anthrakia
Interesting Column on the Jospel of Judas
Readers of Anthrakia might be interested in looking at an interesting column on the newly translated "Gospel of Judas." The column, "First Person: Responding to the Gospel of Judas," is by Albert Mohler, and can be found on the Baptist Press web page or www.bpnews.net.
Best wishes,
Mason Smith
Readers of Anthrakia might be interested in looking at an interesting column on the newly translated "Gospel of Judas." The column, "First Person: Responding to the Gospel of Judas," is by Albert Mohler, and can be found on the Baptist Press web page or www.bpnews.net.
Best wishes,
Mason Smith
posted by Mason Smith at Monday, April 10, 2006
1 Comments:
I like what Tim Ellsworth says and recommend Excursus: The Gospel of Judas -- A Special Report as a good supplement. Reading gnostic gospels, like that of Thomas, tells us a whole lot about the various ways people thought of Jesus in the second and third centuries. I'm reminded about Jesus' disciples said when he asked them what people were saying about him (Luke 9, the lectio June and I pondered this afternoon). The Twelve replied that some folks think Jesus is John the Baptizer, others tend to think He's Elijah, while still others scratch their heads and suggest He's one of the prophets who's managed to return. Everybody, it seems, has an opinion, and they're mostly wrong. Peter gets it right when he says that Jesus is "The Anointed [Christus, Messiah] of God," but even Peter doesn't quite know what he's saying. In short, lots of stories out there, during Jesus' lifetime and afterwards. The earliest writing of Paul help settle things down. He reflects what going on in the earliest communities, and there we see huge differences of opinion. Then the earliest Gospels--Mark, Matthew and Luke, along with John confirm Paul and help establish reliable stories about Jesus. When you compare the gnostic stuff with the church's considered canon, you see the enormous difference. It's not that the gnostic stuff isn't interesting in its own way; it's rather that it's so far off base. It will, of course, appeal to many who need some sort of special "knowing" and may, in fact, at the level of a sentence or two, contain something genuinely like the presentation of the earliest Gospels. But that's a rare sentence. Read the Gospel of Judas and come home appreciating what the Church, early on, decided was genuinely Jesus.
Post a Comment
<< Home