The Lost Gospel of Judas Iscariot: A New Look at Betrayer & Betrayed

My rating:

add to my books

The Lost Gospel of Judas Iscariot: A New Look at Betrayer & Betrayed

by Bart D. Ehrman

3.64 · rating details · 265 ratings · 47 reviews

The recent National Geographic special on the Gospel of Judas was a major media event, introducing to tens of millions of viewers one of the most important biblical discoveries of modern times. Now, a leading historian of the early church, Bart Ehrman, offers the first comprehensive account of the newly discovered Gospel of Judas, revealing what this legendary lost gospel ...more

Hardcover, 198 pages

Published October 1st 2006 by Oxford University Press (first published 2006)

more details... edit details

Get a copy:

More…

There is a good chance some of your friends read this book. Sign in to see!

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Lists with This Book

This book is currently not featured on any Listopia lists. Add this book to your favorite list »

Community Reviews

(showing 1-30 of 523)

filter | sort: default (?) | rating details

Jan 20, 2009

Trevor rated it

Shelves: history, philosophy, religion

I wish I was as clever as those people who attach images to their reviews – but I can’t work out how to do it. If I could attach an image to this review it would be this one:

http://www.savagechickens.com/2006/05/ju...

Savagechickenjudus

(Special thanks to Richard for showing me how to do this and to Mr Savage for providing me so much amusement over the years.)

Now, I think that is funny and when I first saw it I knew very little about the Gospel of Judas and, to be hon...more

like 9 likes

· see review

Aug 31, 2011

Erik Graff rated it

Recommends it for: Christians

Recommended to Erik by: Michael & Tom Miley

Shelves: religion

Tom Miley introduced me to Ehrman's writing. His brother Michael called to inform me of National Geographic's publication of the Gospel of Judas, an event which I immediately checked up on via what was then available on the internet. Consequently, finding this book on the subject by Ehrman was felicitous.

Unfortunately, Ehrman does a less than stellar job of it. First, and remarkably, no transcript of the text of the gospel is provided in the book, not even as an appendix. One wond...more

· see review

Dec 31, 2010

Michael Waddell rated it

This was an absolutely fascinating book!

The discussion of the newly discovered "Lost Gospel of Judas" itself (its physical discovery, damage, restoration, translation and contents) was interesting, but was not actually the highlight of the book. What really made this book a great read was the thoroughness with which Ehrman takes us through the process of Biblical analysis and the history of pre- and post-Christian theology from the time just before, during and after Christ...more

· see review

Dec 11, 2010

Larry Zieminski rated it

· review of another edition

Recommends it for: Early Christian History fans

This is a great book, if you know what you're getting. This is not a translation of the Gospel of Judas. It includes a summary of the Gospel and a translation of a few of the passages, but you should look for another book if all you're after is the translation of the text itself.

Instead, Ehrman has provided a comprehensive history of everything surrounding the text. Not only do we get a history of how the Gospel was found, restored, and presented to the public, but we also get a his...more

· see review

May 24, 2009

Sean rated it

Shelves: religion, nonfiction

I really liked certain parts of this book. The description of the tangled series of events leading up to the unveiling, reconstruction and translation of the Gospel of Judas was exciting and (at least somewhat) tense. Ehrman's discussion of the Gospel's place within the gnostic tradition and the Christian tradition as a whole was likewise very interesting, as was his analysis of the evolution of Christian attitudes towards Judas.

Unfortunately, these different sections feel like they ...more

· see review

Apr 07, 2009

Tom rated it

Once again, someone found some scraps of parchment with the name of Judas and the whole concept of Christianity is therefor attacked. Dr. Ehrman starts out by saying that the writings were not by Judas nor probably written by anyone who knew Judas. He then goes on to say that they were probably gnostic papers and then proceeds to attack the four gospels in the New Testament, tries to prove a coverup by he Church, debunk the concept of a Christ or Messiah, all on a scholarly basis.

The...more

· see review

Mar 24, 2009

Eris_discordia added it

Very interesting book about the Gnostic gospel of Judas. I was a bit disappointed that Ehrman wrote about the text, but didn't reproduce any of it. But I learned a lot about the myriad ways Judas is viewed by many gospel authors, and about Gnostic Christianity.

