Reading Judas: The Gospel of Judas and the Shaping of Christianity by Karen L. King

Apr 10, 2011 William rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 20-ce, christianity, history, nonfiction, religion, us, gnosticism

I don't think Karen L. King has been good for Elaine Pagels's prose. I strained thoughout to hear Pagels' distinctive voice and could never quite locate it. Instead the tone seems a little rushed, a little shrill almost, as opposed to Pagels's much more relaxed and considered pace. Second, while the arguments broached here are compelling enough they never seem to go as deep as Pagels' on her own seems to go when writing without a collaborator. If you want to start with a great Pagels book try Th...more

1 like · like · see review

Aug 07, 2008 Ben rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: religious

An interesting book on a fascinating subject. The discovery and publication of (relatively) recently discovered works of early Christianity quite literally force anyone who has every thought about popular Christianity as it exists today to think again. However, as the Gospel of Judas (included in this edition) is very often confusing and at times downright bizarre, the expository essay that accounts for the first half of this volume is extremely useful and illuminating in terms of both laying ou...more

1 like · like · see review

Nov 29, 2012 Erik Graff rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: early Xianity fans

Recommended to Erik by: no one

Shelves: religion

Now that my dad has reached his nineties, I stay with him out in East Dundee, Illinois while his younger wife travels overseas. This year she went to Turkey and I to their home.

It being a month before Christmas, I spent part of the time out there searching for gifts. One likely source has been the EBay consignment store on 72, just before the bridge crossing the Fox River. This year was exceptional in that they were preparing for a book sale. It hadn't started yet, but I was allowed a preview of...more

like · see review

Jul 27, 2012 Rebecca rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: history

This is a fairly interesting, if rather short, analysis of a text that I ended up finding not particularly interesting.

A copy of the Gospel of Judas was found a couple decades ago, but handled very badly and nearly destroyed. It's only recently been restored and translated and made available to scholars. The text is a relatively short work in which Jesus reveals secrets of the universe to Judas so that Judas can sacrifice himself by making the necessary betrayal. It appears to be one of the many...more This is a fairly interesting, if rather short, analysis of a text that I ended up finding not particularly interesting.

A copy of the Gospel of Judas was found a couple decades ago, but handled very badly and nearly destroyed. It's only recently been restored and translated and made available to scholars. The text is a relatively short work in which Jesus reveals secrets of the universe to Judas so that Judas can sacrifice himself by making the necessary betrayal. It appears to be one of the many gospels that were floating around during the early days of the Church, including Nag Hammadi texts such as the Gospel of Thomas and the Gospel of Mary Magdelene. Eventually, after a great deal of infighting, some Church leaders and their chosen texts emerged triumphant, and the others were suppressed.

The analysis is really more a reconstruction of some of that early infighting, and is fairly interesting. They don't have much material to work with, though, and so the book is relatively short. The second half is taken up by the translation itself and notes on that translation. I have mixed feelings on the order. On one hand, reading the analysis first means that for the bulk of that analysis, we have to take the authors' word for what the text says and the impression it gives. They even seem somewhat dismayed by what they have to work with--the tone is deeply bitter, and the second half is a mishmash of numerology and new angel names in a convoluted explanation of the origin of the universe. Not having read the primary source yet, it's sometimes a little hard to follow, and it's impossible to then read the text without viewing it through the authors' lens. However, they're right in their dismay--the original is kind of unpleasant and confusing. If I'd started with the text, I don't know if I would have continued.

The authors are really more historians than theologians, and their reading tilts very much in favor of picking apart the politics of why the author of Judas would write what he did rather than the theological implications of the work itself. While I regret some of the folks who won (Irenaeus sounds like a remarkably unpleasant fellow), I can't actually regret this work not making it into the canon. No one's going to draw real spiritual insight from this. But the brief insight it gives us into the history of the early Church is interesting enough.(less)

1 like · like · see review

Jul 23, 2012 Phillip rated it 3 of 5 stars

Having caught just the fringe of any controversy raised by the discovery and translation of "The Gospel of Judas" a few years ago, I was glad when I came across an affordable copy of "Reading Judas" with which I could satisfy my curiosity.

