James M. Robinson (1)Recensioni

definitive translation

The Secrets of Judas: The Story of the Misunderstood Disciple and His Lost Gospel.

The earliest of the canonical Christian writings (that is, those recognized by their inclusion in the New Testament) 14those that survive more or less intact 14are the epistles of Paul, written around the middle of the first century. Afterward, within a couple of decades, came the first of the four canonical Gospels, Mark, followed, a decade or so later 14possibly almost simultaneously, by Matthew and Luke who rewrote Mark and then added material that, while unknown in Mark, undoubtedly was based on traditions as old or older than Mark, but which do not survive (among these, the famous, hypothetical Gospel of Q 14which, for reasons I will not go into here, I prefer to call 1Cproto-Matthew 1D). Finally, the Gospel of John was written near the end of the first century.

Meanwhile, other epistles were being composed, which came to be attributed to Peter, James, John and others. A modern skepticism has led many scholars to look closely at all of these writings and conclude that while Paul was probably the real author of four out of the thirteen canonical epistles attributed to him, all of the other writings of the New Testament are pseudepigraphal 14that is, merely attributed to some highly respected person as the supposed author in order to bring the benefit of that person 19s recognized authority upon the book.

Some early churchmen openly recognized that some of the books that wound up in the Bible actually had been forged. For example, there was a blind churchman who led the faction that wanted to keep the Second Epistle of Peter out of the New Testament. He declared that there is no way that Peter wrote this letter. Many modern scholars agree, dating 2nd Peter to as late as the year 125, long after Peter 19s death 14thus allowing us to say that 2nd Peter was so obviously a forgery that a blind man could see it. (I wish I could claim this jest, but I think that I must have stolen it from Prof. Bart Ehrman.) But the books of the New Testament were not chosen based on scholarly evidence of their origins, but rather based on whether they expressed a theological viewpoint that conformed to what a given church or group of churches considered theologically useful and therefore theologically correct.

During the first century, the greatest division in the new Christian movement was between those Christians who remained practicing Jews and those who were gentiles or who preferred to live as gentiles. The leaders of the former included Peter and James, who made Jerusalem their headquarters, while the later group was led by Paul, who, though evidently Jewish by birth, virtually renounced Judaism and advocated the acceptance of gentiles into Christianity without requiring them to observe any Jewish customs. By the early second century, Christianity was dominated by non-Jews, and the Jewish Christian movement, having lost power, became marginalized and even came to be denounced as heretical.

Yet the gentiles did not agree among themselves what Christianity is supposed to be. From early in the second century there were several competing interpretations 14probably based on schisms that traced back into the first century, which only grew further apart as the second century wore on. Near the end of the second century, Irenaeus, bishop of Lyon, wrote a book, Against Heresies, in which he demonstrated against the variety of Christianities then in existence but which differed from his interpretation. Among these betes noirs was the Gnostic heresy, a wide range of heresies that Irenaeus found particularly repugnant, but within this movement few sects were so repugnant as the Cainites, whom, Irenaeus said, had composed for themselves a book titled The Gospel of Judas. This is the earliest known mention of this book, and though it was condemned once again two centuries later by Bishop Epiphaneus, The Gospel of Judas subsequently disappeared from history until a relatively late, fourth century copy was uncovered in Egypt in the 1970s, only to wander from owner to owner for a couple of decades before any competent scholar got a good enough look at it to recognize it for what it was. It is interesting to note that, as the book under review here tells us, the French scholar Henri-Charles Puech gave, as the earliest possible date for the composition of the Gospel of Judas, the year 130 14only five years after the latest possible date for the composition of the 2nd Epistle of Peter. Both books were written long after their supposed authors had died, so that they stand almost equal as forgeries, yet one is in the New Testament while the other is not.

Professor James M. Robinson, an expert on early Christianity, draws on all of the lore surrounding Judas and the development of the early Church to guess at what is in The Gospel of Judas, despite the fact that Robinson published his book before The Gospel of Judas was published; so although he is only able to guess at what is in it, yet his guesses turn out to be quite accurate. (This is what is meant by the term 1Ceducated guess. 1D) As an outsider with knowledge of the subject, Robinson can tell us a lot about The Gospel of Judas without being connected with its publication. Compared to Herbert Krosney 19s The Lost Gospel, including its introduction by Prof. Bart Ehrman, Robinson goes into more detail about the questions that they only mention.

