The Codex Judas Papers by April D. DeConick

DeConickĪpril DeConick makes a brilliant contribution to the conversation about this puzzling gospel, whose Sethian 'bitter voice' she hears as a sophisticated, ironic parody of apostolic Christianity's atonement-by-sacrifice theology and cultic activity. I know in any other piece of early Christian literature, Gnostic or otherwise.' -April D. Judas was not only not sublime, he was far more demonic than any Judas What I found were a series of English translation choices made by the National Geographic team, choices that permitted a different Judas to emerge in the English translation than in the Coptic original. Manuscript, DeConick sought out the original Coptic text and began her own translation: 'I didn't find the sublime Judas, at least not in Coptic.

Inspired by The National Geographic Society's efforts to piece together this ancient In The Thirteenth Apostle, April DeConick offers a new translation of the Gospel of Judas that seriously challenges The National Geographic interpretation. The translationĬaused a sensation because it seemed to overturn the popular image of Judas the betrayer and instead presented a benevolent Judas who was a friend of Jesus. In 2006 The National G eographic Society released the first English translation of the Gospel of Judas, a second-century text discovered in Egypt in the 1970s.

Either way, don't expect to see the Gospel of Judas in the Bible any time soon.The first book to challenge The National Geographic version of the Gospel of Judas, The Thirteenth Apostle is sure to inspire to fresh debate around this most infamous of biblical figures. Others point out that human error can shape divine texts, like the terrible typo in the King James Bible that told people to commit adultery. Some scholars dismiss the Gospel of Judas because it comes from the Gnostic gospels, which contradict the Bible in shocking ways. The Gospel reveals a secret meeting between Jesus and Judas - just days before the Last Supper - where Jesus revealed his true nature to Judas and asked his closest disciple to help him ascend to Heaven. National Geographic determined the authenticity of the papyrus codex found hidden in the Egyptian desert, and the revelations in the Gospel of Judas contradict nearly 2,000 years of Christians condemning Judas. The Gospel of Judas, one of the Gnostic gospels, was found in the 1970s, but not translated until 2006. According to the text, Jesus asked Judas to betray him. But what if Judas wasn't a villain at all? What if he was actually helping Jesus? The secret Gospel of Judas reveals an entirely different side of the vilified apostle. For centuries, calling someone 'a Judas' has meant they're a traitor, and Dante even condemned Judas to the worst punishment in Hell for his actions. Christians around the world know the story of Judas Iscariot, the apostle who betrayed Christ with a kiss and sold him out for 30 pieces of silver.

The Codex Judas Papers by April D. DeConick