i got yer 30 sheckels, right here!
for the past couple of days, NPR has been running a story on The Lost Gospel of Judas Iscariot
although the themes are not really anything new to Gnostic scholars, this document (which has been out of circulation for 1700 years or so) does offer explicit appreciation for Judas's role in revealing the Gnosis... here's an excerpt from the NPR interview
Q: Could you read something from the gospel?
A: (reading) "The star that leads the way is your star, Jesus said to Judas... You will exceed all of them for you will have sacrificed the man that clothes me."
Q: Meaning you will … turn me over to the Romans, and they will crucify me and my spirit will move from the body -- my soul…
A: What he means, as the scholars interpret it, is the soul of Jesus will be liberated from the body that entraps him. His soul is now liberated to come to heaven.
--
The National Geographic Society has been part of an international effort, in collaboration with the Maecenas Foundation for Ancient Art and the Waitt Institute for Historical Discovery, to authenticate, conserve, and translate (this) 66-page codex...
The National Geographic Channel airs The Gospel of Judas TV program Sunday, April 9, at 8 p.m. ET/9 p.m. PT
here's National Geographic's .pdf of the English translation:
and they also provide a .pdf of the original Coptic manuscript
--
The Catholic Encyclopedia's entry on Judas Iscariot briefly mentions the Gnostic heresy which praises Judas.
the entry on Judas Iscariot From Wikipedia briefly explores a few different perspectives on Judas.
but rotten.com has a much more amusing entry for Judas.
--
The Palm Tree Garden already contains some of the more insightful comments i've seen so far on the text... such as those by Bro. Jeremy Puma (aka "Chaplain Eleleth")
and sophiaserpentia shares her insightful first impressions of the document in this post.
--
it seems like there is no coincidence in the release of this document with the film of The Da Vinci Code, yet i am still happy to see that there are healthy debates resurfacing concerning Gnostic philosophy!
meanwhile... doesn't it seem ironic that, although the authors of Holy Blood, Holy Grail claim that their book is a historical document, they filed a lawsuit against Dan Brown, claiming that their ideas were plagiarized in Brown's fictional book The Da Vinci Code??? ...although they lost their case, NPR reported that the prosecution's argument seemed to hinge on whether or not Dan & his wife (who does most of his research) had read Holy Blood, Holy Grail prior to writing the bulk of their text (never mind that you can't copyright ideas in the first place... only the exact expression can be copyrighted)
--
i'm sure that Judas Priest is thrilled with all of this hubub (although they are probably quite busy working on their first conceptual album, based on the life and predictions of Nostradamus)
--
before i go off on another tangent, i must inquire if you have read The Gospel According to Saint Bernard Shaw, otherwise referred to as "Crowley on Christ?"
..it's a complete riot!
really, it's one of the funniest, and most thought-provoking texts i've read & re-read.
--
elsewhere... have there been Stegosaurs in Cambodia as recently as the construction of Angkor Wat?
although the themes are not really anything new to Gnostic scholars, this document (which has been out of circulation for 1700 years or so) does offer explicit appreciation for Judas's role in revealing the Gnosis... here's an excerpt from the NPR interview
Q: Could you read something from the gospel?
A: (reading) "The star that leads the way is your star, Jesus said to Judas... You will exceed all of them for you will have sacrificed the man that clothes me."
Q: Meaning you will … turn me over to the Romans, and they will crucify me and my spirit will move from the body -- my soul…
A: What he means, as the scholars interpret it, is the soul of Jesus will be liberated from the body that entraps him. His soul is now liberated to come to heaven.
--
The National Geographic Society has been part of an international effort, in collaboration with the Maecenas Foundation for Ancient Art and the Waitt Institute for Historical Discovery, to authenticate, conserve, and translate (this) 66-page codex...
The National Geographic Channel airs The Gospel of Judas TV program Sunday, April 9, at 8 p.m. ET/9 p.m. PT
here's National Geographic's .pdf of the English translation:
and they also provide a .pdf of the original Coptic manuscript
--
The Catholic Encyclopedia's entry on Judas Iscariot briefly mentions the Gnostic heresy which praises Judas.
the entry on Judas Iscariot From Wikipedia briefly explores a few different perspectives on Judas.
but rotten.com has a much more amusing entry for Judas.
--
The Palm Tree Garden already contains some of the more insightful comments i've seen so far on the text... such as those by Bro. Jeremy Puma (aka "Chaplain Eleleth")
and sophiaserpentia shares her insightful first impressions of the document in this post.
--
it seems like there is no coincidence in the release of this document with the film of The Da Vinci Code, yet i am still happy to see that there are healthy debates resurfacing concerning Gnostic philosophy!
meanwhile... doesn't it seem ironic that, although the authors of Holy Blood, Holy Grail claim that their book is a historical document, they filed a lawsuit against Dan Brown, claiming that their ideas were plagiarized in Brown's fictional book The Da Vinci Code??? ...although they lost their case, NPR reported that the prosecution's argument seemed to hinge on whether or not Dan & his wife (who does most of his research) had read Holy Blood, Holy Grail prior to writing the bulk of their text (never mind that you can't copyright ideas in the first place... only the exact expression can be copyrighted)
--
i'm sure that Judas Priest is thrilled with all of this hubub (although they are probably quite busy working on their first conceptual album, based on the life and predictions of Nostradamus)
--
before i go off on another tangent, i must inquire if you have read The Gospel According to Saint Bernard Shaw, otherwise referred to as "Crowley on Christ?"
..it's a complete riot!
really, it's one of the funniest, and most thought-provoking texts i've read & re-read.
--
elsewhere... have there been Stegosaurs in Cambodia as recently as the construction of Angkor Wat?