There has been a lot of noise regarding the gospel of Judas and its contradiction to the four Gospels in the bible. Before you rush to refute the bible based on this newly released ancient manuscript that portrays Judas as the best friend of Christ let me give you a few facts.
No one knows who wrote the gospel of Judas. It is linked to a sect of second century Gnostics. The biblical Gospels were written by four men who were with Jesus during his three years of public ministry, saw him betrayed, crucified and witnessed his resurrection first hand.
The gospel of Judas could be dated as late as A.D. 180 whereas the latest possible date for the biblical Gospels is A.D. 70. With over 100 years difference the possibility of the gospel of Judas being a fist hand account is next to nothing. So if you are truly seeking the truth about the accounts of Christ in the bible who would you listen to, someone who was an actual witness or someone who passed down second hand information a century later?
There are many alternate accounts of the life of Christ! There are many contradictions out there in but they haven’t passed the test of time. That is why they were not canonized and why they were not included in the biblical scriptures.
I believe that the biblical account of Judas is accurate and true. I also believe that every man/woman should make their own decisions regarding the validity of the bible but that they should all be fully informed as well.
3 comments:
Um, considering the dates that the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John were written, only Mark could have been actually written by a disciple who lived and walked with Jesus. Matthew, Luke, and John, were all written by communities founded by the disciples of Jesus... or at least, that's what I learned over and over again during my 6 years studying theology at Notre Dame.
Sorry to be so negative. But all the gnostic gospels are so intersting! I feel you can always learn something from different perspecitves of Christianity.
I think what you have written is clear, consice and true. If I'm not mistaken much of what is written in the New Testement is written to refute the heresy of the Gnostics.If we can learn anything from Gnostic literature it is to know what to be on gaurd against.
Marcia,
While I appreciate your comment i have to respectfully disagree with you.
The Gospel of Matthew and Luke were written around AD 60. Mark was written around 55 AD and John is dated around 85 A.D.
Actually John Mark was never one of the 12 disciples. He was a friend of Paul who accompanied him on his first mission.
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