The gospel of Judas is a gospel written about, not by, Judas, and portrays him as the only disciple that really "gets it"--in order to regain his heavenly home, Jesus must shed his mortal skin. He tells Judas that he ...more

· see review

Apr 27, 2010

Rodhilton Hilton rated it

Shelves: religion, audiobooks

As with every other book by Bart Ehrman, The Lost Gospel is absolutely fascinating if you're interested in the historical aspects of Christianity.

The book discusses the finding of the Gospel of Judas, the story of how it went from being in the hands of some lucky folks who didn't know what it was all the way to National Geographic and eventually the biblical scholars that NG hired to study it.

Once we move past that, we get to the contents of the book itself. Ehrman cover...more

· see review

Sep 21, 2009

John rated it

Shelves: mymap

Not a bad book . . . but it wasn't what I was hoping for. I had thought that it would contain a full transcription of the parchment, along with his translation, but it's actual a surmation with snippets that he directly translates. I imagine the National Geographic is holding tightly to the rights, even though it is Bart Ehrman.

If you have read any earlier Bart Ehrman books, there are no big surprises in this. He has no big epiphany. It does afford him an opportunity to wax fur...more

· see review

Mar 09, 2010

Kelly rated it

Shelves: non-fiction, religion

I've always loved watching the National Geographic shows about lost Biblical artifacts and secrets of the Bible, especially those that challenge mainstream views. Unfortunately, though, when the documentary on the discovery of the lost gospel of Judas was on, I couldn't watch it. Something reminded me about it recently, and I decided to check this book out for a more detailed account. The author, Bart Ehrman, was one of the scholars originally sent to verify the authenticity of the gospel. Thi...more

· see review

Mar 25, 2009

Bobby Keane rated it

Shelves: religion

If you are a fan, and I am, I think you are going to like pretty much any book Ehrman writes.

This was written shortly after Ehrman was one of the first 3 scholars to get a look at the Gospel of Judas when National Geographic was considering purchasing it in 2004. Ehrman starts by telling the interesting story of the Gospel's discovery and how it made its way into National Geographic's hands. He then goes on to examine how Judas was portrayed in each of the 4 canonized Gospels (Mark...more

· see review

Aug 11, 2009

Ron rated it

As with Lost Christianities, I found the last chapter of this book to be far and away the best part of it. Much of the rest was too rambling and repetitive to justify giving the book a high rating. In the first 5 or 6 chapters, there were some points that I found interesting, but too often I found myself wondering why Ehrman was going on and on about what seemed to me to be idle speculations that have little if any usefulness in contemporary settings. I was surprised to find so little of the ...more

· see review

Jul 17, 2011

Jo rated it

Shelves: history, religious-spiritual, nonfiction

The Author of The Lost Gospel of Judas, Ehrman is regarded as an expert on early Christianity, in the academic field. The Lost Gospel of Judas is about the discovery, authentication, content, and significance of the Lost Gospel of Judas Iscariot, a Gnostic gospel. To Ehrman, the Gospel of Judas' importance lies in what it can contribute to our understanding of the early forms of Christianity – or "Christianities", as he refers to them (which were, apparently, very diverse). This book...moreThe Author of The Lost Gospel of Judas, Ehrman is regarded as an expert on early Christianity, in the academic field. The Lost Gospel of Judas is about the discovery, authentication, content, and significance of the Lost Gospel of Judas Iscariot, a Gnostic gospel. To Ehrman, the Gospel of Judas' importance lies in what it can contribute to our understanding of the early forms of Christianity – or "Christianities", as he refers to them (which were, apparently, very diverse). This book is really about Judas rather than about the Gospel of Judas. If you want a word for word translation of the document, go find a different book. [While this book does not contain a translation of the Gospel, Ehrman does give a clear summary of it in chapter six.]