Robinson notes that nothing in the New Testament exonerates Judas even if some Gospel writers are harsher on him than others. Mark goes easiest on Judas, describing events in the sparest terms, so that when Jesus says that it would have been better for the one who turns him over to the authorities 1Cnot to have been born 1D (Mark 14:21) one can almost wonder if Mark 19s Jesus means to imply an added 1C 14unfortunately. 1D The vilification of Judas proceeds through an intermediate stage with Matthew saying that Judas did it for money. It is left to Luke and John, however, to attribute Judas 19s betrayal to Satanic intervention. But why, asks Robinson, did Jesus or the other disciples not recognize that Judas had been possessed by the Devil and cast the Devil out just as they are reported to have done with other demoniacs? Further, why did Jesus choose as an elite disciple (one of the twelve) someone he knew would betray him? On the other hand, how else did Jesus expect to be taken and killed in order to fulfill his mission if someone did not facilitate his arrest? Wasn 19t Judas 19s action necessary to fulfill the prophecy? The vilification process did not stop there, however, as Judas became a favorite figure of contempt for centuries of preachers, all too often intensifying the effect by using their diatribes against Judas as a jumping off point for anti-Semitism.

To this day, the popular meaning of Judas is 1Ctraitor, 1D and yet, attempts to rehabilitate Judas are perennial. Robinson quotes churchmen, contemporaries of the more influential vilifiers of Judas, who tried to hold out the possibility that if Judas truly repented in the afterlife he might yet be saved and go to heaven. From the twentieth century, Robinson cites at least three novels and at least two scholarly books that would rehabilitate Judas. Thus the idea of rehabilitating Judas might seem like a new idea, but it is not.

Would The Gospel of Judas contain a narrative or would it consist of a dialogue? Each of these styles are used in ancient books that have been called 1Cgospels. 1D Robinson guesses that it could be either or both. (It turns out to be a bit of both.) Part of the problem, he explains, is that the titles of ancient books were often made up by the scribes who copied them rather than by the authors. Few authors of so-called gospels meant for their works to fit into a genre called 1Cgospels. 1D After all, since the word 1Cgospel 1D 14in Greek 1Ceuaggelion 1D (compare the Spanish 1Cevangelio 1D) 14simply means 1Cgood news, 1D shouldn 19t every book in the entire New Testament be called a gospel?

Robinson begins his book with striking hostility: 1CThe Gospel of Judas 26. Has been kept under wraps until now, to maximize its financial gain for its Swiss owners. 1D It 19s publication by the National Geographic Society has been 1Ctimed for the greatest public impact, right at Easter. Those on the inside have been bought off (no doubt with considerably more than thirty pieces of silver), and sworn to silence on a stack of Bibles 14or on a stack of papyrus leaves. 1D

Obviously, Robinson is right that sensationalist marketing motivated setting Easter as the publication date, but it seems rash of Robinson to voice his impression that the owners are motivated ONLY by financial gain because this speaks to things that only they and God can know for certain, and the bit about people being bought off with more than thirty pieces of silver is particularly nasty, not least of all because Robinson will subsequently tell us that some of those 1Con the inside 1D are or have been his friends and respected colleagues. Does Robinson feel that they have betrayed him? Is he spiteful because he is jealous that they are on the inside of this business while he, a respected scholar of early Christianity, has been left to press his nose against the window? Showing how close he almost is to being included in the inner circle, Robinson relates that more than once, he emailed colleagues to ask what they knew about The Gospel of Judas only to be told 1Csorry 1D they had just signed confidentiality agreements with the owners of the Gospel and were no longer free to comment. Robinson recognizes that the chief translator, Rodolphe Kasser, as well as other scholars latterly brought on board to deal with the Gospel of Judas, are genuinely respectable scholars. This gives him hope that the Gospel will eventually be made available to all scholars without secrecy or prejudice 14an ideal for which Robinson has been a life-long champion.(His detractors might call him a self-proclaimed champion, but I think that a champion of an ideal is genuine if he practices what he teaches.)

Robinson 19s evaluation of the hoopla surrounding the Gospel seems more sober than Herbert Krosney 19s conceit that the publication of the Gospel of Judas could change Christianity or improve Jewish-Christian relations. Robinson quotes a Vatican official who patiently tells reporters that the Catholic Church has already been working on improving relations with Judaism. As to the new gospel 19s potential impact on Christianity, Robinson can almost be seen to roll his eyes over the sensational treatment in the press. Two reporters, he says, 1Cinterviewed me by phone from Zurich and London while preparing their articles, without my answers to their questions seeming to have much effect on what they wrote. 1D For example, he quotes one reporter 19s suggestion that The Gospel of Judas is as old as the four Gospels in the New Testament, which is hardly the case 14it is at least decades younger.

