Customer Reviews

The Lost Gospel: The Quest for the Gospel of Judas Iscariot

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All anyone has heard about this week is the release of the so called Gospel of Judas. There are two new releases by the same authors, one that is The Gospel of Judas, which is the translation, and this companion book, which is a examination of the scientific process behind the work done on the Judas Codex.

This book is more of the archeological and scientific rather than spiritual, although it does contain passes from the Judas gospel. The story is of the gospel from its discovery in Egypt to how the document bounced around in private collections for years and to how finally it was acquired, preserved and translated by a team of scientists working for the National Geographic Institute. The story itself is fascinating; the document was left in such a state of disarray that it was literally crumbling once the scientists received. The book describes the intricate process of preservation, carbon dating the papyrus, and the translation of the Coptic script it was written in.

From a strictly historical perspective, what we know is that this work is in Coptic script(probably translated into Coptic from Greek) and was laid down on papyrus in Egypt around 300 A.D. It was discovered in a cave in Egypt, similar to the discovery of the Gospel of Thomas, and bounced around private collections until it was acquired by scientists, preserved, and translated. The work relates one unknown author's perspective on the role of Judas in the crucifixion. This document was first mentioned in historical records from around 180 A.D., suggesting that its line of thought existed among certain gnostic sects of the early church, most likely the Cainites.

As a historian, this book offers unique insight into the scientific process involved in document preservation and translation. It also offers unique insight into the spread of early christianity and how schools of thought evolved in the first three hundred years after the events of the life of Jesus. Whatever your personal belief in the Bible and Christianity, this book makes for a fascinating read for the science and the history involved.

A.G. Corwin
St.Louis, MO

If you are looking for a book that gives the complete translation of the Gospel of Judas you would do better to read other books available on this topic. However, if you would like to read an incredible story of how this incredibly precious document passed around the world for over 20 years going from buyer to buyer while coming precariously close to degrading beyond any hope of usefullness, this is quite a story. This book is written from the National Geographic's viewpoint of their involvement with the procurement, last attempts at preservation of this astonishing document and ultimate translation of the Gospel of Judas. This book does contain discussions of the big picture of the importance of the Gospel of Judas and what its message is but there are those who will be better suited for an in depth translation of the Gospel without any of the legwork behind it's discovery, travels and the race to beat the clock before the gospel physically disintegrated. For those of us who want to understand what is contained in the Gospel of Judas without getting too deep from a religious standpoint and want to read a story of intrigue about this document and how it was almost never brought to translation and dissemination, this is a terrific read.

This new book by the National Geographic Society is bound to be of interest. Whether one agrees or disagrees with the outline of the lost gospel being highlighted here, it still presents an intriguing look into the early mind of Christians, who were a very diverse group.

There were originally more than four gospels, and literally hundreds of apostolic letters and manuscripts floating around the ancient world. These were of variable quality literarily and theologically, but it took hundreds of years for the Christian community to come to a consensus about what should be included and what should be excluded. Generally, Gnostic texts were excluded, and this lost gospel of Judas is most likely a Gnostic production, according to the authors. It was referenced by early church leaders such as Irenaeus, who argued strongly for the now-standard vision of four canonical gospels.

What is the issue with this gospel? The central idea that places this text as odds with the canonical gospels is that it paints Judas is a very different light - Judas is no longer the villain who betrays Jesus for his own personal gain, or because of his own spiritual confusion, but rather an obedient servant who, when turning Jesus in to the authorities, is simply following Jesus' own direction as a necessary step for God's plan to come to fulfillment. Judas is portrayed as the closest of the apostles to Jesus, a leader among the apostles, and thus perhaps the object of jealousy.

To be sure, these ideas are not new. Varying images of Judas and confusion about his role have been present throughout much of Christian history, with no single definitive vision of his personality nor his action superseding all others. (See the book on Judas by scholar Kim Paffenroth, published recently). The document highlighted in this text is a 31-page, fragile manuscript dated to approximately the year 300, as a copy of a story that may have originated 150 or more years earlier. The manuscript itself has a colourful history, having been bought, sold, and stolen multiple times. As this book is released, the manuscript is on display at the National Geographic Society in Washington, D.C. This book discusses efforts to preserve the manuscript and halt further deterioration. It traces the fascinating history of this text, and places it in the broader context of other manuscripts that have survived, both from the early days of Christianity, as well as more generally.

This book promises to be of interest to historians, theologians, biblical scholars, and others who find the early days of Christianity fascinating. Even those (like me) who are not willing to lend canonical authority to this rediscovered gospel will find that it brings up ideas and questions that are worth considering.

This book goes along with a companion volume, 'The Gospel of Judas' also published by the National Geographic Society, with commentary by Bart D. Ehrman, and edited by Rodolphe Kasser, Marvin Meyer, and Gregor Wurst. That volume looks more particularly at the translation of the text with the tools of biblical and historical scholarship brought to bear. Both books are also companions of the new television documentary on the newly discovered text, produced by and shown on the National Geographic channel.

When I first looked to buy a book on the Gospel of Judas, I wasn't sure if I should buy this one, or the one entitled "The Lost Gospel: The Quest for the Gospel of Judas Iscariot". In reading the reviews of the two books, both with the National Geographic Society's backing, it was hinted that these two are companioon books, and that's exactly right: This book--"The Gospel of Judas"--focuses on how the Gospel of Judas was brought "to light", so to speak, from its discovery in Egypt to the restoration and publication of an almost completely disintegrated manuscript a few decades later. The second, much smaller book provides the translation of the gospel, and several essays on its meaning and role in early Christianity.

