The Gospel of Judas

The Gospel of Judas, once thought decayed beyond repair, has been successfully restored by the National Geographic Society, and is now being made public.



I find these sorts of things fascinating, but confess that I know just enough about the science of it all to be dangerous.

What worries me about this discovery is that the document is being publicized as presenting a very different view of the relationship of Judas and Jesus, and even makes the claim that Judas was acting on orders from Jesus (the way a friend would fulfill the wishes of his friend-even if it meant killing him).

The Gospel of Judas gives a different view of the relationship between Jesus and Judas, offering new insights into the disciple who betrayed Jesus. Unlike the accounts in the canonical Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, in which Judas is portrayed as a reviled traitor, this newly discovered Gospel portrays Judas as acting at Jesus' request when he hands Jesus over to the authorities.

Skeptical
The problem for me is that the years have hardened me to antiquities that make these sorts of claims. Remember the Ossuary of James? The Shroud of Turin?

There is no doubt that there are archeological finds that are the real thing, i.e. The Dead Sea Scrolls. But I find that it takes decades to verify, cross check, and make sure that it is the real thing. National Geographic states that the refurbishing of the Judas Gospel took a mere 5 years, which is lightning speed for this type of work.

Timing
Which leads me to my next question. Why was this made public now, with a special television presentation the week before Easter? I believe that the question is actually the answer. Experts have known about this gospel since the 70s, and the project began in 2001. It appears to me that the release of the document to the public was carefully planned to coincide with a time of year when most people's attention is focused on Jesus and the Easter story. This makes a lot of sense from a marketing standpoint, but deep down it makes me wonder if it is also meant to place question marks in the mind of the public.

Judas
And of course Judas would have a different story! When you were a kid, if you ever got into trouble and were sent to the principal's office (as I did often), all parties involved in the infraction had a slight variation on the story that painted their involvement in the most positive light possible.

The author of the Gospel of Judas remains anonymous. The original Greek text of the gospel, of which this is a Coptic translation, is thought to have been written by a group of early gnostic Christians sometime between when the New Testament Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John were penned and A.D. 180

The gnostics who wrote this document could have been Judas sympathizers for all we know, anxious to exonerate him from being known as the most infamous betrayer in history.

Conclusion
There is no doubt that this is an authentic text (the website goes into great detail on how they verified it), and that this is a significant find. However, I believe that at most it demonstrates that early Christians held different beliefs, not that the Bible as we know it is incorrect or somehow missing information.

Jesus Christ said that He would be betrayed and crucified, just as it had been prophesied:

The Son of man indeed goeth, as it is written of him: but woe to that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! good were it for that man if he had never been born. Mark 14:21

This does not sound like the words of someone addressing a friend who is doing him a favor.
Questions, comments, concerns? Please feel free to E-mail me!

Good Friday

This week, I've been wondering why they call it "Good Friday". It doesn't really seem good that Christ had to suffer such anguish on this day. At first, I thought that this was probably a meaningless question because I am woefully inadequate to stand and question centuries of tradition.

But today, the dj on the Christian station came on after playing Newsboys "I'm Free" and asked the same thing.

His conclusion was that although Christ suffered such anguish and shame, the end result was a very good one, that is, our redemption.

I tend to agree.

While I believe the Easter weekend is a happy time to focus on the resurrection of the Christ, it is also important that we somberly reflect on His sacrifice, too.

Without that, there wouldn't be much "good" to celebrate.

Questions, comments, concerns? Please feel free to E-mail me!

Writing With Chris Van Allsburg

Several years ago, my wife introduced me to an incredible author she came across while working on her masters in education. Chris Van Allsburg writes children's/juvenile literature, and I bet you've heard of his works titled Jumanji, Zathura, and The Polar Express.