He shows the least respect for the non-scholars who owned The Gospel of Judas, whom he disdains, never having heard their names before they came up in connection with this ancient text; but perhaps he does not fully appreciate that, given the state of antiquities laws in many countries 14paradoxically almost requiring tomb-robbing to bring antiquities to light but then keeping them hidden from those who might know what they are, it was only the interest of the relatively sophisticated antiquities dealer Frieda Tchacos Nussberger that saved the Gospel of Judas from finally turning into a pile of worthless dust. Scholars like Robinson tried to rescue it before she came along, but they failed because they are too unfamiliar with the ins and outs of the grubby real world. 1CProps 1D should be given to each kind of professional where they are due.

Alleen al het verhaal over hoe de rollen gevonden werden, zo mooi gedetailleerd

Great collection. Captivating subject.

> LES MANUSCRITS DE NAG HAMMADI (tome 2), Le Tonnerre, de Pr. James M. Robinson. — De nombreux textes datant de l’origine du christianisme furent trouvé en notre siècle : manuscrits de la Mer Morte, et manuscrits de Nag Hammadi. Les manuscrits de la Mer Morte permirent de découvrir ce qu’était la secte des Esséniens, et les manuscrits ici présentés permettent d’avoir accès à une grande diversité de textes provenant de plusieurs groupes ou mouvements religieux, que l’on peut inclure sous le nom de gnostiques. Le terme « gnose » signifie en grec « connaissance ». Il s’agit de la plus haute connaissance : celle qui libère l’être humain de la « chute », qui lui permet de réintégrer un état adamique. Les textes de Nag Hammadi mettent en évidence que « certains traits auparavant considérés comme du gnosticisme chrétien, étaient à l’origine non chrétiens ».
Ces textes étaient considérés comme hérétiques par l’Eglise constituée. Au-delà cependant de ces considérations universitaires, l’intérêt pour le lecteur se trouve dans la puissance de certains de ces textes, en particulier celui intitulé « le Tonnerre. » Le narrateur parle au féminin. C’est la Vie (grande Sophia) et la sagesse (petite Sophia) qui s’expriment en termes transcendant la dualité, les opposés, en les unissant par le verbe : « Je suis la connaissance et l’ignorance, je suis la honte et l’audace, je suis effrontée ; je suis honteuse. Je suis la force et je suis la peur. Je suis la guerre et la paix [...] Je suis celle qui a été haïe partout et qui a été aimée partout. Je suis celle qu’ils appellent la Vie, et que vous avez appelée la Mort. Je suis celle qu’ils appellent la Loi, et que vous avez appelée l’illégalité [...] les plaisirs fugaces que les hommes embrassent jusqu’à ce qu’ils deviennent sobres et montent dans leur lieu de repos. Et ils me trouveront là, et ils vivront, et ils ne mourront plus ». L’ouvrage commence par une présentation du contexte où furent écrits ces textes, leur racine, leur place dans le gnosticisme. Les manuscrits sont ensuite décrits, puis l’auteur explique les circonstances de leur découverte en 1946, en Egypte. Les manuscrits sont aujourd’hui conservés au Caire. Enfin, viennent les textes eux-mêmes : le Tonnerre (voir ci-dessus) ; L’Apocryphon de Jacques (550 jours après la résurrection : Jésus apparaît à Pierre et à Jacques pour les « remplir » et leur donner un enseignement final et définitif) ; l’Evangile de Vérité (réflexion sur la personne et l’oeuvre de Jésus) ; L’Hypostase des Archontes (ou Réalité des Dirigeants, traité présentant une interprétation ésotérique d’une partie de la Bible) ; L’Apocryphon de Jean. Ce dernier texte décrit la création, la chute et la rédemption de l’humanité. Les principaux enseignements de ce traité se retrouvent chez certains Pères de l’Eglise : c’est une « importante oeuvre du gnosticisme mythologique ». Chaque manuscrit est précédé d’une présentation permettant de mieux le situer et le comprendre. Ed. Le Jardin des Livres, 2009 - 155 p.
—3e millénaire, (93), Automne 2009

The book was a very interesting read written by a Sayings Gospel Q scholar who discusses what Jesus said and did and what we know about him from the different Gospels, dead sea scrolls and the “Q” Gospel.

