the gospel of judas
This meme suddenly popped up on the blogosphere, but has also been published in The New York Times: ‘Gospel of Judas’ Surfaces After 1,700 Years1
The gospel is steeped in Gnosticism (a branch of early Christianity that believed that it is the hidden, secret scriptures that allow humanity to be saved.) I was first truly introduced to concepts of Gnoticism by Phillip K. Dick (the author of Blade Runner and Minority Report) in his book Valis, which is in fact the first book of a trilogy which includes Divine Invasion and The Transmigration of Timothy Archer. One of the interesting concepts he divulges is the idea that this world we live in is actually the creation of a mad god named Samael, who is blind and does not realize that he created the universe at the behest of the One True God. This is apparently derived directly from Gnosticism, although Dick added his own spin to it. Samael has also been identified with Satan, although it is by no means clear cut, and various scriptures have identified Samael with both the Fallen and the Faithful, performing both acts of good and evil. However, Samael also has the name Yaltabaoth and Saklas (which are the different aspects of the Demiurge.) Saklas is the name that is mentioned in the Gospel of Judas and referred to as the false god that most people worship out of fear and/or in hope of gaining favor. I have always been intrigued by stories with complex characters who end up betraying the protagonist of the story. For example, there is Lancelot in the Arthurian Legend, Brutus in (specifically Shakespeare’s version of) the life of Julius Caesar, Gollum in The Lord of the Rings, and of course Judas Iscariot. Mainly what is intriguing is how they don’t truly hate the person they are betraying, but are instead driven by some other cause. In the case of Lancelot, it was lust, in the case of Brutus, he felt he needed to save the Republic. In the case of Gollum, he was driven by the madness of the Ring. The scene where Gollum ponders what he is going to do next, where he is just watching Frodo and has feelings of regret has always haunted me because Tolkien did a good job of making him like someone who was indeed redeemable, and then Sam arrives, snapping Gollum out of it, and allowing him to continue on his plan to betray Frodo.
Judas, though, has always been a mystery. I have actually pondered his fate for a while, and I doubt that it was sheer greed that led him to betray Jesus. After all, he was an apostle for a long time, and it would seem that he would be friends with Jesus. I don’t know what 30 pieces of silver are actually worth, but it really doesn’t seem like a realistic motivator. It doesn’t evoke enough pathos.
What I found satisfying as an explanation is the Sin of Pride, specifically, thinking that you know exactly what is supposed to happen next. Perhaps he began believing that Jesus was leading them to dangerous territory, so to speak, believing that Jesus was going make their mission fail, and in the process, get them all killed. Maybe Judas really believed in Jesus’ ministry, but perhaps thought that it was Jesus who was straying from the True Path.
I then stumble into less clear ideas. I had been taught that the Israelites believed that the Messiah would save them from the Romans, and some were expecting a military leader or a prophet who would use their supernatural powers to expel the invader, so many who heard that Jesus was being proclaimed the Messiah were disgusted and refused to believe. Maybe deep in his heart Judas thought that Jesus would lead them to salvation in this life and betrayed him because he was bitterly disappointed.
Of course, the thing that seems most supported by the Gospels of Mark, Matthew, Luke, and John is the idea that Judas’ betrayal was preordained, that it had to be so that Jesus could die for us, and that Judas’ motivation probably doesn’t matter. However, this is simply made more explicit in the Gospel of Judas, stating plainly that Jesus actually instructed Judas to do it.
But the thing that I like most about this gospel is that it elucidates how Jesus feels about hypocrisy and supposed “holiness” and “righteousness.” Truly, this feeling is present in the Gospels of Mark, Matthew, Luke, and John, what with his constant clashes with the Pharisees, who followed their religion in as so much as it didn’t clash with their comfortable lifestyles and in as much as being religious gained them the esteem of their fellows, or with the Saducees, who upheld the forms of the sacred rituals but often did not follow the spirit of them—the difference between observing the letter of the law or actually following the spirit of the law. How Jesus throws out the merchants from the Temple is also illustrative of this. And in the Gospel of Judas, Jesus explicitly prophesies that a new religion will be founded in his Name, and even they will continue the hypocrisy of simply following the form but not the spirit of his ministry, and that many people simply worship out of fear of punishment, or because they are trying to curry favor from God.
And 2,000 years later, his prophesies are sadly true. There are people who use the name of God, and in the effort to save life, will actually kill people. There are those who are more interested in damning the unbelievers instead of saving them. There are those who follow their religion only to conform to the accepted norm, but in reality do not follow basic tenets of Jesus’ message. I, of course, speak of Christian fundamentalists and also Republicans who talk a lot about how this Nation is supposed to be a Christian Nation, and yet espouse such hateful ideas as making it a crime to help a fellow human being simply because he does not have the proper papers, or by cutting funding to help the poor.
Personally, I distrust people who wear their religion on their sleeve. I am always reminded of this passage from Matthew (which also happens to contain the Lord’s Prayer):
Beware of practicing your piety before others in order to be seen by them; for then you have no reward from your Father in heaven. “So whenever you give alms, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be praised by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your alms may be done in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
And whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, so that they may be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you. When you are praying, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do; for they think that they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
Pray then in this way: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And do not bring us to the time of trial, but rescue us from the evil one. For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you; but if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
And whenever you fast, do not look dismal, like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces so as to show others that they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that your fasting may be seen not by others but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
—[Matthew 6:1-18, New Revised Standard Version][14]
From what I learned in 12 years of Catholic school, the essence of the ministry of Jesus is based in love, in humility, and in inclusivity. So anyone who espouses hate, believes that what he/she thinks is right and what everyone else thinks is wrong, or uses their faith to exclude people and take away their rights and dignity as human beings—these people in my eyes are doers of Evil, and while it is not for me to Judge, and while it is wrong for me to be hateful, I really wouldn’t mind if they were wiped from the face of the earth.
(Interestingly, as I wrote this little screed, I had the TV to a show that was describing the Big Bang Theory, and how this theory seems to actually prove intelligent design and the existence of God. I have issues with their assertion that the universe is well structured, because as far as I can see, the universe is weirdly clumpy and non-homogenous. And while it is incredibly beautiful, it is not what I imagine when I think of order and structure. What is more convincing, perhaps, is their explication of the Strong Anthropic Principle which I suppose does smack of intelligent design. If the fundamentalists clung to this idea instead of the laughable notion that the world is only 6,000 years old, implying that human beings and dinosaurs lived side by side in the Garden of Eden (a discussion which apparently was incorporated into an episode of “The Sopranos”), then I think there would be fruitful discussion. What really interested me was that this TV program names Allah as the creator of the universe. Turns out that I was watching Malaysian television, making me think again about Southeast Asia, but anyway.)
#Gospel of Judas
- original text of the Gospel of Judas on National Geographic
- The Coptic Ps.Gospel of Judas