At no time do any of the authors consider this manuscript to be penned by Judas Iscariot. They perceive this to be written in the second century by a writer concerned by some of the developments in the Christian church. However, the concerns he addressed centur...more

like · see review

Jun 18, 2012 Kevin rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: academic-books, early-christianity

This book was overall pretty interesting. I guess, though, I should at least put forth some of my biases: I enjoy the complications in scholarly works on early Christianity, I really enjoy some of the alternative Christianity histories, and I have an affinity toward Pagels work.

That being said, I thought that Pagels section was interesting. She seemed rushed at times and almost to be hitting only a surface-level analysis of the text.

The King portion is pretty analytical in what it conveys, but...more

like · see review

May 10, 2012 Steven Monrad rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: religion

Gosh, what we learned in Sunday School was not the whole story after all.

That's not news, but this book is nicely focused on the principal events of Christ's life and reinterprets the main point in a way that does not wander off into other teachings or throw the baby out with the bathwater. Enhancement of the authors' obvious faith rather than a rejection.

Written by two professors, the book is not really dumbed down, just explanatory for the rest of us. They explain the big words.
The point is th...more

like · see review

Jan 19, 2011 Lee Harmon rated it 4 of 5 stars

This is a fun one. Short and sweet, Karen and Elaine share their unique interpretation of this fascinating discovery. Scholars of the gospel of Judas would never consider it mainstream Christianity ... can any book who paints a Christian villian as a hero be mainstream? ... and yet, there remains a lot of controversy about exactly how to classify that ancient Gospel. Part of the problem, of course, is that it's far from complete; and while that's certainly not the fault of Pagels and King, it do...more

like · see review

Mar 28, 2010 Brian rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: nonfiction

This was a fascinating book. It is written in three parts. One attempts to both place the Gospel of Judas in a historical context, but also attempts to derive the historical context from the existence of the Gospel of Judas itself. The Gospel of Judas was written more than a hundred years after the death of Christ, so is obviously not written by the "real" Judas. But what does it tell us about the early period of Christianity that an author felt the need to write this Gospel?

The second part is t...more

like · see review

Mar 11, 2010 Michael rated it 2 of 5 stars

The anti-war Gospel?

That's the message of these two scholars of early Christianity in their reading of the Gospel of Judas, of which only tattered fragments remain after a greedy dealer kept it in his freezer for years while angling for a huge sale. An incredible restoration effort has salvaged a healthy amount of the original text, dating probably from the second century CE. The translation provided here runs 14 very short pages, and notes various gaps of missing material of three lines, 15 lin...more The anti-war Gospel?

That's the message of these two scholars of early Christianity in their reading of the Gospel of Judas, of which only tattered fragments remain after a greedy dealer kept it in his freezer for years while angling for a huge sale. An incredible restoration effort has salvaged a healthy amount of the original text, dating probably from the second century CE. The translation provided here runs 14 very short pages, and notes various gaps of missing material of three lines, 15 lines, 18 lines, and so on, as well as an occasional "untranslatable" passage.

The two authors focus on a possible disagreement over martyrdom reflected in the fragments of this gospel. Its sect may have differed from other early Christian groups over whether martyrdom was ever to be the price of faith, and whether it was unnecessarily encouraged by church fathers of the time. On the most basic storyline level, this gospel presents Judas as the hero of the Passion, and shows Jesus scorning and mocking all his other disciples in favor of Judas, who was actually doing Christ's bidding.

The Gospel of Judas was unveiled by the National Geographic Society in 2006, and this book was copyrighted in 2007. Those dates are more significant than they may first look, because the controversy then raging at full blast over the U.S.-led coalition's occupation of Iraq seems to run through much of these authors' analysis.

That was the worst period of the Iraqi occupation, with relatively high casualties and much pain and disorder and doubt. It is hard not to hear the fear and concern in the authors' introduction, for example, when they write: "As the age of martyrdom closed with the conversion of Constantine, stories glorifying the martyrs came to dominate the history of Christian origins, providing spiritual heroes for the new imperial church. The Gospel of Judas restores to us one voice of dissent, a call for religion to renounce violence as God's will and purpose for humanity."