As someone who is not very familiar with the Gospels beyond what was learned a couple of decades ago in Sunday School and Bible School, I felt like a needed a bit of a cheat sheet. Nevertheless, this was an intriguing read. I especially enjoyed reading the chapter on the Text of the Sayings Gospel Q including what I thought spoke to me as a Quaker with “For, look, the kingdom of God is within you.” I learned much reading this book including where the term Jehovah came from.

I would recommend this book to any Biblical scholar or anyone wishing to learn more about what Jesus’s work.

This is a library. This is not 'Gnostic Scripture'.

The 'Secrets of Judas' is of specialist interest to scholars who may be interested in the shady history of double dealing over a period of more than 20 years that eventually resulted in the publication of the Judas 'gospel'. Over the course of those dealings a substantial part of the fragile papyrus original has been lost. The book is of little interest to those readers who are interested in the content, meaning or significance of the Judas gospel. When Robinson does address the questions of meaning or significance, he does so with quite unexpected simple-mindedness, given his eminence as an authority. He concludes this early section of the book with a couple of questions and a reflection: 'So should we forgive Judas? Love our enemy? I do not think the efforts to argue that he did the right thing to do under the circumstances have proven their case. But I do think we can stop using him as a whipping boy, and seek a fairer, more forgiving relation to him'. This is flatulent stuff, explicable only as a self conscious attempt by Robinson to write down to his audience.

As others have pointed out, the title page and blurb mislead about the content of the book. Stylistically, it is repellent. Robinson writes with an irritating sense of his own self importance and a barely concealed resentment that he was excluded from the inner circle that eventually produced Judas gospel and its commentary. The limited value that of the book as a history of the complex negotiations that preceded publication is diminished by the absence of an index and bibliography.

This work by a petulant scholar spends more than half the book going into gory, repetitive detail about the dirty dealings of the people who acquired and translated the Gospel of Judas (not him). The final two chapters actually deal with Judas, but it doesn't really add anything new to what I've read before, and his hypotheses are presented as fait accompli without evidence - he says it, you believe it. They are, in short, just so stories. Excessive in its redundancy and petulance, it is further marred by an extraordinary number of exclamation points. So many exclamations would feel out of place in a non-scholarly work; in a scholarly one, it is totally inappropriate to have several exclamation points per page. Definitely might want to look elsewhere for your enlightenment.

This is an excellent commentary on the Gospel of Thomas. It’s concise and in places speculative, but immensely informative, representing the latest scholarship on this fascinating find.

Part 1 presents a translation of the gospel; Part 2 provides commentary; Part 3 tells of its discovery at Nag Hammadi. It’s a skinny little book, but very full.

The most controversial question about this gospel seems to be its dating. Is it a collection of late second- or even third-century Gnostic sayings, or does it date back to the first century and contain the words of Jesus? The answer seems to be both. As a saying gospel, it’s much more malleable than a storyline gospel, and probably the collection grew over time. Some of the sayings seem very early; others seem quite late, surely not added until the Coptic version in Egypt began to form. (The most complete version we have is in Coptic, discovered in upper Egypt, and dating back to the fourth century.)

There are several reasons for dating parts of Thomas back to the first century. First, many sayings are quite similar to other first-century documents. Second, the rivalry it displays tends to suggest a time in early Christianity when local communities claimed loyalty to a particular well-known figurehead. Finally, its Christology is quite low. Jesus is not the Son of God or even the Son of Man. He’s just Jesus.

The association with “Thomas” should not be confused with the “doubting Thomas” of John chapter 20. Rather, it is more likely the “Judas Thomas” of John 14, Luke 6, and Acts 1. The same Judas Thomas of the Acts of Thomas, and the person to whom the epistle of Jude is attributed. If the Acts of Thomas carries any historic authenticity, then this is possibly the brother of Jesus; the Jude of Mark 6:3. Thus, we have uncovered a gospel possibly attributed not merely to one of the Twelve, but to a blood brother of Jesus.

Another confusion about this gospel is its so-called “Gnostic” bent. There just seems to no longer be a simple description of what “Gnostic” means; you won’t find any hints in Thomas of the evil creator who surfaces in other Gnostic writings. Instead, Thomas reads very much like John’s Gospel and Paul’s epistles, both in theme and theology. If Thomas is Gnostic, it’s not much more so than canonical New Testament writings, which can be just as exotic.