Ehrman discusses the popular image of Judas Iscariot, discussing popular misconceptions while directing the reader to the scarce evidence actually available to us. Judas Iscariot barely appears in the canonical gospels but the stories about him have grown all out of proportion over the centuries. Ehrman examines each of the New Testament accounts, pointing to their differences as well as to the ways in which the accounts built upon each other from Mark to Matthew and Luke, and to Acts and John, before arriving at the story told in the Gospel of Judas itself. He also includes a brief discussion of Gnosticism (it’s quite odd, especially in light of what has become the Bible familiar to all of us) and the place of Judas' gospel within the framework of Gnostic religion and early Christian thought. He also compares its teaching to that of other Gnostic texts such as the Secret Book of John, the Gospel of the Egyptians, the Acts of John, the (Coptic) Apocalypse of Peter, and the Gospel of Thomas; he compares it to the non-orthodox teachings of Marcion; and shows how it is similar to Jewish Christian apocalyptic thought. The last several chapters of the book, regarding what Judas betrayed and his motive therefor are rather significantly speculative, but it is the speculation of an expert so I suppose that makes it reasoned speculation. I found the last chapters interesting, but wasn't comfortable with them. I finally figured out it's because as an ALJ, I deal with evidence daily, and in my job, speculation, even reasoned speculation, is not evidence and cannot be dispositive.

I have one complaint about how the book is structured. The author is wedded to the academic method: “Tell them what you’re going to tell them, tell them, and then tell them what you told them”. He uses this method for the overall book and for each chapter, so the book gets somewhat repetitive. And, for me, it bogged down in the description of the discovery and the many years it took to sell it (while the document continued to deteriorate). I had to push myself to continue to listen to the book through those sections, but after that it became quite interesting again. Overall, Ehrman manages to make the subject matter truly fascinating. It is an interesting, eye opening book.
(less)

· see review

Nov 04, 2009

Andres rated it

Shelves: mylibraryatthemansion

A very interesting look at a recently discovered Gnostic gospel. The book does a fair job at presenting the highlights of Gnostic belief and then fits this new gospel neatly within that belief system.

The Gospel of Judas is, as it name indicates, sympathetic to Judas Iscariot, portraying him as the only one of Jesus's disciples to truly understand the Master. And to be honest it does make more sense than the traditional belief. I had a huge problem with this as a child and unwitting C...more

· see review

Jul 05, 2010

Amanda rated it

Shelves: literally-on-my-shelf, religion, non-fiction

While I am happy to have read this book, I can't help be disappointed with this book. It's not so much the book itself that is disappointing; Ehrman did a fairly good job with the information that he had to work with. My ultimate disappointment was in the lack of information contained within the gospel of Judas Iscariot.

The text was not a complete disappointment, however, and the idea that Judas Iscariot was not the completely evil being that he's made out to be in modern Christia...more

· see review

Sep 21, 2009

Mike rated it

Recommended to Mike by: Jeff Bower

Shelves: belief, literature, world-history

This is a fascinating book. Ehrman is a true expert in his field(s), including early Christian manuscripts, the history of the early church, and the theology and literary criticism of the New Testament. His excitement at being able to analyze the newly released Gospel of Judas is palpable, and the reader gets caught up in his retelling of the tale of how the manuscript was discovered (and nearly destroyed). This is followed by a critical dissection of the contents of the book itself, and fini...more

· see review

Jan 17, 2010

Diane rated it

Shelves: religion, audiobook, non-fiction

I just began listening to this book and am totally enthralled.

I was thrilled with this book. Partly of course because it was very interesting and thought provoking, but perhaps most because I felt like I was in college taking a really good course. I listened to the book on CD and highly recommend that anyone reading it listen on CD. It reads just like a series of course lectures – there is a definite outline and some redundancy to make points or clarify things and there is the same ...moreI just began listening to this book and am totally enthralled.

I was thrilled with this book. Partly of course because it was very interesting and thought provoking, but perhaps most because I felt like I was in college taking a really good course. I listened to the book on CD and highly recommend that anyone reading it listen on CD. It reads just like a series of course lectures – there is a definite outline and some redundancy to make points or clarify things and there is the same excitement that comes with a well done course.

