Judas and the Gospel of Jesus is, like several other scholarly works published recently, a refutation by a biblical scholar of recent Gnostic texts that have come to light: the release of the Gospel of Judas, and the runaway success of The Da Vinci Code. Granted, this refutation is as much taking advantage of the surrounding sensationalism as it is scorning it, but the voice of scholars tempering mass media is nevertheless invaluable. NT Wright in particular is a thoughtful and academically honest scholar of faith, so he's a good mediator for the controversies.

He dispenses quickly with the possibility that the Gospel of Judas is 'legit' in any way, but then lays out the ways in which it is still significant. The Gospel of Judas, and Gnosticism in general, represents counter-cultural dissatisfaction with the early church and its power structure. If the proto-orthodox church had a top-down structure of knowledge (assumed doctrinal authority by the people in charge), then the Gnostics had a bottom-up structure (it is the marginalized weirdos of the faith who actually know what's going on). Gnostic gospels portray those who are the most secure in their faith as being the most foolish and wrong; conversely, those who pursue secret knowledge are gifted with it.

With this analysis, Wright redeems the Gnostic gospels as being worth reading, in an academic or perhaps even faith setting. Into these strange and obscure texts are woven the actual tensions and resentments among early Christians, and the way in which religious authority is questioned should add another dimension to the reading of the New Testament. ( )

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. ( )

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. ( )

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. ( )

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