Reading Judas

August 15, 2007
The story of Judas is one of the most fascinating in the Gospels of the New Testament. Using the recent manuscript fragments discovered by the National Geographic Society, well-known religion scholars Pagels (The Gnostic Gospels ) and King (Magdala ) have written a lively discussion regarding the questions this Gnostic gospel creates. They work from King's translation of the fragmentary gospel, employing their collective knowledge to present a fascinating study of the contrasts between good and evil, the still compelling stories of how Christianity evolved, and the complex nature of human suffering and redemption. Well written and researched, this book provides clues as to how the contemporary vision of Jesus compares with the view of Jesus 1900 years ago. The reading by Justine Eyre and Robertson Dean provides an excellent point-counterpoint approach to the questions of what the lost writings have to say about the nature of God, the relationship between Jesus and Judas, the complicated-and sometimes conflicting-relationships between the other disciples of Jesus and Judas, and the insights Judas has to offer into the teachings of Jesus.Reading Judas is highly recommended for both public and academic libraries with large audio and/or religion collections. [Books on Tape also has a version available: 5 CDs. unabridged. 5½ hrs. 2007. ISBN-Pam Kingsbury, Univ. of North Alabama, Florence

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February 26, 2007
This accessible, engaging book has Princeton religion professor Pagels (The Gnostic Gospels; Beyond Belief) in a dream team pairing with King (The Gospel of Mary of Magdala), who teaches ecclesiastical history at Harvard Divinity School. Together they take on the controversial Gospel of Judas, published in April 2006 after some years of languishing in a safety deposit box after its initial discovery in the 1970s. In their hundred-page introductory essay, Pagels and King date the gospel to the middle of the second century and situate it amidst the deadly persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire. Such persecution, they say, drove the author of the Gospel of Judas, who could not reconcile his belief in a deeply loving, good God with a particular idea other Christians held at the time: that God desired the bloody sacrificial death of Jesus and his followers. The key to understanding this gospel, they argue, is its relentless unmasking of the triumphant rhetoric of martyrdom. Though the gospel text appears angry and polarizing, Pagels and King have come to realize that they cannot easily dismiss this author as either a madman or a lunatic. Instead, they delve deeply into his theological view that a pure, spiritual realm exists beyond the physical world that we seea Gnostic chestnut that recurs in other second-century texts. Alive to irony and historical nuance, this remarkably concise primer opens readers to a plausible and often persuasive interpretation of the disquieting Gospel of Judas.

May 28, 2007
The Gospel of Judas represents the most baffling in a series of recently unearthed noncanonical manuscripts that bring to light divergent accounts of Christ’s life and ministry. Robertson Dean reads King’s translation of the ancient text with frequent pauses to note gaps of missing or untranslatable words and sentences. The main section of Pagels and King’s book, narrated by Justine Eyre with occasional support from Dean who gives voice to individual historical figures, offers compelling insights about why the Gospel of Judas threatened the burgeoning religious hierarchy of the second century A.D. and how this often unsettling narrative ultimately manages to provide a surprising vision of heavenly grace amid the ravages of flawed earthly spiritual leadership. Drawing from their extensive expertise regarding contemporary understandings of the Gnostic gospels, the analysis the authors present will no doubt generate valuable theological dialogue. Yet the enigmatic nature of the source material may remain a stumbling block for listeners, and general audiences hoping for Gnosticism 101 may need to search elsewhere. Simultaneous release with the Viking hardcover