Customer Reviews

The Gospel According to Judas by Benjamin Iscariot

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

I picked up a copy of this book at Dollar Tree. I had no idea what it was supposed to be, but since I have read the real Gospel of Judas I thought it was worth a buck to pick up a copy of this. I had finished reading it the next day.

I keep a computerized inventory of all of my books, and when I entered this one I had difficulty deciding which genre to place it under. Ultimately I put it under Religious Fiction, but you could also label it Religious Devotional or Religious Scholarship. This is a novel that is written in the form of a gospel, and although its history and theology are highly unorthodox, it also has aspects of a devotional work. It is obvious that the authors love the God and Jesus of their understanding and have a great reverence for the New Testament, but they choose to experiment in looking at things from a different angle. I think it is worthwhile even if it does leave the final result confused.

Considering this book as a novel, it is a first person narrative by a Benjamin Iscariot, son of Judas Iscariot. He tells the truth (as he sees it) about his father in order to save his reputation from those who called him a traitor. He tells the life of his father including how he met Jesus, what he did with Jesus, and what really happened at the execution. Finally he says that his father Judas did not commit suicide but died of natural causes at old age.

If you are looking for literal truth in this book, there is very little. This imaginary telling contradicts both the Biblical version of the story and the version told in the Gospel of Judas. There is no credible scholarship to back up any of the claims in this book, but the authors do a good job at making the historical settings and people seem realistic and credible. If you are a literalist Christian you believe that Judas was a traitor. To read the Gospel of Judas is to learn the view that some contemporaries thought he was really an enlightened hero. To an atheist of the mythicist perspective such as myself, there is no solid reason to believe that either Jesus or Judas ever actually lived or did anything the New Testament says they did. This "Gospel According to Judas" is a creative novel that conflicts with all of those opinions.

This book has an interesting effect from a devotional perspective. If a myth is considered to be any story that affects us deeply and helps us to better live our lives, then I think this book offers much to anyone who wants some new ideas about the Christian myth. I think that most Westerners, religious and non, could find something inspiring and thought-provoking in this book.

Unfortuantely this book tries to do too much without being very clear about any of its goals. Is it a novel, a religious work, or a conspiracy theory? Trying to be all things it basically fails at all of them. This could have been a great book, but it turns out pretty mediocre. However because it is so different from anything else on the bookshelves I found it to be a worthwhile read and would recommend it for any spiritual seeker (Christian, atheist, or other) who has an open mind and a heart able to be touched by badly-written fiction.

This book is written as an account of Judas' life story written by Benjamin Iscariot, his son. It mostly is a poorly written novelization of some gospel scenes. The prose never rises to any heights. You never care the least about Judas, his son, Jesus, or any of the characters. There is no drama, no narrative sweep, and no artful setting forth of truth in a fictional setting. In other words, all the elements of good fiction are missing. It's view of the bible is curiously antiquated, a mix of discredited historical viewpoints, and an also discredited idea that a mix of oral traditions competed after the Jesus event. The book disappoints as a theological or philosophical work; there are no powerful insights here. It even fails as a Gospel presentation. Whereas in the gospels, Jesus is the main character, and the events are driven through and around him, this is the gospel of Judas, an apologia for the man. Since it is so poorly done, it fails even to do that. Avoid this book!

This book is very much worth the time and effort to study this sad characterization of Judas.

I'm sorry..but this books wasn't what I expected. I was looking for a fictional story, sad to say..for the most part I could've just read the New Testament. I felt like that's what I was doing anyway, so is the Bible just a big book of fiction? I have either heard or read just about all of this until it got to the end and that's the only difference. Judas didn't hang himself but wandered off somewhere. jeez Not worth the time spent.

I'm not an expert on the subject, but I think everyone knows the basics on the Jesus story. I found the book interesting, and portrayed Christ as a very compelling man who understood his place in history before his death. It's not the "real" gospels, but worth a read.

This book is an interesting 'What if'. What if Judas's son had written about his life?

It explores some history as it's recoreded in sources outside of the bible. It is certainly embelished as well, after all, it is fiction, but it could have happened this way.

It's a very good read.

I don't understand why some reviewers did not give this book a five star rating. For crying out loud, the book is a biblical fiction and a good read (to boot)! I suggest reading it in conjunction with the Bible (NIV) and Reading Judas: The Gospel of Judas and the Shaping of Christianity by Elaine Pagels and Karen L. King. Great job Mr Archer.

I was waiting for something interesting to happen, some insight... I didn't really come across anything new.

Overall, a bit disappointing, luckily not a big book.

For much more illuminating Biblical historical fiction, I highly recommend the Kingdom & the Crown Series by Gerald Lund (3 books) and the Women of Genesis books by Orson Scott Card.

I accidentally took this book out the library and decided to read it. I found it fascinating and decided to buy it for my children and friends to read. The glossary at the back was also very interesting.

I have read and enjoyed just about everything Archer has written. However this overpriced book is a complete waste of money. It was $AUD24 for a book I read in a bit over an hour. Even then much of the book consisted of excerpts from the Bible. It didn't even have much that was new.