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

by James M. Robinson

Book Overview

The discovery of a previously lost Gospel of Judas Iscariot has electrified the Christian community. What Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John tell us about Judas, the disciple who betrayed Jesus, is inconsistent and biased. Therefore, the revelation of an ancient gospel that portrays this despised man as someone who saw his role in the Passion of Christ as integral to a larger plan--a divine plan--brings new clarity to the old story. If Judas had not...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 006117064X
• ISBN13: 9780061170645
• Release Date: February 2007
• Publisher: HarperOne
• Length: 272 Pages
• Weight: 0.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.5" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

Judas, the Catalyst of Salvation or Advocate of betrayal?

"Step away from the others and I shall tell you the mysteries of the Kingdom. It is possible for you to reach it, but you will grieve a great deal. For someone else will replace you, in order that the twelve disciples may again come to completion with their God." The Gospel of Judas Gnostic Gospel Surfaces: The rediscovery of a long lost Gospel, of Judas Iscariot, has agitated the Church and Christian scholarship. What the Synoptic Gospels and that of John inform us on Judas, as the disciple who betrayed Jesus, is here debated as inconsistent and biased. Therefore, the revelation of an ancient gospel that portrays this despised man as someone who saw his role in the Passion of Christ as integral to a Cosmic divine plan brings new vision to the old story. If Judas had not betrayed Jesus, Jesus would not have been handed over to the authorities, crucified, buried, and raised from the dead. So, without Judas, the Easter miracle would never have happened! At least four ancient codices, in Coptic and Greek, surfaced on the international artifacts black market, in the last two decades. Quite incredible rumors about them circulated online, but their exact whereabouts was a matter of uncertainty. All four were discovered near Minya, in upper Egypt and smuggled by a certain Cairo dealer called Hannah, offering them in Switzerland in 1983 for $3 millions, but decided in 1984 to import them into the USA. They sat safely in a NY bank vault for five years, when Dr. James M. Robinson (Book author) made an attempt to recover them. This transaction failed; and they were later bought in 1999 by Frieda Tchacos, a Swiss dealer who entrusted them to Bruce Ferrini, an American philanthopist dealer. Mrs. Tchacos repossessed what was left after Ferrini's violations, a sole codex of the Gnostic Gospel of Judas, which was then placed in the custody of Mario Roberty, her lawyer, and the established Maecenas Foundation. They ultimately sealed a deal with the National Geographical Society, which published the codex. Who was Judas Iscariot? Judas Iscariot,Hebrew: Yhûh Îs-qriyyô)was one of the twelve apostles of Jesus, according to the New Testament. Among the twelve, he was apparently designated to keep account of the money funds. He is mostly known for his role in Jesus' betrayal into the hands of the Jerusalim Senhadrin authorities. Judas has been a figure of great interest to esoteric groups, and has also been the subject of speculative Gnostic writings. His name is associated with the Gospel of Judas, a Gnostic gospel that existed since the second century, in a Coptic Sahidic text. Although the certain significance of Iscariot, is uncertain, two main assumptions on its etymology have been proposed. A most traditional explanation derives Iscariot from Hebrew that means 'man of Kerioth'. The Gospel of John refers to Judas as "son of Simon Iscariot" (John 6:71), implying what some speculate that Kerioth refers to a region in Judea, or one of two known Judean town

Quirky

Yes. Quirky. The first part about the character of Judas is very good. Robinson's knowledge of languages and Biblical scholarship shines. He shows us how the gospels differ in their text on Judas and how they created his infamy. After this, we get some high level education on scrolls, codices, papyrus and conservation. It's quirky because it's told with exclamation points on almost every page. Robinson is clearly enthusiastic about this material. There is also a tale on par with the best spy vs. spy of how this material has been shopped around and the damage that has resulted from poor caretaking and perhaps thievery. The first irregularity of this project was "Hannah" of Egypt's desire to get the material out of the country before s/he was overwhelmed with demands for bakseesh (my term not Robinson's, who does allude to the uncertain environment for getting things out of the country). From this point on, more people, (from Robinson's point of view) of equally secretive modus operandi got involved. This has the exclamation point quirkiness, plus Robinson's (also quirky) penchant for analysing the linguistic derivation of names (i.e. Iscariot, Hannah, Thomas, Mia, Freida, Tchacos...). Robinson cannot accept the capitalistic aspects of the antiquities market. Perhaps, his attitude towards antiquities investors is why he was not tapped for the project. It is clear he has the experience and expertise to do the work and probably should have been hired. He speculates about the processes being used and wonders if the researchers have the keys to work in the lab late at night. This part is almost like a personal journal (complete with exclamation points). The book needs an index. Someone else said 3 1/2 stars and gave it 3. Since I agree I'll give it 4 and the average will right the situation for us both.