Am I overreading? Given all the critical comments being made at the same time about then-President Bush's personal religiosity and other pop-psychologizing, I don't think so. Especially since similar notes recur periodically in their writing, as though one or both authors saw in this text a lesson for U.S. policies and had to throw out hints for their readers to understand. As it happened, happily, the casualties in Iraq were just about to experience a wonderfully rapid decline, while the political situation was slowly improving -- the second free general election in Iraq was just held as I was finishing reading this book.

The authors' passions also target the early church with a hostility and bitterness that surprised me on first reading -- a tone I had not encountered in previous books by co-author Elaine Pagels. Pagels can be critical but is never bitter. So, is it from Karen King? I haven't read anything else of hers, so have no idea. But, to make their case for this strange gospel, they fall into the trap of making allowances for every wacky turn in the text, explaining them away as they show great sympathy for its original author and followers -- while excoriating early church fathers like Irenaeus, the bishop of Lyons, who analyzed it and many other texts and found them essentially bizarre tangents for cults who were losing the way of Jesus, in his eyes.

And, I suspect, in those of most readers of the actual text here. The differences from the biographies of the synoptic gospels are so vast, it seems hard for anyone to imagine this as anything but what Irenaeus recognized at the time. Still, that said, it provides another window into the dynamism, ferment, drama and excitement of those first two centuries starting with the overlapping lives of Octavian/Augustus and Jesus of Nazareth -- two more polar-opposite lives could hardly be imagined, which makes the eventual crossing of their legacies so fascinating. This and all the manuscripts that have been discovered over the last century or so are making those times much more vivid to us, and encouraging some of the most exciting scholarship going on today. If this particular effort is more miss than hit, well, that comes with the territory. The ideas the authors present in their reading are worthy of consideration and testing against the manuscript itself. I gave only two stars because of my doubts, but it is still a book worth reading for those with an interest in the ongoing discoveries of how Christianity developed from those little journeys around the hills of Galilee and Judea. (less)

1 like · like · see review

Feb 03, 2011 Meredith rated it 2 of 5 stars

I am actually listening to the book on CD (during my lengthy car trips)and I do find it engaging. It is not quite what I thought it would be, though. The authors spend a lot of time reviewing the other gospels and then briefly comparing them to what the gospel of Judas said. I would prefer it if they would just talk about the book of Judas. So far, I've learned that Judas did not think Jesus meant for us to celebrate the Eucharist (Jesus' sacrifice) and that Jesus never intended for his follower...more

like · see review

Jun 26, 2009 Cappy rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: theology

This book reads a little like a conspiracy theory and the authors seem so convinced of the merits of their subject that they gloss over the inconsistencies and hypocrisies of Gnostic thought.

"The author of the Gospel of Judas could not reconcile his beleif in a deeply loving, good God with a particular idea other Christians held at the time: that God desired the bloody sacrificial death of Jesus and his followers." (pg. xvi)

"we can now see more clearly that the early history of Christianity was...more

like · see review

Apr 09, 2012 Kendra rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: soul-study, thought-provoking, history-religion

I enjoyed this book, it's aptly named, as it seems to deal less with the actual message of "Judas"(which is unpopular/confusing in its anger) and more with the motivating forces behind the author's harsh words. It seems he had plenty to be upset about.

Elaine Pagels' books are so helpful for anyone with a Christian background. The power struggle and dividing of the early church tell so much of human nature. The things that divided these early Christians (Jesus, redemption) were the very things t...more

like · see review

Feb 12, 2009 Heather rated it 3 of 5 stars

I did not like this as much as Misquoting Jesus, as it required having more of a technical background on Biblical text. I loved the premise of having a different perspective of the resurrection, but the execution was disappointing. This book raises questions I'd always had but never voiced (or thought of voicing), including the motivation of Judas' deception, whether Jesus physically rose from the dead (or merely in the spiritual sense), and why the various "mainstream" gospels (Matthew, Mark, L...more

like · see review

Nov 29, 2008 Larry rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: I'm a Pagels fan.

