As celebrations commence that are keystone to Christian faith, the central tenets of Christianity – the cross and resurrection – is being challenged by the “Gospel of Judas,” a text that respected theologians have pointed out as Gnostic in origin and ‘‘relatively unimportant’’ in current understandings of Jesus and Judas.
Originally found in the 1970s and recently translated and released in English by the National Geographic Society, the “Gospel of Judas” omits crucial Christian events such as the betrayal of Jesus by Judas, the scene of His death on the cross, and Jesus’ resurrection – resulting in a text that is incompatible with the four canonical Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John in terms of the purpose of Jesus on Earth.
“It (The Gospel of Judas) presents a completely different cosmology and theology from what we find in the New Testament,” said George Gutherie, a Christian studies professor at Union University based in Jackson, Tenn., USA in a report released by the school on Apr. 10.
Gutherie along with other faculty members at the Christian university agree that the document is an “unreliable” source for historical events in the life of Jesus and promotes “heresy of Gnostism.”
“It is not in any way, shape or form a writing that tells us anything reliable about either the real Jesus or Judas,” said Greg Thornbury, dean of Union’s School of Christian Studies.
The “Gospel of Judas” was actually mentioned by second-century theologian Irenaeus in his work, Against All Heresies.
“Irenaeus explicitly says that the Gnostics wrote many different gospels and books, but he, along with all other church leaders of the second through fourth centuries, regarded them as grossly inaccurate and harmful in what they taught,” said Dr. Clinton E. Arnold, professor and chair of the New Testament department at Biola University, USA.
Gnoticism was an ancient teaching condemned by the early Christian church as heretical. Gnosticism held the belief that salvation comes through “gnosis,” the Greek word for “knowledge.” It surfaced as early as the last first century A.D. and was popular among some communities through the fourth century A.D.
“It’s about becoming an insider on the secrets of the universe,” Guthrie explained.
For example, at one point in the document, Jesus tells Judas Iscariot, “Come, that I may teach you about secrets no person has ever seen.”
Jesus also tells Judas that he will exceed all of the other disciples, “For you will sacrifice the man who clothes me,” according to the document. It suggests that Judas’ betrayal of Jesus came at the request of Jesus himself.
“Yes, it is quite clearly a document written by someone who was a Gnostic,” stated Arnold. “The language, the ideas, the theology, and the names mentioned in it all suggest it was written by someone who was an ardent advocate of Gnosticism.”
Union’s Thornbury calls the document a Gnostic “propaganda piece.”
