Gospel of Judas

The Gospel of Judas, Judas abbreviated, is an apocryphal work, which was probably written in the mid 2nd century AD in a Gnostic sect. The writing does not come from Judah but is a pseudepigraphic font. It consists mainly of conversations between Jesus and the disciples and Jesus and Judas on several days just before the Passion.

First mentioned and described it is of Irenaeus of Lyons around 180 AD Until the 1970s it was considered lost. 1976, a papyrus dating from the 4th century, the so-called Codex Tchacos was discovered, containing the Gospel of Judas in Coptic translation. This manuscript was first published in April 2006 by Rodolphe Kasser. The Coptic text is considered later version of the originally written in Greek Gospel of Judas.

The Scripture gives no indication of historical Jesus or Judas, but only about their reception in early Christianity.

History of the book and the text witnesses

The font was created by the religious historian Gregor Wurst opinion by 160 AD, so much later than the biblical gospels. It has been speculated that an underlying Greek text could be from the 1st century. Most researchers but from a formation in the middle of the 2nd century.

Irenaeus of Lyons sat around 180 AD with the book apart and distanced himself from the statement that Jesus had Judas asked for the betrayal to be freed from his physical shell and be able to meet its mission as the Messiah perfect.

The now well-known text is located in a Coptic translation ago, as part of the Codex Tchacos, who found in 1976 in Middle Egypt near the city of al - Minya, was stolen soon after and in 1983 reappeared. It is a defective and therefore incomplete papyrus codex from the 4th century. Improper storage of the Codex was divided into hundreds of small fragments. For the reconstruction of each fragment was photographed on both sides and Gregor Wurst (University of Augsburg) and his colleagues put together on the computer. In the course of three years, almost 90 percent of the text were able to be reconstructed. The compiled under the direction of Professor Rodolphe Kasser Geneva manuscript was published in 2006. Published in 2007 a ​​critical edition of the four texts of the Codex Tchacos.

In 2009, a large part of the missing fragments that were stored in a hiding place in the U.S., released by a court order. You will now be reunited and evaluated in Europe with the already known parts of the Codex. After translation and restoration of the font, the code will be handed over to the Egyptian state to the attention of the Coptic Museum in Cairo to the will of the Foundation.

Reception and assessment

On 9 April 2006, the National Geographic Magazine published the results of studies worldwide on his television as part of a two-hour documentary specials.

After Thomas Söding the document contains no previously unknown words of Jesus, which could be considered as authentic. The Judas reflects the view of the opposition Christian group from the 2nd century, which had split from the majority church and especially their officers not recognized; these are represented by the twelve apostles in Judas.

Content

The reliability and quality of the initial translation of Kasser, inter alia, is controversial.

Content ( by Kasser et al )

Kasser understands the gospel as a ' kainitische ' Against Bible. The Cainites it was a Gnostic splinter sect that worshiped in the 2nd century Cain and Judas. Irenaeus of Lyons wrote: " You have created a fictional story, which they call the Gospel of Judas ." Key message of the Gospel of Judas is that Judas was the best friend of Jesus and more knowledge (gnosis ) possessed than any other disciple. Jesus had therefore instructed Judas to betray him for the sake of salvation. Because of the betrayal of Jesus have to leave his physical shell and return to the true divine realm. Judas did Jesus then asked what his reward for the betrayal was, and Jesus gave him very frankly replied that the whole world will hate him forever and condemn, but he would be remembered as Sage also in the true divine realm. However, the true God is not the Jewish God ', to worship the other disciples, but a far superior being. The Jewish ( and Orthodox Christian ) God is in this Gospel is minor deity with a lack and malevolent creation, which must be overcome by the true knowledge. Forgiveness of sins through Jesus' death and bodily resurrection are totally incompatible with the spread in this Gospel theology. Essential theological element of the text is the revelation of a complete myth of the origin of the world, with the distinction between enlightened ( the Gnostics ) and non- enlightened, as well as the rejection of the early Christian orthodoxy is founded. The text is available here only very fragmentary, ends with a prophecy of Jesus, which evokes the fall of the Old Testament God and his whole inferior creation. This destruction of all earthly things is probably caused by the betrayal of Judas and the physical death of Jesus.

Content (after Deco Nick et al )

A more recent translation from April D. Deco Nick says that Judas is not described in the Gospel of Judas as a friend of Jesus, but in truth as a demon. The interpretation by National Geographic is based on somewhat dramatic translation errors. They meant that Judas was portrayed against the meaning of the text as a radiant personality, as the closest friend of Jesus and the only who understand it: as a "ghost" and not as " demon "; at a critical point, the Greek " daimon " ( δαίμων ) is translated as "spirit." After Hartenstein it was at least not so that the Judas Judas as a traitor simply rehabilitating "Jesus announces this fact, he does not demand it, and it speaks a lot for a negative rating. In addition, Judas is imperfect and will be excluded from obtaining the full salvation. "