A fantastic book explaining the context both of the Gospel of Judas and the sensational arguments made regarding it in the twenty-first century.

Wright explains what the Gospel of Judas is, the nature of its Gnostic writer(s), and the major differences between the belief systems of the Gnostics and the "proto-orthodox" Christians of the day. He then goes on to show why some scholars are so obsessed with Gnosticism and its writings today, and provides a robust defense for early Christianity against the Gnostics.

A book well worth considering to better understand the sensational claims that keep getting made today. (

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deusvitae | Oct 3, 2009 |

This was a short book about the Gospel of Judas that has recently come to the forefront and garnered much attention. Wright takes time analyzing why people cling to "new discoveries" and what this implies in our culture. He then goes on to explain what this material does bring to light and then what it does not by specifically responding to much writing by Gnostics.

I am certainly no theologian(just enjoy it as a lowly layman) and so this was not something that really came across my radar. If I was not so invested in reading everything that Wright has done, it would have been even longer before I heard about it. That said, I did not have too much invested in hearing specifically on the topic so while I did enjoy it, it was certainly not one of my favorite of his.

I am very thankful to be hearing of this from a source I enjoy/trust so much, though. (

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jd234512 | Jul 28, 2009 |

Excellent book about what the Gnostics believed and why its so popular today. The contrast with what New Testament Christianity should be about is clearly indicated. This third century "gospel" shows the gnostics yearning to get out of this world, which they reckoned was corrupt and the product of an evil demigod. There are many similarities between the gnostics and modern academics according to Wright! To add to its intrinsic fascination the book is short and readable. (

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othurtle | Dec 4, 2007 |

http://www.tutak.com/?p=68 (

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ntutak | Sep 28, 2006 |

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Amazon.com Product Description (ISBN 0801012945, Hardcover)

Joining many other recently found and publicized "gospels," the Gospel of Judas has found its way into the limelight as the subject of some recently published books and some recent television programming. The ancient manuscript is genuine-so what are Christians to make of the claims therein? Claims such as -Judas was doing what Jesus asked him to do when he betrayed Jesus -Jesus came to offer secret knowledge of how to escape this earthly world, rather than to usher in God's kingdom on earth -Jesus felt no pain on the cross -and more This timely and necessary response to the Gospel of Judas is the authoritative, orthodox word on what it really tells us--and does not tell us--about Jesus, Judas, early Christianity, and Gnosticism. Tom Wright, as both a bishop and an historian, is uniquely qualified to speak on the subject and answers the questions Christians have after encountering this "new gospel."

(retrieved from Amazon Fri, 24 Apr 2009 07:58:03 -0400)

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