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The Judas Gospel

Node created on White Rhythmic Dog - Planetary Moon - Dali 10.15
13 Moons Cosmic Seed Year 9

It’s a revelation conjuring heated debate: According to a recently translated ancient text called the Gospel of Judas, the disciple infamous for betraying Jesus may well have been Christ’s most faithful servant and—because the Savior asked him to—accepted perpetual disgrace to bring about Jesus' death.

Source: NationalGeographic/Gospel
Source: NationalGeographic/JudasGospel_Mainpage


Last Supper
The second page of the Gospel of Judas presents a dramatically different retelling of a final meal Jesus shared with his disciples. "When he [approached] his disciples, [who had] gathered together and [were] seated and offering a prayer of thanksgiving over the bread, [he] laughed," reads the manuscript. "The disciples said to him, 'Master, why are you laughing at [our] prayer of thanksgiving? We have done what is right.' He answered and said to them, 'I am not laughing at you. [You] are not doing this because of your own will but because [it is through this that] your god [will be] praised.' " Jesus laughs, scholars say, because the disciples do not understand that the God of the Old Testament, to whom they direct their prayers, is not the true God. In this gospel, only Judas, the disciple reviled by orthodox Christians, understands God's true nature.

Judas 'helped Jesus save mankind'

Judas Iscariot's reputation as one of the most notorious villains in history has been thrown into doubt with the translation of an ancient text. The Gospel of Judas, a papyrus document from the 3rd or 4th Century AD, casts the fallen disciple as a benevolent figure, helping Jesus to save mankind.

The early Christian Church denounced such teachings as heretical.
The 31-page fragile document, alleged to be a copy of an even older text, was discovered in Egypt in the 1970s.
The National Geographic Society in the US published the first translation of the text from Coptic to English on Thursday, and showed some of the papyrus pages for the first time.

Breakaway sect

For 2,000 years, Christianity has portrayed Judas as the treacherous apostle who betrayed his divine master with a kiss, leading to his capture and crucifixion.
According to the Bible, Judas received 30 pieces of silver for the act, but died soon afterwards.

However, the Gospel of Judas identifies him as Christ's favourite disciple and depicts his betrayal as the fulfilment of a divine mission to enable the crucifixion - and thus the foundation of Christianity - to take place.
The text quotes Jesus as saying to Judas: "You will exceed all of them [the other disciples] for you will sacrifice the man who clothes me."
Source: BBCNews

Not so secret gospels

Once the dusty preserve of theologians and historians, the success of the Da Vinci code has turned an ancient religious document into a major publishing event.
There could hardly be a luckier time - or more providential depending on your perspective - for publishing a newly-discovered gospel.
Source: BBCNews

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