The Gospel of Judas and Non-Canonical Bible Books

Introduction

The study of non-canonical books — those books left out of the Old and New Testaments of the Bible — is best understood against the backdrop of the books that were included. The question must be asked: "What was the purpose of the books of the Bible?" In answering that question, it becomes possible to understand why the non-canonical books were excluded. When examined with that purpose in mind, it becomes clear that inclusion in the Old and New Testaments was governed by considerations of community, law, and social order. The books included in the Bible are intended to address those issues that community leaders perceived to be problems: morality, civil obedience, paying taxes, adultery, alcoholism, and virtually every civil and social aspect of community behavior intended to keep order, economy, and morality well directed.

It then becomes clearer that the stories or books left out of the Bible were deemed to be of little or no value in guiding the community or providing a moral lesson capable of evoking the human range of emotions in ways that resulted in civil and moral obedience (Thorburn, 1916). Limiting this discussion to works that would belong to the New Testament, this brief study — relying upon the existing body of scholarly work — will attempt to understand why the recently discovered Gospel of Judas, a highly debated and controversial work, might have been left out of the Bible.

Establishing Authentication and Timelines

One of the main concerns theologians have about newly discovered non-canonical works arises from questions of authorship. Are the works forgeries, written in the name of the Apostles by individuals hoping to capitalize on whatever fame and fortune the original finding or writing of the book might afford them (Ehrman, 2003, p. 3)? This is the subject addressed by author and historian Bart D. Ehrman in his book Lost Scriptures: Books That Did Not Make It into the New Testament (2003). Even when works are discovered by qualified archaeologists — or, in the case of many recent findings, by Bedouins — those works must be carefully examined to determine whether the authorship is indeed that of the Apostle to whom it is attributed (p. 3). The importance of authentication, says Ehrman, is that apostolic authorship authenticates a text as an official record of the teachings of Jesus, which, as the second installment after the Old Testament, constitutes the Word of God and should be read in conjunction with it (p. 3).

Authenticity matters for three reasons: 1) the text is delivered to mankind by the Son of God; 2) it establishes the guidelines by which mankind is to conduct itself; and 3) it therefore creates a sense of empowerment over the behavior of millions of devout Christians who are guided more by scripture than by mortal community leaders. The power to influence or alter the behavior of millions of Christians would be enormous — accomplished without a military army or the use of force, though the behavioral changes it produced might in and of themselves result in the use of force.

The debates over which texts were truly apostolic, and therefore authoritative, lasted many years — decades, even centuries. Eventually, by about the end of the third Christian century, the views of one group emerged victorious. This group was internally diverse, but it agreed on major issues of faith, including the existence of one God, creator of all, who was the Father of Jesus Christ — both divine and human — who, together with the Father and the Holy Spirit, made up the divine Godhead. This group promoted its own collection of books as the only true and authentic ones, and urged that these books were sacred authorities constituting the "New" Testament, to be read alongside the "Old" Testament taken over from the Jews and considered at least as authoritative (Ehrman, 2003, p. 3).

This means that an important element in determining authenticity is establishing a timeline or framework within which the work is determined to have been written. It also means that the group promoting its own collection of works, knowing that other authentic works existed, might have deliberately chosen not to include them in the Bible. If a book is a forgery, its exclusion from the Bible is straightforward. Establishing the timeline, therefore, is essential to establishing authenticity — and once authenticity is established, it becomes possible, using other books of the Bible and relevant historical information, to understand why community and religious leaders might have chosen to leave a seemingly important work such as the Gospel of Judas out of the Bible.

The Gospel of Judas and Its Contents

Journalist and historian John Dart (2005), writing for The Christian Century, points out that the lost Gospel of Judas was actually referenced as early as 180 AD by "the heresy-fighting Bishop Irenaeus of Lyon, France," who attributed the writing to a Gnostic sect (p. 12). It was mentioned again by Epiphanius, Bishop of Cyprus, who criticized the gospel for extolling the traitor Judas as a man who made the ultimate sacrifice for the Savior so that Jesus could accomplish his work in ensuring mankind's salvation (p. 12).

Given these historical references, it follows that the Gospel of Judas was indeed an existing work as early as 180 AD. The problem of authentication is thus resolved, but the problem of why it was not included in the New Testament remains. The first clue comes through the historical markers provided by the only two known references to the book: a heresy hunter, and Epiphanius, who at least shares his perspective that Judas was a traitor — not an insider performing at the behest of his Savior.

Marvin Meyer, co-chair of the Department of Religious Studies at his university and working under the National Geographic Society, was part of the "dream team" assembled to authenticate, conserve, and translate the lost Gospel of Judas. Meyer has authored a number of works on non-canonical gospels, including the Gospels of Mary Magdalene and the Gnostic Gospels of Jesus. Because the translation was funded by the National Geographic Society, the translation and original papyrus pages were kept confidential during the process, which led to criticism from other theologians and academics. However, Meyer and his colleagues — Rodolphe Kasser and Gregor Wurst — are reliable academicians and ancient-text translators whose backgrounds and credentials substantiate their work. Until other experts have had sufficient time to analyze and develop differing conclusions, the work of Kasser, Meyer, and Wurst must serve as the primary body of scholarship for this study.

Conclusion

While there are some, such as Jeevan Singh Deol (2001), who suggest that the exclusion of the Gnostic Gospels was a result of their having been authored by the Seventh and Ninth Sikh Gurus, the greater weight of evidence suggests that the Gnostic Gospel messages to the Christian community were simply not the message or moral deemed appropriate for the community at the time.

As we look at the lost Gospel of Judas — whose very theme runs contrary to the other works of the New Testament — one must consider whether it is so harmful that this work appears now, having only recently been translated. While there will no doubt be much analysis and debate surrounding Kasser, Meyer, and Wurst's translation, there is currently a segment of disconnected Christians looking for something to sustain their faith, and in doing so many are turning toward the Gnostic Gospels and even mysticism to fill the void that contemporary Christianity has left. That Judas is deemed a co-conspirator rather than a traitor in the Gospel of Judas might not be such a bad thing for those Christians. It is the message that the contemporary Christian community perhaps wants to hear: not all things — not even the Bible — are carved in stone as were the Ten Commandments.

Rather, the Gnostic Gospels, and even the lost Gospel of Judas, serve to accomplish what the earliest leaders of the Church and community wanted: to inspire, guide, and elicit moral and social behaviors within the limits of the norms of their societies. The Gnostic Gospels may well be the source of renewal that the contemporary Christian community needs.

Works Cited

Dart, John. "Long-Lost Gospel of Judas to Be Published." The Christian Century 27 Dec. 2005: 12+.

Deol, Jeevan Singh. "Non-Canonical Compositions Attributed to the Seventh and Ninth Sikh Gurus." The Journal of the American Oriental Society 121.2 (2001): 193.

Ehrman, Bart D. Lost Scriptures: Books That Did Not Make It into the New Testament. New York: Oxford University Press, 2003.

Gaer, Joseph. The Lore of the New Testament. 1st ed. Boston: Little, Brown, 1952.

Kasser, Rodolphe, Meyer, Marvin, and Wurst, Gregor. The Gospel of Judas. National Geographic Society, 2006.

Moffatt, James. The Theology of the Gospels. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1913.

Thorburn, Thomas James. The Mythical Interpretation of the Gospels: Critical Studies in the Historic Narratives. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1916.