the Gospel of Judas

[almaty 19]

WASHINGTON (AP) -- National Geographic unveiled an ancient manuscript Thursday that may shed new light on the relationship between Jesus and Judas, the disciple who betrayed him.

The papyrus manuscript was written probably around 300 A.D. in Coptic script, a copy of an earlier Greek manuscript.

It was discovered in the desert in Egypt in the 1970s and has now been authenticated by carbon dating and studied and translated by biblical scholars, National Geographic announced.

Unlike the four gospels in the Bible, this text indicates that Judas betrayed Jesus at Jesus' request.

The text begins "the secret account of the revelation that Jesus spoke in conversation with Judas Iscariot."

The key passage comes when Jesus tells Judas "you will exceed all of them. For you will sacrifice the man that clothed me."

This indicates that Judas would help liberate the spiritual self by helping Jesus get rid of his physical flesh, the scholars said.

The manuscript was first mentioned in a treatise around 180 A.D. by a bishop, Irenaeus of Lyon, in what is now France. The bishop denounced the manuscript as differing from mainstream Christianity and said it produced a fictitious story.

There were several gospels in circulation at the time in addition to the four in the Bible. When those gospels were denounced, it was thought that believers hid them away.

The gospel of Judas was kept by a group called the Gnostics, who believed that the way to salvation was through secret knowledge given by Jesus to his inner circle.

National Geographic said the author of the gospel of Judas believed that Judas Iscariot alone understood the true significance of Jesus' teachings.

Edited April 6, 2006 by almaty2004

[ace13 0]

I find that hard to believe, because what Judas did was classic human nature. He wanted the money.

[almaty 19]

money or the desire for it is the root of all evil...

[Jasman0717 9]

I find that hard to believe, because what Judas did was classic human nature. He wanted the money.

[KarenCee 3]

Oh lord...I bet the Southern Baptist are all a twitter with this news...

[kerewin21 2]

Or maybe he was the only one who truly understood what was needed for the future and made a great sacrifice?

*edited to add* Of course I'm Jewish, so what do I know?

Edited April 6, 2006 by kerewin21

[moondancer627 0]

Watch Jesus Christ Superstar... I like Rice and Weber's rendition of the Judas story...

Also another good movie called The God Who Wasn't There put out by Beyond Belief Media.

The Truth is Out There-... Fox Mulder

Moondancer

[almaty 19]

i agree....i have really no view on this..the book is written in 300ad...maybe, was a piece of fiction or an oratorial...

[Jasman0717 9]

I want to meet the editor

[almaty 19]

I want to meet the editor

well, i think it was the writer jim...........much ado about nothing......just another old text ..written years after jesus walked the earth...it is up to one's faith..beliefs..non beliefs etc to decide..history will not

[Kajikit 65]

I saw an interesting documentary called 'Who killed Jesus' (or something like that) which went into it all in detail... and one of their conclusions was that Judas betrayed Jesus because Jesus asked him to, and because it HAD to happen...

[Jasman0717 9]

I saw an interesting documentary called 'Who killed Jesus' (or something like that) which went into it all in detail... and one of their conclusions was that Judas betrayed Jesus because Jesus asked him to, and because it HAD to happen...