All about Judas

The first half of this book does a great job examining Judas Iscariot from 3 different angles the Judas of the New Testament Gospels and Acts, what the historical Judas was probably like, and then the way Judas is portrayed as a Gnostic in the newly published Gospel of Judas. This part of the book I found enlightening and an enjoyable read. The last half fully examines every aspect of how the Gospel of Judas came to light through its discovery in Egypt its theft, and the way the dealer tried to get $3 million for it and it ended up in a citibank safe deposit box in New York. The history of the manuscript is a very interesting story in itself. The final summary of the book is that the Gospel of Judas teaches us nothing about the historical Jesus or Judas, it only shows the opinions and imagination of 2nd century Gnostics.

sober insight into the subject

I have to wonder if the other reviewers have even read this book by what they have stated. While an interesting subject, the "finding" of the text, unfortunately, appears to be largely trumped up by National Geographic in an attempt to capitalize on the Da Vinci Code craze. The fact of the matter is that the existence of the text and it's general contents have been known for some time (indeed, a VERY long time). Obtaining the physical text (it was "found" quite a while ago) is an exciting event in itself but does not change any substantial understanding from historical or theological contexts. The real embarrassment is that it's being marketed not as a significant artifact but as something that will potentially change our perspective of history. That type of rhetoric will undoubtedly sell more books and make more money but at the same time, it's dangerous to our clear understanding of historic fact as a society. Robinson's book is as valid an analysis of the subject as any.

A Fine Contribution from Prof. Robinson

In recent times, there seems to be a resurgence of interest in the history of religion, and especially in Christian origins and the early "gospels" which didn't make it into the Christian New Testament. This can be seen, for example, in the fairly large number of "popular" books published during the past decade which deal with these topics. Most of these works have been written by qualified scholars rather than by nonprofessionals and are targeted to the ordinary non-specialized reader. I think this point is important because for all too long the writing of religious history has been geared toward the university student or other working scholars in the field. Part of this interest may be the result of recent publications and TV documentaries about the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Nag Hammadi codices. Almost everyone is interested in a mystery and new discoveries within the disciplines of biblical archaeology and New Testament history have certainly supplied the content for a contemporary religious detective story. I have met many people, for instance, who have read Elaine Pagels' "The Gnostic Gospels" or her tempting work "The Origin of Satan" and expressed an interest in pursuing further study of these subjects. I have discussed Burton Mack's "The Lost Gospel: The Book of Christian Origins" with young people who surprised me with their interest in this topic. I remember when "Eyewitness to Jesus: Amazing New Manuscript Evidence About the Origin of the Gospels" by Carsten Peter Thiede and Matthew D'Ancona first appeared on the scene and the controversy it generated among some young college students of my acquaintance. And, of course, there are the ever-popular books by Professor Bart Ehrman, such as his recent "Lost Christianities: The Battles for Scripture and the Faiths We Never Knew" and, even more recently, "Truth and Fiction in The Da Vinci Code," his response to Dan Brown's controversial best-selling book (and forthcoming movie) "The Da Vinci Code." Now we seem to have another major event about to occur in the world of religious history and early Christianity, this time dealing with what is called "The Gospel of Judas." And that is what James Robinson's new book, "The Secrets of Judas: The Story of the Misunderstood Disciple and His Lost Gospel," is all about. The original document, designated as "The Gospel of Judas," has been, according to Professor Robinson, "kept under wraps until now, to maximize its financial gain for its Swiss owners. The grand expose is being performed by the National Geographic Society, timed 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 -- or on a stack of papyrus leaves." Robinson's book was obviously rushed into print (there are citations from as late as February of this year) and I suspect this was done to predate National Geographic's "Grand Event" and provide a