Here's the text of the AP Press release on the 'Gospel of Judas'. If you want to
see a
collection of photographs of and pertaining to the papyrus try going to feed://
rss.news.yahoo.com/imgrss/events/lf/040606gospelofjudas . There's also a lot
more
information on the National Geographic's website:
http://www9.nationalgeographic.com/
lostgospel/.

Anthony Bulloch
________________

Ancient Text Shows a Different Judas

By RANDOLPH E. SCHMID, Associated Press Writer

Fri Apr 7, 9:30 AM ET

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. It was made public in an English
translation by the National Geographic Society.

Religious and lay readers alike will debate the meaning and truth of the
manuscript.

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.

Elaine Pagels, a professor of religion at Princeton University, said, "The
people who loved,
circulated and wrote down these gospels did not think they were heretics."

Added Rev. Donald Senior, president of the Catholic Theological Union of
Chicago: "Let a
vigorous debate on the significance of this fascinating ancient text begin."

Senior expressed doubt that the new gospel will rival the New Testament, but he
allowed
that opinions are likely to vary.

Craig Evans, a professor at Acadia Divinity College in Nova Scotia, Canada, said
New
Testament explanations for Judas' betrayal range from money to the influence of
Satan.

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

Christianity in the ancient world was much more diverse than it is now, with a
number of
gospels circulating in addition to the four that were finally collected into the
New
Testament, noted Bart Ehrman, chairman of religious studies at the University of
North
Carolina.

Eventually, one point of view prevailed and the others were declared heresy, he
said,
including the Gnostics who believed that salvation depended on secret knowledge
that
Jesus imparted, particularly to Judas.

In Cairo, the editor of the Coptic weekly "Watani," Youssef Sidhom, did not want
to make
an immediate judgment on the manuscript.

"However," he said, "this will not greatly affect the central belief that
considers Judas as a
traitor, but there is an old school of thought that says one should not
persecute Judas
because his role was to complete the prophecies. It seems that the new
manuscript will
support this point of view — that Judas' role was pivotal to completing the
prophecies."

The newly translated document's text begins: "The secret account of the
revelation that
Jesus spoke in conversation with Judas Iscariot."

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.

The material will be donated to the Coptic museum in Cairo, Egypt, so it can be
available
to all scholars said Ted Waitt of the Waitt Institute for Historical Discovery,
which helped
finance the restoration.

In addition to radio carbon dating, the manuscript was also authenticated
through ink
analysis, multispectral imaging, content and linguistic style and handwriting
style, National
Geographic reported.

___

On the Net:

http://www9.nationalgeographic.com/lostgospel/

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