I gave "The Gospel of Judas" four stars rounding up from 3-1/2 stars. It's a fascinating story, but because there is so much "action" going on, it is sometimes difficult to follow the timeline and who's doing what to whom.

My recommendation is to purchase "The Gospel of Judas" if you're interested in archaeology along the lines of a spine-tingling Indiana Jones story. Read "The Lost Gospel: The Quest for the Gospel of Judas Iscariot" to see the translation of the Coptic document for yourself and understand how modern scholars believe it fits in with early Christian beliefs before the formation of the Orthodox / Catholic canon in the late fourth century.

If you are interested in learning about the wheeling and dealing that is part of this document's history, I recommend this book. If you're more interested in learning in detail about this gospel itself, you might want to try elsewhere.

This book provides an excellent introduction by Bart Ehrman. It does not, however, contain a translation of the gnostic Gospel of Judas (much of it is paraphrased at the end).

The bulk of the book describes how the gospel was found and how it was dealt with (both by the antiquities sellers and by scholars). You will learn a great deal about the Mideastern antiquities market--more than you will about gnosticism.

This book was certainly rushed out the door, but I actually think that turned out to be a blessing rather than a curse. It is a fairly straightforward account of the events which occured between the time the Gospel of Judas was pulled out of the ground to the point when it landed in the safe hands of Rodolphe Kasser, Frieda Tchacos Nussberger, et al. There simply wasn't enough time alotted to the project to do much sensationalizing of the events which passed between the two covers, and this makes the story much more interesting because it is actually a very truthful account which seems to stick fairly to the facts gleaned from interviews with the people who were involved.

It is an intriguing story which reveals some of the darker underbelly of the world antiquities market, and is an interesting survey of human nature in general when large sums of money are involved and there is a profit to be made. It is definitely worth the time it takes to read it, and it manages to work in some of the history of the Gospel of Judas itself in occassional chapters which alternate with the main story.

If you are looking for the English translation of the gospel itself and commentary on its contents, there is another book which was published at the same time entitled, "The Gospel of Judas" which you should certainly check out as well.

Just as a "heads up," this book is the companion volume to THE GOSPEL OF JUDAS. That book contains the actual translation of the Gnostic gospel, along with scholarly annotations.

THIS book is the story of how this document came to see the light of day. It details how the Gospel was originally found, and its subsequent fate in various private collections, until its recent "re-discovery" in the 20th century. And that story is a quite interesting one. The book next relates the very interesting process of how the National Geographic Society went about the processes of preserving the papyrus and then translating its Coptic script.

As someone who is particularly interested in the history of the Mideast, I very much enjoyed this book. And just as relevant in this case, as someone who loves a good detective story (all the more so if it's true), this book was doubly appealing to me.

(Strangely, this is the second book I've read this month with the same Caravaggio painting on its dust jacket! The other was Harr's THE LOST PAINTING.)

This book details the discovery and eventual publication the an ancient codex of the Gospel of Judas. It describes the serpentine journey this codex took from the time it was found to its final preservation and publication by the National Geographic Institue. You must look elsewhere for the actual translation of the gospel, however, this story is full of intrigue and interesting characters and is well told. The book also gives us background details that explain the history of the codex and its probable authors. Although it describes a Judas that is very different from the biblical Judas, it is up to the reader to put this view into the context of the gnostic beliefs that were probably the basis for its original publication in the second century.

This book has a fascinating opening and a satisfying conclusion, but the middle third bogs down in too much detail about the seamy side of antiquities dealing during the last half of the last century (1945-2000.) Yes, the rediscovered manuscript, hidden for likely 1,700 years, had a tough life for about 25 years, being sold more than once, stolen and repurchased from the thieves or their friends, and stored improperly on three continents. The damage from those years is not totally fixable, and that is a bit tragic. But Krosney tells me more than I needed to know about the principal actors in that saga, and less than I wanted to know about the process of eventually saving what could be saved. I am glad I read his account, but I await an even more interesting one, which spends more time on the restoration and the contents of the Gospel of Judas than on its travels. I'd probably give this effort a half-star less for literary merit, except that the subject matter itself has always fascinated me...old writings about early church practices, especially allegedly heretical ones, are irresistable.

If you are reading this book review, the odds are that you know about the discovery of the Gospel of Judas and its controversial storyline. Herbert Krosney writes about the discovery of the manuscript and how it made its way to finally being published. Along the way Krosney includes some interesting anecdotes such as the word translated "betrayer" is paradidomi which means no more than "to hand over." Along the way Krosney shows his readers how the antiquities market of Cairo really works. And along the way Krosney introduces the reader to people who were key in getting the Gospel published, people such as Frieda Nussberger.

The storyline of the Gospel has been known since the time of Iranaeus of Lyon (so the Greek text predates the Coptic text by a century to a century and a half). The Gospel is mentioned in in the likes of Wilhelm Schneemelcher's 1991 _New Testament Apocrypha_. What Krosney does not include in his book is a translation nor does he include a detailed commentary on the text. Despite the fact that the Gospel has been known since the time of Iranaeus, a detailed analysis of the theology is still forthcoming.