Profressor Pagels joined the rush to publish after the translation of the Book of Judas manuscript was made public. Although the condition of the papyrus was terrible and the manuscript become enbroiled in a lurid plot of greed and scholastic primacy, the ultimate outcome was to give the world yet another look at the variation on early Christian belief. With her usual deep knowledge and easy prose the author revisits prior scripture and banned scripture to tell a very human tale of a school of C...more

like · see review

Apr 19, 2010 David rated it 2 of 5 stars

Not sure why I bothered to pick this book up. I couldn’t quite get serious about it. It did recite the actual translation of the Gospel of Judas (although Judas didn’t actually write it). The authors of this book, like the authors of the Judas Gospel, were not just religious apologists but Judas apologists. In the end, the only interest to me was its anthropologic amusement. For fun, I was glad to see it challenge canonical verses, but it’s like finding another Egyptian book of the dead or readi...more

like · see review

Jul 26, 2009 Mike rated it 4 of 5 stars

The reader of an Elaine Pagels book learns that that much of early Christian literature--whether canonical or gnostic--has an agenda, an idea that the author is trying to promote or argue against. The pseudonymous author of the Gospel of Judas was dismayed by the way the early church fathers celebrated and encouraged martyrdom and so constructed a narrative in which Jesus discourages self-sacrifice in God's name. This was a minority viewpoint, of course, and eventually labeled heretical by the p...more

like · see review

Jul 15, 2009 Lacey Louwagie rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: spiritual seekers

Recommended to Lacey by: Jenna

Shelves: non-fiction

I'm always surprised by how compelling non-fiction is when I actually give it a chance--especially non-fiction about Jesus and such.

I appreciated the way this book used the Gospel of Judas to shed light on the controversies, politics, and agendas of the early Church leaders. But I think what I liked most was the non-judgmental tone of this book. She didn't point fingers at early Church leaders as "suppressors" of Sacred Texts, nor did she denounce the non-Canonical Gospels as being invalid or he...more

like · see review

May 16, 2013 Rod rated it 2 of 5 stars

What a silly little book. The information is amusing - but the importance these so-called scholars attach to it is comical.

Quote in the book:
"This passionate, insightful book plunges into the heart of Christianity itself."

Wow, just wow! I just read N.T. Wright's book: Judas and the Gospel of Jesus. Basically the same theme without all the hype and conspiracy foolishness.

How great would a deity be if he/she left lost Gospel accounts (with numerous parts missing) hidden for centuries and then mo...more

1 like · like · see review

Sep 02, 2012 Kevin A. rated it 4 of 5 stars

The newly discovered Gospel of Judas, an angry, obviously non-canonical, is examined in depth. I've admired Pagels's writing since my historiography class with Laurel Thatcher Ulrich at UNH.

In this instance, Pagels and King argue that the gospel was the product of a specific historical moment, at the height of the Roman persecution of Christianity. Those who opposed the prevailing view in the church celebrating the martyrdom of Jesus did so out of anger. That attitude led many contemporary Chris...more

like · see review

Feb 21, 2012 Pearl rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

In 2006 The National Geographic finally released a copy of The Gospel of Judas, a manuscript which had been copied into the Coptic from second-century Greek. This Gospel immediately casued a stir. Judas, the reviled betrayer? What could he have to say?

Pegals and King, wonderful New Testament scholars and authors of several books on the Gnostic Gospels, do their usual fine job of putting the Gospel of Judas into its 2nd Century context and then discussing its claims. We don't learn anything about...more In 2006 The National Geographic finally released a copy of The Gospel of Judas, a manuscript which had been copied into the Coptic from second-century Greek. This Gospel immediately casued a stir. Judas, the reviled betrayer? What could he have to say?

Pegals and King, wonderful New Testament scholars and authors of several books on the Gnostic Gospels, do their usual fine job of putting the Gospel of Judas into its 2nd Century context and then discussing its claims. We don't learn anything about the historical Jesus, Judas or the other disciples that we didn't already know from other texts at that time. What we do learn about is the many divergent arguments among the early Christians about the meaning of Jesus' death.

It seems that this Gospel was written about mid-2nd Century. We have references to and refutation of it in 180 C.E by Ireaenus, that great defender (and definer) of orthodoxy. This Gospel was written in the context of Christian martyrdom and the glorification of such a death. The Gospel of Judas is horrified by the glorification of such killings and death and cannot accept that a loving God would want such sacrifices. By the same token, neither is Jesus death as a sacrifice seen as redemptive. According to this Gospel, it is Jesus'teaching (which only Judas among the diciples understood)that can usher human beings into the spiritual world and into eternal life. Jesus death is simply a release from his mortal body, a release that Judas helped to facilitate. Bodily resurrection is soundly rejected, the body being only a temporary and corrupted housing for the soul.