Yet it also appears that the Gospel of Thomas provides an independent source. Might Thomas have something to teach us about the original Jesus movement? As the book’s introduction claims, it “has reshaped the discussion of Christian origins by introducing students of early Christianity to a new set of ideas and practices that, a generation ago, one could hardly imagine as deriving from the words of Jesus.”

The definitive collection of Gnostic material. The fragmentary textual material we have is presented here in functional form with appropriate markers and suggestions for lacuna in the manuscripts. The introductions to the book, and to each piece therein, are very helpful even for those new to gnostic material. Richard's Smith's afterward is also very well done, and effectively illustrates where gnostic thought is interacting with our current culture, touching on, for example, writers and thinkers like Blake, Carl Jung, and even Philip K. Dick.

The writing of that afterward, however, effectively predates the Holy Blood and Holy Grail fiasco and the DaVinci Code delusions, and so does not (in my early edition, at any rate) deal with the popular rewriting of gnosticism in western 20th century new age culture's hokey image. Nevertheless, though Smith's afterward does not tackle the current revisionist version of gnosticism directly, readers will nevertheless discover that the Gnostics would have been the last people on earth to have any notion of a sacred feminine, (evidenced in passages such as Jesus' explanation in the Gospel of Thomas that women will need to become male in order to enter the Kingdom of Heaven), and that texts like the Gospel of Mary are hardly the source of any secret perspectives on the historical Jesus or early Christianity. These texts are, to the contrary, the product of a community that merged bits of Greek philosophical ideas with Christian and Jewish narratives to produce their own idiosyncratic material that legitimized their theological claims.

Written prior to the National Geographic publication of the translated text of "The Gospel of Judas," this book outlines the questions still surrounding the mystery of Judas, and covers in exhaustive detail the acquisition and significance of this singular Coptic codex. It does not paint a rosy picture of the process during which significant deterioration took place. It also does not deal with the actual translated contents of the codex. It is nevertheless a valuable look at the discovery of yet another ancient document of very early Christian history.

At the time of the publication of "The Secrets of Judas," the titular gospel had not yet been published. It was still held in "private archives," undergoing translation, scholarly study, and the fomenting of a massive hurricane of media spin. The main gripe I have about this book is that the it was written primarily--almost blatantly--to cash in upon the great public interest whipped up by the then-unreleased gospel. And therefore, there isn't that much actual substance to the book.

Don't get me wrong. I found much of the information interesting, but it lacked meat. Most of it could have been contained in a scholarly journal article, and, because the actual gospel text had not been made public, there was no commentary on the content of the Gospel of Judas, which when I purchased the book was what I was really interested in.

The book's content mainly concerns two things: how the manuscript came to be known to the modern world, and a dissection of the character of Judas based on previously known texts. It was all good information, interesting information, but it wasn't enough to justify a book on the subject. The real story was the discovery of a new biblical-era text, and that was missing from the work.

Maybe the reason I felt so dissatisfied was the fact that I went into it with different expectations. That's partly my fault, but some of the blame undoubtedly lies with the publisher, who billed this work as more than it really was. That's why I only gave the book two and a half stars. It didn't have all that much information in it, and the process of reading it left me feeling cheated.½

The standard critical edition of the Nag Hammadi Library (and the Gospel of Mary, which was found in a different ancient book). These 5 phone book-sized volumes are the equivalent of [[James M. Robinson]]'s [Nag Hammadi Library in English] (or [[Marvin W. Meyer]]'s newer translation [Nag Hammadi Scriptures] except that they have the original Coptic on each facing page -- with scholarly introductions, descriptions of the manuscripts, footnotes of textual variants (on the rare occasion when other manuscripts of these texts exist), indexes of borrowed Greek words, transcriptions of the scrap papers made into paper-mache boards to stiffen the leather covers, and English translations.

One may read across two pages from Coptic to English. If you cannot find (or afford) the [Nag Hammadi Codices] volumes ($500 each with photographs of the original manuscripts and brief introductions) these careful transcriptions copy and number each line of each page, are the product of painstaking peer-reviewed scholarship, and are an essential tool for study of the four largely Gnostic libraries found at in the mid-1940's near the village of Nag Hammadi in Egypt. (Not to be confused with the Dead Sea Scrolls which were tubular, older, Jewish, and not in any form of Egyptian.)

