In what might have been described as a not-so-surprising marketing of a surprising discovery, National Geographic Channel, in collaboration with the Maecenas Foundation for Ancient Art and the Waitt Institute for Historical Discovery, has released a documentary about the scrolls containing "The Gospel of Judas", an ancient text in Coptic of the early Christian era that purports to give a new account of the role of Judas the Iscariote in the events that lead to the crucifixion of Jesus of Nazareth. Habitus presents a brief comment on the text and reveals some of the reactions in the international media.

The Text and the Authentification
The history of the text is as controversial as the message itself. The tattered remains of formers scrolls, papyrus pages bound together in what the specialists know it was called a codex have been located after almost two millenia and have gone through serious restoration and scrutiny before scholars could make anything of them. The fragments of codex were in an advanced state of decay, preventing scholars from having relevant access to the text before an excruciating work of restoration. The National Geographic subsidized state-of-the-art technological process that was used to improve the readability. But not even after restoration did the fragments yield the entire apocryphal gospel and much is left to the guessing skills of scholars and now of the public too.

As to insure the high-impact of both the discovery and of the restoration work, the National Geographic Channel has made the scrolls public in the wake of a secretive operation meant to prevent any premature leak to the media. The marketing strategy concentrated on the potential for controversy brought about by the text, even though the media bustle did not in the end raise to the potential for controversy. In the wake of its surprise announcement, National Geographic dedicated a vast space to the subject on its website, so that Christian scholars and lay could enjoy or use real information about the three years enterprise of reconstructing and preserving the text. After the press conference held by the team working at the project, the text in Coptic and the translation in English was made public and can be downloaded from National Geographic Channel website.

Because of the bad shape of the scrolls (preserved in a bank vault and almost ripped apart during a saga for profits on the part of the original owners), the texts were the subject to several archeological restoration and preserving techniques designed to provide them with solid immortality.

The Text
The Gospel begins with a polemical statement on Christ's ministry, that puts at once the text in contradiction with the traditional theological creed of most of the Christian churches by affirming that Christ was not present all the time as himself among disciples, but was seen only as a child. This is a formal deviation from the theological perspective of Council of Niceea (325), which held that the incarnation of the Word of God was not apparent, but real.

Another scene reveals the special role to be played by Judas the Iscariote in the delivery of Jesus for Crucifixion, and this is the point of contention that was mostly milked for publicity. Christ mocks the prayer of the disciples, and in the confusing reacion that follows only Judas can grasp the hidden meaning of his words. Here Judas stands for the true faithful nature of mankind and then the traditionally despised apostle names Christ to be "from the realm of Barbelo", a gnostic term relating the content of the Gospel to the universe of early Christian writings know as "gnostic". In a later scene Jesus speaks to Judas in private, revealing him "mysteries of the kingdom" not to be discussed with any other of the disciples.

The presence of Jesus is of a different nature in this apocryphal text than in the canonical books. He seems to appear and disappear to and from the disciples, suggesting that his body does not behave like a truly material one. Also, Christ seems to be in relation with other "generations" (emanations), spiritual entities alien to the material world. Speaking about the necessity of the Crucifixion, Jesus uses arcane terminology. "Sacrifice the man that clothes me", says he, a clear gnostic reference.

Another great subject in the Gospel is the interpretation given by Christ to a dream (vision) of the disciples. This is an interpretation that relates to other gnostic themes, like the manner of the last judgement, while the allegorical interpretation of the world clearly shows the Gospel of Judas to be a product of a shool or community to be dated at the earliest at 180 AD. This puts the remains of the Gospel of Judas among the oldest original texts surviving from the first Christian centuries.

The media also put much emphasis on the novel image of Judas. As one to play a great role in the Passion, he becomes the most trusted disciple, in a radical turn from the classical belief that held him as traitor and archsinner that commited suicide. However, he is described here as the one bringing the light of knowledge over the other disciples and the one through which the iconomy of knowledge will be fulfilled.

Reactions, studies, opinions
Especially on the internet , the reactions, debates and opinions are various and overwhelmingly numerous. We do not try to be exhaustive on the matter of reflecting these different and diverse (divergent?) opinions, but we are trying to catch a glimpse of the world's reaction in front of a great discovery and a very important Chrstian (and religious) issue.

In Slate magazine, essayist Christopher Hitchens squeezes everything political out of the text by the power of the same irreverentious flames that made him famous. Satisfied with the discovery of the apocryphal gospel, he wishes only the text should be accepted by the Church as visible means to ending the ignominious history of anti-semitism that plagued the history of Christianity.

Even though Christopher Hitchens did not agree with the declaration, in The New Yorker Adam Gopnik says that the discovery "no more challenges the basis of the Church's faith than the discovery of a document from the nineteenth century written in Ohio and defending King George would be a challenge to the basis of American democracy." The text is even hardly a Gospel, he claims, since it has no intention of presenting the whole life of Jesus. The style is awkward, Jesus is laughing and mocking the disciples all the time, the text and its ideas relating more to "like the laugh of the ruler of a dubious planet on “Star Trek.”

The most important Israeli newspaper, Haaretz, hosts Benny Ziffer who expresses disgust to how the new discovery was presented. And the culprit is Americanism, he says, "a kind of simple-mindedness verging on stupidity that makes a documentary television program about Christian theology sound identical in tone to a stewardess explaining to airplane passengers how to fasten their seat belts".

A more scholarly oriented position is evinced in Christianity Today by Darrell Bock, who puts up a defense against improper usage of the apocryphal text. His statement expresses maybe some Christians' fears that the National Geograpic Channel's documentary and other media releases that preceded it are part of a series of efforts to undermine the authority of the central tentes of Christianity. He links the release of the Gospel of Judas to the papers that preceded the rise of The Da Vinci Code.

The text published by www. christianpost.com makes a good point in the beginning, that the Gospel of Judas is authentic. All the parts involved agree on this subject. By contacting several authoritative voices in the study of ancient texts, as well as renowned comentators and professors of biblical studies, this article formulates a view of the professionals in this area of study. They all agree there are too many oppinions put by people not having much to do with the biblical study.

In Lieu of a Conclusion
What might be striking for some in today's world is the greater interest taken by media institutions in subjects of faith. In the wake of Gibson's "The Passion of Christ" and the enduring best-seller status of "The Da Vinci Code", one can notice subjects animating fields of block-buster media that were once impervious to religious products. The Gospel of Judas is yet another proof that religious belief can be a successful (profit-making) subject in media production.

Moreover, who would have thought only 5 years ago that subjects like the alleged relation between Jesus and Mary Magdalene, the surprising character of Judas or the "hidden truth" of Christianity will be hosted on the first pages of the most prestigious newspapers or magazines? And, because in Hollywood anyone knows that "there is no such thing as bad press", we discover how faith and/or religious subjects are now very fashionable. If the faith of some is shaken by this constant debate over religious subjects, maybe the apocryphal gospel of Judas would inform them that this was the manner of formulating the faith in the first centuries, when faith was put to the test through endless debates.

Links:
National Geographic

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