The Gospel goes on to discuss Jesus teaching which seems to be some mixture of Gnosticism, Platonism, numerology, and astrology! But the main message is to look WITHIN, not to the heavens, to find the truth. It is a little unclear whether all human beings have the capability to find this truth within - i.e. Did God implant this spirit in all and only some have the courage and discernment to look within to find it? or is this spirit a divine gift given only to a chosen few?

All in all, this Gospel probably does not belong in the canon. Its importance is in showing us that early believers in Jesus were not of one mind in searching for what his life, teaching, death and resurrection meant.(less)

like · see review

Apr 23, 2011 Dorothy rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: myth-and-religion

Just in time for Easter, I've finished this book about the Gospel of Judas. This non-canonical gospel was purportedly found in Egypt in the 1960s or 1970s. Its provenance is somewhat shaky, but the only known copy of the work, in the Coptic language, has been carbon-dated to around 280 of the Common Era, give or take 60 years. It is believed that this is a translation of an earlier Greek work which was in existence at least in 180 C.E. when the influential Christian priest, Irenaeus, spoke out a...more Just in time for Easter, I've finished this book about the Gospel of Judas. This non-canonical gospel was purportedly found in Egypt in the 1960s or 1970s. Its provenance is somewhat shaky, but the only known copy of the work, in the Coptic language, has been carbon-dated to around 280 of the Common Era, give or take 60 years. It is believed that this is a translation of an earlier Greek work which was in existence at least in 180 C.E. when the influential Christian priest, Irenaeus, spoke out against it and other writings that offered an alternative view of the circumstances and meaning of Jesus' life and death.

Elaine Pagels and Karen King are two respected scholars of Gnosticism, the philosophical tradition from which the Gospel of Judas springs. They explain how and why the author of the work (who, obviously, was not Judas Iscariot but apparently someone sympathetic to him) disagreed with the branch of Christianity that came to be the accepted, canonical version, the life of Jesus as told by Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.

A major disagreement between the two factions had to do with the question of death and the afterlife. The canonical view held with a bodily resurrection of the redeemed. The Judas gospel affirms an immortal spirit. Jesus was not reborn in the flesh and the eternal life that he offers is lived in the spirit alone.

Another major difference is the view of blood sacrifice. Judas has Jesus expressing scorn for animal sacrifice and for the implied human sacrifice of the Eucharist. In this gospel, eternal life is won through adherence to Jesus' teachings rather than through the sacrifice of his life.

Judas is the hero of this gospel and the other eleven disciples are essentially clueless. They don't really understand Jesus' teachings or who he is or the significance of his life. It is only Judas who really understands and his gospel tells how Jesus singles him out, takes him aside and teaches him the mysteries that are beyond the world. In this telling Judas' so-called betrayal of Jesus is simply Judas following orders from Jesus.

I think the main value of the Gospel of Judas as well as the other Gnostic writings that have been found over the past century is that they shed light on the conflicts of early Christianity and how it happened that the religion that we know today emerged. In the beginning of this new religion, there were many different views of the events of Jesus' life and of its meaning and different factions fought hard for their views over several centuries before an orthodoxy triumphed and books of the Christian Bible were set in stone - so to speak.

All that being said, I'm bound to point out that the Jesus portrayed in this gospel is not a very attractive character. He is sarcastic and laughs derisively at his disciples' stupidity. It makes for an interesting alternative hypothesis of what Jesus the man may have been like, but, on the whole, I have to admit I prefer Luke's compassionate Jesus. (less)

1 like · like · see review

Jan 08, 2012 Mark Russell rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: philosophy-religion

When I first decided to read The Gospel of Judas, I considered just buying the translated gospel by itself. After all, I thought, I'm pretty well-versed in the Bible and am a reasonably intelligent person, I should be able to get through this without much help, right? Well, thankfully, I got over myself and bought this book instead. I would not have been able to mine one-tenth of the wisdom and gravity of this long-lost Gnostic text without the authoritative and knowledgeable guidance of Elaine...more When I first decided to read The Gospel of Judas, I considered just buying the translated gospel by itself. After all, I thought, I'm pretty well-versed in the Bible and am a reasonably intelligent person, I should be able to get through this without much help, right? Well, thankfully, I got over myself and bought this book instead. I would not have been able to mine one-tenth of the wisdom and gravity of this long-lost Gnostic text without the authoritative and knowledgeable guidance of Elaine Pagels and Karen King.