Brill, the publisher, occasionally puts this set on sale: if you do not go to professional conferences, ask your Coptic or Religion professor if they could help you purchase the books at a discount (you will likely have to wait until the end of the year). While you have your checkbook out, if you buy these volumes a copy of [[Walter Crum]]'s [Coptic Dictionary] and [[Walter Bauer]]'s [Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament]] are both musts, as is a good contemporary Coptic Grammar ([[Bentley Layton]]'s is a good place to start) -- and [[Gregory Sterling]]'s [Coptic Paradigms] and [[Richard Smith]]'s [Concise Coptic-English Lexicon] can't hurt either. (They are each light, short books which will carry you through the majority of your translation work ... until you hit a Greek loan word.)

Recommended for students of Coptic, scholars interested in Roman-era philosophy and religion, and specialists on Gnosticism, early Christianity, and the history of Judaism. If you just want to read these in English either Robinson's or Meyer's translation will serve.

-Kushana

The book is the work of a top scholar in Q studies. It is also the work of a faithful Christian who carries the implications of his premise that in the Q sayings we can find the historical Jesus.

Review by Jason Lush

Read it for the information about archeology and the people who study coptic writings, but not to learn any thing of Judas or the document "The Gospel of Judas".

Simply put, this is an informative and interesting book, but it has nothing to do with its sensational title. The man Judas is mentioned briefly, but the remainder is about the documents' procurement and the people involved with its translation and preservation.

Nothing...nothing of the document itself or any of its content. The spiritual content of this book is no more than any thinking reader of the New Testament could surmise on their own.

Good book, over blown title.

A good, easy to read, non-technical introduction to the Gospel of Thomas with essays by Thomas scholar Stephen Patterson and Nag Hammadi scholar James M. Robinson. Of interest to readers interested in Gnosticism, in general, as well as readers interested in the Gospel of Thomas in particular.

Goes well with _The Q/Thomas Reader_ as an introduction to the Gospel of Thomas.

-Kushana

The standard English translation of the 13 books found at Nag Hammadi, Egypt in the mid-1940's -- not to be confused with the Dead Sea Scrolls which were found in Israel at nearly the same time.

(These 13 books came from 4 separate ancient libraries, but who put them together and buried them under a large rock is a mystery.)

Not all the works in this collection are Gnostic (there is a portion of Plato, for instance) but the ones that are opened a new era in the study of this ancient religion, allowing specialists to read what the Gnostics had to say for themselves, in depth, rather than relying on the reports, allegations, and sometimes garbled information from their ancient opponents.

This careful translation tracks the line and page numbers of the 13 ancient books and shows where there are gaps in the original text. The introductory and final essay (as well as the short introduction to each work) are very helpful and are worth reading with care.

A perennially useful book for anyone interested in Gnosticism, Roman religion beyond Jupiter and Juno, or Late Antiquity.

(Note that the Gospel of Mary came from another previously discovered ancient book , the Berlin Codex. Its current partial state is due to the vicissitudes of history and specialists lament this fact more than anyone: most of the works translated in _The Nag Hammadi Library_ survive in only one copy ... so any damage to that copy is a loss to history.)

-Kushana

The only book that I've carried with me from middle school to the workaday world, from town to town, from country to country.

The edition of the Nag Hammadi Library in Coptic and English. A standard scholarly reference tool for the study of Gnosticism. A valuable companion to the multi-volume photographic edition of the Nag Hammadi Library published by Brill Academic.

"An absolute gold mine of the literature of Gnosticism." The Los Angeles Times. I second that, although I wish there was more to the Gospel of Mary. There is also Plato's Republic - a version not recognized quite at first, Valentine school of though essays. More than just "a religious text."

Far from being a shock new find that erupted onto the world around Easter 2006 by the grace of National Geographic, the existence of the Gospel of Judas manuscript has been known to scholars since the early 1980's. Before tracing in detail the history of this manuscript along with the interplay of shady peddlings and academic egos that have long kept it from general scholarly scrutiny till now, Robinson discusses the attitudes towards Judas found in the various early Christian writings down to popular understandings today. He points out how the original Christian textual treatment of the other apostles and family of Jesus was strongly negative but that they all eventually found a way to be rehabilitated. Robinson then posits that the ethics of the biblical account of the character of Judas are wanting by normal humane standards today, and that it is time that Judas likewise be finally rehabilitated. The discussion of the text follows. Robinson's own experience with such manuscripts and personal knowledge of the key players enables him to offer a serious critique of the history and current treatment of this manuscript. He concludes his book with an optimistic breathe that now the National Geographic has made its profitable publicity splash at the Easter season this year, the popular hype can start to fade sufficiently for real scholarly work of reconstruction and translation and analysis, which takes time and scholarly openness, can begin, just as it eventually did likewise with the Nag Hammadi and Dead Sea Scrolls collections.

