WASHINGTON - For 2,000 years Judas has been reviled for betraying Jesus. Now a newly translated ancient document seeks to tell his side of the story.

The "Gospel of Judas" tells a far different tale from the four gospels in the New Testament. It portrays Judas as a favored disciple who was given special knowledge by Jesus — and who turned him in at Jesus' request.

"You will be cursed by the other generations — and you will come to rule over them," Jesus tells Judas in the document made public Thursday.

The text, one of several ancient documents found in the Egyptian desert in 1970, was preserved and translated by a team of scholars.

But it does show the diversity of beliefs in early Christianity, said Marvin Meyer, professor of Bible studies at Chapman University in Orange, Calif.

The text, in the Coptic language, was dated to about the year 300 and is a copy of an earlier Greek version.

A "Gospel of Judas" was first mentioned around A.D. 180 by Bishop Irenaeus of Lyon, in what is now France. The bishop denounced the manuscript as heresy because it differed from mainstream Christianity. The actual text had been thought lost until this discovery.

"Perhaps more now can be said," he commented. The document "implies that Judas only did what Jesus wanted him to do."

In a key passage Jesus tells Judas, "You will exceed all of them. For you will sacrifice the man that clothes me."

This indicates that Judas would help liberate the spiritual self by helping Jesus get rid of his physical flesh, the scholars said.

"Step away from the others and I shall tell you the mysteries of the kingdom," Jesus says to Judas, singling him out for special status. "Look, you have been told everything. Lift up your eyes and look at the cloud and the light within it and the stars surrounding it. The star that leads the way is your star."

The text ends with Judas turning Jesus over to the high priests and does not include any mention of the crucifixion or resurrection.

National Geographic said the author believed that Judas Iscariot alone understood the true significance of Jesus' teachings. The author of the text is not named in the writings.

Discovered in 1970, the papyrus was kept in a safety deposit box for several years and began to deteriorate before conservators restored it. More than 1,000 pieces had to be reassembled.

Dang! Now all those folks out there that believe the Bible as a "word for word" document that is NOT to be interpreted but rather adhered to are going to be struggling for something to say.......

one question - then why would Judas feel so much remorse that he would hang himself?

Because the people that wrote the Bible and made up all that stuff didn't have this scroll, so they had to make up something to finish the chapter......

this is old news. the theory of Judas as Jesus's confidante has been around for quite some time.

It is certainly not inconceivable that the crucifixion was orchestrated by Jesus himself; with Judas playing the key role of liason between Jesus and his soon to be captors. Some even believe that the crucifixion was a hoax; that Jesus walked away alive; whether it be from a surrogate in his place or a carefully staged false crucifixion.......stopping short of fatality or serious injury.

There is a substantial body of research that supports these scenarios.........my guess is that the new book by Michael Baigent "The Jesus Papers" will assimilate much of this research; but I have not read it yet.

I have read quite a bit on the subject though, and it is quite surprising how many clues in the bible support alternate theories of the Jesus myth. Why, you may ask, were they left there??? It was not intentional; but as more and more new "gospels", scrolls, etc are discovered, more of the bigger picture is revealed......and more of the seemingly "out of place" items in the bible can be explained.

It's still cool to see a Christian Document Older than the Muslim Faith . . .

There are many books that address the early Christian period and specifically documents, letters and other gospels that were not included in the Bible. Some religious studies and books have even suggested that Jesus was married to Mary Magdeline

Lost Scriptures : Books that Did Not Make It into the New Testament by Bart D. Ehrman
Beyond Belief : The Secret Gospel of Thomas by Elaine Pagels
The Gospel of Mary of Magdala: Jesus and the First Woman Apostle by Karen L. King

HAR-HAR-HAR!!

Dis heah piece of garbage make all dem bible/Christian HATERS feal warms inside, don't it?!

HAR-HAR-HAR!!

Jet,
Islam is only about 1500 years old, so ALL Christian documents that were produced up until about 500 years later than the death of Christ are older than the Muslim Faith.

Of course, a Jew or a Hindu Indian would scoff at the Christian's and Muslim's that claim to have "old" religions.........

It's still cool to see an Old Christian Document . . .

Better ?

Yep, old news. The Copts were viewed as heretics and persecuted by the early church. The Copts are actually the Christians of Egypt. St. Mark is to the Copts what St. Paul is to Greek Orthodox Catholics and St. Peter is to Roman Catholics.

Anyone who has studied the evolution of the Catholic church through the Medieval period knows that the texts were most likely altered to suit the sitting Popes and Monarchs. And anyone with any faith knows that despite that God can speak to His followers through the Scriptures.

on one hand....
I think early non-canonical writings are unjustly categorically disregarded by the majority of christian ministers, laity and a bunch of scholars. Since they were rejected for whatever reason by the political process of making the canon, they get a bad rap. And the scholars who do give them weight and consider their message and the value to scholarship and christian spirituality are considered hacks by most of christianity.

on the other hand...
There is a reason documents didn't make it into the canon, right or wrong. The ones that did are what defines christianity throughout the ages. If something didn't make it in, perhaps there is part of it that would be dangerous to traditional christian thought. And if there is a part that is dangerous/heretical, it is natural to mistrust the whole document because of one or two thoughts.

=====================================
i'm done with my flashback to seminary.

I don't hate the bible Kingfish......I just think it is a fairy tale (not trying to sound offensive) that is representative of greater truths.

Jesus is known to have used parable to share his knowledge. A parable is EFFECTIVE in this regard since it is demonstrative of the application of knowledge, truth, etc. Is is a good way to pass along a concept without allowing the actual message to be corrupted by time (and politics).....it isn't unreasonable to think of the Bible along these lines.

It might be old news, but it was all over the web this morning . . .

and just yesterday I read...

MIAMI, Florida (Reuters) -- The New Testament says that Jesus walked on water, but a Florida university professor believes there could be a less miraculous explanation -- he walked on a floating piece of ice.

So far this week Jesus ice skates and Him and Judas were great buds.

I read that too . . . that's old news . . .

LoL . . .

Saw this last night as well and found it quite interesting.

I do agree with Andy, the Bible is a story not to be taken literally.

No wine yet, but I have made some tasty beer out of water, and grain.

I've planted seed and made one into many.

It's raining in Michigan, I had to walk on water to get to my car. Does that count?

I've also taught a few people to fish and hunt, and develop careers, now they don't ask for a handout, and are able to help others.

Ok humor aside.

Yesterday's bible and today's bible were interpeted to text to convey the message, and exert some control (probally good) over people. There isn't one book that contains the exact truth, but most contain the same overall message. More will be found.

IT'S THE message NOT THE text!

Deep down we all understand the message of Jesus. I've seen the message practiced many times on this forum, by the generosity, the thoughts, the prayers, the consideration of many members of this board.

So was Judas the facilitator, the go between, instructed by Jesus, Maybe. Why should we care!

The overall message of Jesus stays the same. That's the focus.

So what you are all saying is the Easter Bunny, Santa, and the tooth fairy are to blame....have a cigar and relax

?