
Timing as far as the Bible goes is another tricky subject, as most of those early Jews (Moses, Aaron, etc not to mention Methuselah) lived longer than anyone in the 3000 years since.
Christians put a lot of faith in a bunch of Jews, most of whom they believe will burn in hell come the end of time. It's not like if Moses were alive today he'd likely switch to Christianity. As far as he ever knew, God spoke to him as a Jew, and what he believed is right.
Red tide on the Nile? They first six can all play off of each other. Some bacteria or something in the water forcing frogs out. stored grains lead to a lot of rats which carry lice and fleas. Frog out of water equals death and a lot of flies. These (deer)flies bite and transmit disease. etc... Hard to find a cause that simply takes out the first born.
Red tide or something like red tide as you say - some bacteria related infestation.
First born could be a bunch of crazy Jews on a killing spree. Hence why they didn't kill any other Jews.
As for timing - it's not like the Bible says this happened at 4:00pm, then this happened at 5:00pm. As far as you know all this stuff happened over the course of 5 years.
Personal plagues with which I have been afflicted are:
- swarms of mosquitos
- crotch rot
- uncontrollable diarrhea
Luckily, not all at the same time.
But probably close enough together to think God had forsaken you.
This is an amazing find. I think so much of it has to do with Free Will. If you consider that God created beings that could fail. At least in the sense that we are to believe that taking the fruit was a sin. I'm not too sure myself. Not that they would, but that they could. They did, and in so doing chose to have free will. No longer able to tend fruits that need no tending, but to toil, but gaining free will. Judas was asked to betray Jesus. Jesus didn't have to ask, Judas didn't have to betray - free will - simply the type of beings we are. I wonder when the first bible will be published with the Book of Judas, Thomas, and the others?
Perhaps it will be exclusive only to Augsburg Fortress.
Where it will be burned.
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