There is another book, however, that is most fascinating called The Mysteries of Harris Burdick. This book is a collection of mysterious artwork with merely a title and a one sentence tag line. The rest of the story is to be filled in by the reader's imagination. From the website:

Several years ago, Chris Van Allsburg discovered fourteen drawings, attributed to an artist named Harris Burdick, that were, like pieces of a picture puzzle, clues to larger pictures. But the puzzles, the mysteries, presented by these drawings, are not what we are used to. They are not solved for us, as the final pages of a book or a film's last reel. The solutions to these mysteries lie in a place at once closer to hand, yet far more remote. They lie in our imagination.

Now, on the website, Allsburg invites readers to write their own stories based on the illustrations and to submit them. Each month, the winner will receive an autographed copy of the book.

Now’s your chance to explore the mystery of Harris Burdick’s illustrations. Each month, one of the drawings will be highlighted. Submit your own story of 200 words or less based on this month’s drawing. At the end of the month, a submission will be selected. That individual will have their story published on the site and will receive an autographed copy of Chris Van Allsburg’s The Mysteries of Harris Burdick.

Questions, comments, concerns? Please feel free to E-mail me!

Kate, Calvin, and Elton John's Closet

Kate and Calvin
Kate Moss is working again. Calvin Klein has signed her to star in an upcoming ad campaign.

Burberry and other fashion houses canceled contracts with Moss last year after a British tabloid published a picture of her allegedly using cocaine. But she has secured a number of new contracts after she apologized and attended a rehab clinic.

So let me get this straight. If you are a member of the cultural elite, you can get caught doing cocaine, have all of your modeling contracts pulled, and have your friends turn their backs on you. Then, you can apologize and attend rehab, and boom...you can have it all back with no repercussions.

Welcome to the 21st century.

Out of the Closet
Elton John, who has long been out of the closet, is now cleaning his closet for an AIDs charity.

Ten thousand pieces of classic couture and outrageous outfits from John's eclectic fashion collection and that of his partner, David Furnish, were laid out for purchase at the new Elton's Closet shop in New York's Rockefeller Center.

"The clothes have hardly been worn -- some of them haven't been worn," John said as he cut the ribbon to open the sale.

Since Denelle is a local New Yorker, maybe she can head over to Rockefeller and pick us out a couple of outfits.

Questions, comments, concerns? Please feel free to E-mail me!

Beckett's Centenary in Dublin

Interesting article concerning the month long arts festival in Dublin, commemorating the 100th birthday of Samuel Beckett. He's known for such plays as "Waiting for Godot" and "Endgame".

Dublin is hosting a wealth of plays, films, paintings, sculpture and music throughout April to mark the life of its Nobel laureate son, who was born on April 13, 1906 and died in 1989. The city kicked off its celebrations by projecting the playwright, novelist and poet's words onto several Dublin landmarks on Monday. The light show, which runs for five nights, was arranged by the American conceptual artist Jenny Holzer.

Questions, comments, concerns? Please feel free to E-mail me!

Devotion: Holy Week

When the hour came, Jesus and his apostles reclined at the table. And he said to them, "I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. For I tell you, I will not eat it again until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God." Luke 22:14-16 NIV

Experts on church leadership and growth state that in every service there is a "God Moment". This is that one point in a service in which God desires to move in and do His work in our lives. Sometimes we sense it and respond. More often, we miss it altogether-too caught up in the agenda or in our own desires.

Jesus Christ, in the ultimate God Moment of history, was about to give his life as the sacrifice for all humanity. Yet the disciples were all but clueless as to the momentous events that were going to unfold during the Passover week.

Are we so busy in our daily and weekly routines that we often miss our personal God Moments? I'm convinced that God desires to reveal Himself to me in fresh ways every day, but often I am too caught up in the art of living, or just not focused enough on Him to catch what He is wanting to show me.

As we approach the Easter weekend, be sure to find a place to stop and focus and let God reveal Himself to you. In so doing, you'll discover the beauty and peace that is the God Moment.

Questions, comments, concerns? Please feel free to E-mail me!