(This and other reviews on my blog at http://vridar.wordpress.com )

A classic compendium of the Nag Hammadi texts with limited comment. Essential when you read the Gnostic theories of others who might bend and shape things to their will.

On July 1, 2004, the world was told that a new Coptic apocryphon had been discovered and was a copy of “the most condemned writing of antiquity: The Gospel of Judas.�€? First described by Irenaeus of Lyon around 180 AD, this document has been lost until it resurfaced in 1983. The text, in Egypt's ancient Coptic language, dates from the third or fourth century and is a copy of an earlier document, most likely written in 130 – 170 AD.

In The Secrets of Judas: the story of the misunderstood disciple and his lost gospel, James M. Robinson undertakes a review of the apostle Judas, as portrayed in the Christian gospels, and tells the story of the discovery and sale of this priceless piece of history.

Gospel means “Good Newsâ€? and the gospels, as we now know them, were written for evangelizing rather than simply to inform. As such, they were not meant to be a historical record. Both Matthew and Luke contain sayings of Jesus that are not included in Mark, and therefore must come from another, earlier, source. Scholars believe that the document, now referred to as “Sayings Gospel Q,â€? was a compilation of sayings of Jesus still to be proclaimed. This document, composed only of quotes, was intended for use only by the disciples in their ministry and does not refer to the disciples by name nor does it discuss Jesus’ public ministry. It is believed that this document formed the basis of Mark’s Gospel.

The first half of The Secrets of Judas includes a line-by-line comparison between the gospels of the Gentile Christian Church (Mark and Luke) and the Jewish Christian Church (Matthew). The Gospel of John, which does the most to discredit Judas, can be viewed as a polemic against him. In this section, Robinson looks at differences between the four Gospel texts and considers who may have implemented the various interpretations and why, focusing on the political differences between the two factions in the early Christian Church.

This first section helps provide a setting for the question many have been asking: “Will this new document, The Gospel of Judas, reveal secrets about Jesus and paint a new picture of Judas?â€? Robinson believes the text is valuable to scholars of the second century, but dismisses the notion that it will reveal unknown biblical secrets. In fact, scholars have already begun to look at Judas from a new perspective, casting a new light on the actions Jesus commanded he take. In 1996, William Klassen published Judas: Betrayer or Friend of Jesus?, one of the first serious studies on this subject.

In the second part, Robinson describes secretive maneuvers and negotiations occurring in the United States, Switzerland, Greece and elsewhere over a two-decade period. In 1983, the Codex containing the "Judas" manuscript was offered for sale for a princely sum of $3 million. Robinson was approached to participate in the authentication of the document, but was unable to arrange funding for travel to Geneva. In his place, he requested Stephen Emmel travel from Rome to verify the value of the document, providing one of the few reports available on the manuscript.

Robinson traces the twisted trail taken by the manuscript and its sellers, leading to the Maecenas Foundation obtaining the manuscript and negotiating a contract with the National Geographic Society for its study. The publication of The Gospel of Judas and The Lost Gospel: The Quest for the Gospel of Judas Iscariot, and the release of the National Geographic special about the discovery and translation of the Coptic document in April 2006, marked the first opportunity scholars have had to view and work on The Gospel of Judas.

While The Secrets of Judas: the story of the misunderstood disciple and his lost gospel does not include a copy of the Coptic text or its translation, what Robinson includes in his book is equally important. A true understanding of this priceless document can only be gained by understanding its place within the canon, and the political dimensions that contributed to its long absence.

James M. Robinson is the former director of the Institute for Antiquity and Christianity and Professor Emeritus at The Claremont Graduate School. An international leader of those studying Coptic manuscripts, he is best known for his work on the Nag Hammadi Codices.

See a condensed review posted at Armchair Interviews - http://www.armchairinterviews.com/reviews/categories/religionspirituality/the_se...