The topic is the recently discovered Gospel of Judas, one of several early Gnostic texts uncovered in the past century. The first part of the book is the story of the recovery of the text and it is like a mystery story. Next, Ehrman discusses the actual text and reads portions and discusses them. A major portion of the book discusses Gnosticism and describes the Gnostic belief system in detail, relating them to many of the early Gnostic texts, of which the Gospel of Judas is one. This may be the most difficult part of the book (for me) and I ended up parking my car (in a park in the Methow Valley) so I could concentrate – this is not a book to listen to in traffic or when you are trying to follow new directions. The author discusses several other early Christian sects and also the Apocalyptic Jewish tradition. He then brings all this information together to talk about what we know historically about Judas and Jesus and how the new Gospel of Judas adds to this knowledge. And finally (my favorite part that I actually went back and listened to again) he describes the many aspects of early Christianity and how this new text augments our picture of the period.

The author turns out to be from UNC, which may have contributed to my enjoyment. It made me aware of how much a great course or even a great lecture adds to my life. HOWEVER, this book is probably not for everyone.

Need to add that there are two readers. The main reader almost succeeds in convincing me that he is the author - he slips a couple of time with an arrogant voice tone; the other reader is pretty awful - he intones rather than reads, luckily he is intoning only the names of chapters and some of the quoted passages.
(less)

· see review

Nov 02, 2007

John rated it

Recommends it for: people who want to understand Christianity's roots

In April 2006, as the dust jacket tells us, a National Geographic special introduced the world to the discovery of a re-discovered Gospel from outside the traditional canon: the Gospel of Judas Iscariot. Ehrman was one of the experts called in to verify the probable authenticity of the work when it first came to National Geographic's attention. He was, therefore, positioned very well to tell a multi-layered story: his own experience with the Gospel, this history of this document's discovery and ...moreIn April 2006, as the dust jacket tells us, a National Geographic special introduced the world to the discovery of a re-discovered Gospel from outside the traditional canon: the Gospel of Judas Iscariot. Ehrman was one of the experts called in to verify the probable authenticity of the work when it first came to National Geographic's attention. He was, therefore, positioned very well to tell a multi-layered story: his own experience with the Gospel, this history of this document's discovery and journey from its discovery by illiterate Egyptians in 1978 and how it made its way through the hands of various people (and in the process was very nearly destroyed) and eventually made its way into the public light; he examines what the newfound gospel actually says and locates it in its historical and philosophical context; and discusses what we can determine about the historical Judas Iscariot (and, at the same time, the historical Jesus) from both this newly-discovered work and from the sources we already had available.

Each of these was interesting in its own right, and he tells these various stories well. They are well-documented without being pedantic and compelling without losing sight of what we actually know and what is only speculation. What, though, one might ask, is the ultimate importance of this work? Ehrman's own answer is a good one:

"Given the enormous impact that Christianity has made on our world, it is incumbent upon historians to explain how this religion came into being. Especially important--and especially difficult to document--is what happened in the early years of the faith. The historical foundations of this religion in the first century or two of its existence determined what the superstructure of later times would look like. The more we can understand how Christianity became the religion it did, the better we can explain our own roots as participants in the enormous phenomenon we might think of as Western civilization."

In other words: Christianity has been so important in the world that it is worth our while to understand how it became what it became.

The lost-and-found gospel itself doesn't tell us much about the historical figures of Jesus or Judas, although it does paint a very different picture of both of these figures. However, Ehrman attempts to offer, based primarily on other sources (for reasons which he explains well), what we can know and what we can guess about Judas and Jesus and the relationship between the two. As Ehrman admits, there is a lot of speculation, and I didn't personally find all of it completely convincing--but then, Ehrman is careful enough to make clear his logic and evidence so that his speculation can be taken for what it is.

I thought, at times, that his speculations would have been enhanced by the inclusion of other things I've read on the subject from other authors. For instance, our understanding of the historical sources might have been understood better by a more thorough understanding of Paul and the innovations that he brought to Christianity and how these innovations affect our sources (i.e. the New Testament). Still, Ehrman does present a fairly thorough treatment in a concise manner.