In fact, their book is much more than a commentary on the Gospel of Judas-- it's an education on the complexity and diversity of opinion of the early Christian movement. Before there was a "Bible," before the early followers of Jesus began coalescing into Roman Catholics, before they really got into robes and incense, Christians pretty much thought for themselves, came up with their own interpretations of the import of Christ's life. They started up churches for like-minded individuals, each with their own collections of holy texts to be used in their services. To one of these movements, the Gnostics (so-called for their emphasis on gnosis, or knowledge), salvation came via a series of spiritual revelations, and the more you learned the secrets of the Kingdom of God, the more you prepared your soul to live there.

This is largely what the Gospel of Judas is about. The book opens with Jesus and the twelve disciples awakening from a collective nightmare about twelve priests who were buggering each other, engaging in human sacrifice and cannibalizing their own family members. When they ask Christ what this horrible dream could mean, he explains to the disciples that they are the twelve priests and that after he's gone, they will lead the church astray and sacrifice believers on the altar of their own ambitions.

Whoa is fucking right.

While the disciples are consumed with pettiness, i.e. the respect of the other disciples, who's going to take over the church after Christ dies, etc, sensing that Judas is not like the other disciples, Jesus takes Judas aside and explains to him the mysteries of the Kingdom of God, which mostly boil down to not being concerned with matters of earthly import, but focusing on the purity of one's spirit.

Then he gives Judas a task which can only be performed by someone who has truly put the world behind him. Christ asks Judas to betray him. An action which goes against everything in Judas' heart, which will cause him to be stoned to by the other disciples and which will cause his name to live on as the worst traitor in human history. Despite knowing this, Judas still agrees, because he understands that this is the only way for him to demonstrate his transcendence into the spiritual realm, and for Christ to demonstrate the supremacy of the spiritual realm over the physical world.

Invaluable to understanding the Gospel of Judas, as with the canonical books of the Bible, is the historical context in which it was written. At the time, the Christian movement was facing great persecution from the Roman Empire, largely owing to their refusal to provide sacrifices to the pagan gods of Rome or to acknowledge the emperors as gods. This was like atheism, treason and tax evasion, all rolled into one and it made the Christians public enemy number one for several Roman emperors.

Many Christians regarded it a matter of conscience and a badge of personal honor to flaunt the law and willingly condemned themselves, and often their families, to a horrible death. To the Gnostics, this was madness. Not because they were afraid to die. As Judas demonstrates, the Gnostics believed one should be willing to readily sacrifice such worldly concerns such as physical safety, and indeed, they would later face their own persecution at the hands of their fellow Christians. But the Gnostics took deep exception to the fact that many Christians, including several authors of the canonical books, were teaching Christians that martyrdom, rather than spiritual understanding, was the essential ingredient of one's salvation. This, to the Gnostics, was tantamount to the human sacrifice. Like the priests in the dream, the leaders of the church were needlessly sacrificing their followers in order to enhance their own street cred within the movement. The Gnostics, on the other hand, positioned themselves as Judas: the misunderstood and reviled member of the Christian family who alone served the true will of Jesus Christ.

The Gospel of Judas also addresses a central dilemma for early Christians. Namely, the fact that while Jesus was all about forgiveness and turning the other cheek, the God of the Old Testament was a feisty son of a bitch who was smiting and killing people like he were selling magazine subscriptions. The solution Judas offers to this paradox is unique: Jesus explains to Judas that while God, his father, did create the Earth, he outsourced its management to two angels who ruled the place like a slumlord. Thus, it was these two asshole angels, and not God, who were responsible for the atrocities of the Old Testament. Problem solved.

The Gospel of Judas is a fascinating document of a time before such pursuits were abandoned in favor of ritual and conformity. And it's hard to imagine a better guide to this recently rediscovered treasure than Reading Judas.

