The Lost Gospel: The Quest for the Gospel of Judas Iscariot [Hardcover]

All anyone has heard about this week is the release of the so called Gospel of Judas. There are two new releases by the same authors, one that is The Gospel of Judas, which is the translation, and this companion book, which is a examination of the scientific process behind the work done on the Judas Codex.

This book is more of the archeological and scientific rather than spiritual, although it does contain passes from the Judas gospel. The story is of the gospel from its discovery in Egypt to how the document bounced around in private collections for years and to how finally it was acquired, preserved and translated by a team of scientists working for the National Geographic Institute. The story itself is fascinating; the document was left in such a state of disarray that it was literally crumbling once the scientists received. The book describes the intricate process of preservation, carbon dating the papyrus, and the translation of the Coptic script it was written in.

From a strictly historical perspective, what we know is that this work is in Coptic script(probably translated into Coptic from Greek) and was laid down on papyrus in Egypt around 300 A.D. It was discovered in a cave in Egypt, similar to the discovery of the Gospel of Thomas, and bounced around private collections until it was acquired by scientists, preserved, and translated. The work relates one unknown author's perspective on the role of Judas in the crucifixion. This document was first mentioned in historical records from around 180 A.D., suggesting that its line of thought existed among certain gnostic sects of the early church, most likely the Cainites.

As a historian, this book offers unique insight into the scientific process involved in document preservation and translation. It also offers unique insight into the spread of early christianity and how schools of thought evolved in the first three hundred years after the events of the life of Jesus. Whatever your personal belief in the Bible and Christianity, this book makes for a fascinating read for the science and the history involved.

A.G. Corwin
St.Louis, MO

If you are looking for a book that gives the complete translation of the Gospel of Judas you would do better to read other books available on this topic. However, if you would like to read an incredible story of how this incredibly precious document passed around the world for over 20 years going from buyer to buyer while coming precariously close to degrading beyond any hope of usefullness, this is quite a story. This book is written from the National Geographic's viewpoint of their involvement with the procurement, last attempts at preservation of this astonishing document and ultimate translation of the Gospel of Judas. This book does contain discussions of the big picture of the importance of the Gospel of Judas and what its message is but there are those who will be better suited for an in depth translation of the Gospel without any of the legwork behind it's discovery, travels and the race to beat the clock before the gospel physically disintegrated. For those of us who want to understand what is contained in the Gospel of Judas without getting too deep from a religious standpoint and want to read a story of intrigue about this document and how it was almost never brought to translation and dissemination, this is a terrific read.

This new book by the National Geographic Society is bound to be of interest. Whether one agrees or disagrees with the outline of the lost gospel being highlighted here, it still presents an intriguing look into the early mind of Christians, who were a very diverse group.

There were originally more than four gospels, and literally hundreds of apostolic letters and manuscripts floating around the ancient world. These were of variable quality literarily and theologically, but it took hundreds of years for the Christian community to come to a consensus about what should be included and what should be excluded. Generally, Gnostic texts were excluded, and this lost gospel of Judas is most likely a Gnostic production, according to the authors. It was referenced by early church leaders such as Irenaeus, who argued strongly for the now-standard vision of four canonical gospels.

What is the issue with this gospel? The central idea that places this text as odds with the canonical gospels is that it paints Judas is a very different light - Judas is no longer the villain who betrays Jesus for his own personal gain, or because of his own spiritual confusion, but rather an obedient servant who, when turning Jesus in to the authorities, is simply following Jesus' own direction as a necessary step for God's plan to come to fulfillment. Judas is portrayed as the closest of the apostles to Jesus, a leader among the apostles, and thus perhaps the object of jealousy.

To be sure, these ideas are not new. Varying images of Judas and confusion about his role have been present throughout much of Christian history, with no single definitive vision of his personality nor his action superseding all others. (See the book on Judas by scholar Kim Paffenroth, published recently). The document highlighted in this text is a 31-page, fragile manuscript dated to approximately the year 300, as a copy of a story that may have originated 150 or more years earlier. The manuscript itself has a colourful history, having been bought, sold, and stolen multiple times. As this book is released, the manuscript is on display at the National Geographic Society in Washington, D.C. This book discusses efforts to preserve the manuscript and halt further deterioration. It traces the fascinating history of this text, and places it in the broader context of other manuscripts that have survived, both from the early days of Christianity, as well as more generally.

This book promises to be of interest to historians, theologians, biblical scholars, and others who find the early days of Christianity fascinating. Even those (like me) who are not willing to lend canonical authority to this rediscovered gospel will find that it brings up ideas and questions that are worth considering.

This book goes along with a companion volume, 'The Gospel of Judas' also published by the National Geographic Society, with commentary by Bart D. Ehrman, and edited by Rodolphe Kasser, Marvin Meyer, and Gregor Wurst. That volume looks more particularly at the translation of the text with the tools of biblical and historical scholarship brought to bear. Both books are also companions of the new television documentary on the newly discovered text, produced by and shown on the National Geographic channel.