The only other criticism of the book--if it can really be considered a criticism--is that at times his treatment is going to be too complete for some readers and, for other readers (like me), it will add important depth. Stylistically, Ehrman does sometimes seem repetitive; again, some readers will find it helpful, while others will find it a bit dull.

On the whole, though, these criticisms are rather minor. The book is really a very interesting look into the process through which ancient documents come to light, into one of Christianity's early sects, and into what we can know, historically, about the people we see in the New Testament.(less)

· see review

Sep 09, 2007

Susan rated it

Recommends it for: Christians, theologians

Shelves: historyofreligion

My first "contact" with the concept that Judas was a "good guy" was when a composer colleague of mine, who was not at all familiar with Christianity, had "sequenced" an accompaniment trax for a singer involved in a Mega Church for a theatrical Maundy Thursday service. He invited me to go with him because of my (former) Christian background (to guide him through an unfamiliar experience of being in a Church) and because he wanted me to hear his work in situ. After ...more

· see review

Jul 19, 2009

Dave rated it

A very interesting book, but it most of it is not the Gospel of Judas Iscariot. It's more about early Christianity, the various canon gospels of the New Testament, and the various other gospels written during first couple of centuries after the death of Jesus. It looks at all of these works from a literary and historical point of view, rather than a religious one. This openned my mind to a new way of thinking about these texts.

· see review

Oct 21, 2009

John E rated it

While Ehrman's writing is a bit redundant, you sure get his point by the end. The book is more than just a discussion of the "Gospel of Judas"; it covers all views of Judas from orthodox Christian to the Gnostics. I am a fan of his and enjoy his studies of early Christianity. But I think I'll skip Gnostic beliefs; Christianity is complex enough without another layer of Gods and random "electness."

· see review

Dec 01, 2008

Cathryne rated it

the book was hard to read in the beginning... extremely techinical unless you are a versed theologian and archeologist... but as it progressed, i didnt want to put it down, and it opened my eyes and my heart to some tough questions.

· see review

Aug 12, 2008

Sarah Kate rated it

Indulging my insatiable appetite for scholarship on early Christianity. Bart Ehrman has such a talent for writing true scholarly works at a level accessible to the general public. I must admit, though, the more I read about the Gnostics, the more I feel they've been misrepresented by authors and even some scholars. Far from being merely mysterious and "new-agey", they were a legitimate sect with beliefs as strange as those that became Orthodoxy. This book also provided a much-neede...more

· see review

Aug 01, 2011

Cathy rated it

Very interesting! I came to the conclusion quite early on, that Judas was...not so much making his story up, but giving himself an "alibi' - for want of a better word. He'd had a lot of years to get it 'right' after all!

· see review

Jul 02, 2009

Joyce Jellison rated it

So he did this for the word to be fullfilled. This is a gnostic gospel -One half of my brain is suspended in disbelief - the other in belief. An interesting read - gets a little lazy toward the end.

· see review

Feb 25, 2010

Stratos rated it

A good read, will open your mind to the faith and allow your mind to see things from another perspective you may have not seen before. Highly recommended...

· see review

Feb 24, 2009

Anita Povich is currently reading it

For some reason, I'm reading Bart D. Ehrman all at once, going back and forth between these three books.

· see review

Nov 19, 2008

Deepa marked it as to-read

After seeing all the reviews of people who have read it, am really looking forward to read this book

· see review

Jan 04, 2010

Sly rated it

hard to grasp as much is destroyed or missing. Do I believe its the real thing? Umm...

· see review

Jan 20, 2012

Ryan Boyer rated it

Shelves: general-bible

Pretty good introduction to Gnosticism.

· see review

« previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 … 17 18 next »

new topic
Discuss This Book

There are no discussion topics on this book yet. Be the first to start one »

Recommend it | Stats | Recent status updates

combine
Other Editions (13)

More editions...

Genres

Religion

30 users

Non Fiction

13 users

History

9 users

Religion > Christianity

7 users

Philosophy

3 users

Religion > Theology

3 users

Spirituality

2 users

See top shelves...