(less)

like · see review

Apr 17, 2011 Tony rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: history

Pagels, Elaine & King, Karen L. READING JUDAS: THE GOSPEL OF JUDAS AND THE SHAPING OF CHRISTIANITY. (2007). *****
I wasn’t sure what to expect when I started this book, but I had heard of the Gospel of Judas and wanted to know more. What I found was a clear and cogent explanation of how this ancient document fit in with the early history of the Christian church, its organization and its tenets. The manuscript for this document was found in Egypt and was probably written in about 189 C.E. The...more

like · see review

Oct 04, 2012 Rebekka rated it 5 of 5 stars

My first book about the Gospel of Judas, I have another one to read yet.

It's divided up into three parts;
1. The historical context of the gospel
2. The gospel
3. Analysis of the gospel; pretty much line for line

Again, I haven't read other books on the Gospel of Judas, but I would really recommend this one for first timers into the Gnostic gospels. Well written and provides plenty of sources, which, for me, means more books to read +D

Peace

like · see review

Jul 19, 2010 Edward rated it 3 of 5 stars

I've read several of Pagels' other studies of early Christianity, and she's always good (this book being no exception) in pointing that the first several centuries of the new faith were turbulent ones, everyone trying to figure out what were the theological implications of Jesus' life and death.
The damaged manuscript of JUDAS, as far as Pagels and King are concerned, tends to emphasize that it is Christ's teaching that bring "eternal life", not his death or his resurrection. "Sacrifice" is downp...more

like · see review

Oct 01, 2012 Gabrielle Dolphin added it

Extraordinary view into the diversity of the Jesus movement..the Jesus Movement, because it wasn't then Christianity. Judas is seen as the favorite of Jesus, who would "sacrifice the body that holds me." An entirely different view of spirituality. Some shocking vitriol, homophobia too. But no different than what we see in today's state-of-religion I suspect.

like · see review

Mar 25, 2009 Megan rated it 4 of 5 stars

King and Pagels together?! Great pairing for a good read however, if you have already read Pagels's work on the Gnostic gospels or on Judas specifically you may find much of the material in this book to be repeating. Still, as I can't translate this work myself I appreciate any and all literature on the subject/material and this is absolutely worth a read.

like · see review

Jun 30, 2008 Cher rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: spirituality-religion, history, philosophy

This book emphasizes a compelling point: Judas was Jesus' favorite of his disciples. And if God has a plan, and Jesus knew Judas would betray him, doesn't that mean the lost gospel of Judas, one of the earliest Christian writings, excised from the bible at the Nicene counsel, deserves another glance? This book is excellent with its historical research and explaining the impact on the Christian faith of the Nicene counsel's decisions about which books to keep in bible and which to label "heresy."...more

like · see review

Apr 19, 2012 J rated it 4 of 5 stars

Fascinating. The Gospel of Judas, along with the Gospels of Thomas and Mary Magdalene and the Gnostic Gospels really make one wonder how different the Western World would be different if these works had not been suppressed. I really believe we would have embraced a tradition that looks more like the Eastern traditions... This particular Gospel is fiery, angry and self-righteous, but makes a very compelling argument about the nature of a loving and merciful God.

like · see review

title link	preview: Reading Judas: The Gospel of Judas and the Shaping of Christianity
avg rating	preview: Reading Judas: The Gospel of Judas and the Shaping of Christianity Goodreads rating: 3.58 (505 ratings)
small image	preview: click here [close]
med image	preview: click here [close]
BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/54883.Reading_Judas?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1309287501l/54883.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/54883.Reading_Judas?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]Reading Judas: The Gospel of Judas and the Shaping of Christianity by Karen L. King[/url]

Reading Judas: The Gospel of Judas and the Shaping of Christianity

Friend Reviews

Lists with This Book

Community Reviews

new topic
Discuss This Book

combine
Other Editions (15)

Genres

Readers also enjoyed similar books

Books by Karen L. King

Share This Book

Share This Book on Your Website

Trivia About Reading Judas: Th...

Reading Judas: The Gospel of Judas and the Shaping of Christianity

Friend Reviews

Lists with This Book

Community Reviews

new topicDiscuss This Book

combineOther Editions (15)

Genres

Readers also enjoyed similar books

Books by Karen L. King

Share This Book

Share This Book on Your Website

Trivia About Reading Judas: Th...

new topic
Discuss This Book

combine
Other Editions (15)