Readers Also Enjoyed

About Bart D. Ehrman

Bart D. Ehrman is the James A. Gray Distinguished Professor at the University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill. He came to UNC in 1988, after four years of teaching at Rutgers University. At UNC he has served as both the Director of Graduate Studies and the Chair of the Department of Religious Studies.

A graduate of Wheaton College (Illinois), Professor Ehrman received both his Ma...moreBart D. Ehrman is the James A. Gray Distinguished Professor at the University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill. He came to UNC in 1988, after four years of teaching at Rutgers University. At UNC he has served as both the Director of Graduate Studies and the Chair of the Department of Religious Studies.

A graduate of Wheaton College (Illinois), Professor Ehrman received both his Masters of Divinity and PhD from Princeton Theological Seminary, where his 1985 doctoral dissertation was awarded magna cum laude. Since then he has published extensively in the fields of New Testament and Early Christianity, having written or edited 21 books, numerous scholarly articles, and dozens of book reviews. Among his most recent books are a Greek-English edition of The Apostolic Fathers for the Loeb Classical Library (Harvard University Press), an assessment of the newly discovered Gospel of Judas (Oxford University Press), and two New York Times bestsellers: God’s Problem (an assessment of the biblical views of suffering) and Misquoting Jesus (an overview of the changes found in the surviving copies of the New Testament and of the scribes who produced them).

Among his fields of scholarly expertise are the historical Jesus, the early Christian apocrypha, the apostolic fathers, and the manuscript tradition of the New Testament.

Professor Ehrman has served as President of the Southeast Region of the Society of Biblical literature, chair of the New Testament textual criticism section of the Society, book review editor of the Journal of Biblical Literature, and editor of the monograph series The New Testament in the Greek Fathers (Scholars Press). He currently serves as coeditor of the series New Testament Tools, Studies, and Documents (E.J. Brill), coeditor in chief for the journal Vigiliae Christianae, and on several other editorial boards for journals and monographs in the field.

Winner of numerous university awards and grants, Professor Ehrman is the recipient of the 1993 UNC Undergraduate Student Teaching Award, the 1994 Phillip and Ruth Hettleman Prize for Artistic and Scholarly Achievement, and the Bowman and Gordon Gray Award for excellence in teaching.

Professor Ehrman has two children, a daughter, Kelly, and a son, Derek. He is married to Sarah Beckwith (PhD, King's College London), Marcello Lotti Professor of English at Duke University. He lives in Durham, North Carolina.

(less)

More about Bart D. Ehrman...

Books by Bart D. Ehrman

Misquoting Jesus: The Story Behind Who Changed the Bible & Why

Jesus, Interrupted: Revealing the Hidden Contradictions in the Bible & Why We Don't Know About Them

God's Problem: How the Bible Fails to Answer Our Most Important Question-Why We Suffer

Lost Christianities: The Battles for Scripture & the Faiths We Never Knew

Lost Scriptures: Books That Did Not Make It Into the New Testament

More…

Share This Book

Facebook Twitter Your website

Pin It

Trivia About The Lost Gospel o...

No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »

title link	preview: The Lost Gospel of Judas Iscariot: A New Look at Betrayer & Betrayed
avg rating	preview: The Lost Gospel of Judas Iscariot: A New Look at Betrayer & Betrayed Goodreads rating: 3.64 (265 ratings)
small image	preview: click here [close]
med image	preview: click here [close]
BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/104279.The_Lost_Gospel_of_Judas_Iscariot?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1296620714m/104279.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/104279.The_Lost_Gospel_of_Judas_Iscariot?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]The Lost Gospel of Judas Iscariot: A New Look at Betrayer & Betrayed by Bart D. Ehrman[/url]

The Lost Gospel of Judas Iscariot: A New Look at Betrayer & Betrayed

Friend Reviews

Lists with This Book

Community Reviews

new topicDiscuss This Book

combine Other Editions (13)

Genres

Readers Also Enjoyed

About Bart D. Ehrman

Books by Bart D. Ehrman

Share This Book

Share This Book on Your Website

Trivia About The Lost Gospel o...

new topic
Discuss This Book

combine
Other Editions (13)