The Lost Gospel of Judas Iscariot: A New Look at Betrayer and Betrayed

First of all, it is fascinating reading - whether one chooses to believe it or not. The writer provides important information about the gospel itself, the history of early Christianity, examples of what the writers knew or did not know, and much more. It is important to have background material to complete and/or understand how this manuscript came to be. Did the Council at Nicia have a copy of this, or if so, how was it left out of the texts of the Bible? Apparently not, if it was recently discovered. The idea that Judas was born to fulfill God's Will for Jesus is not new to me, and that he was not really a betrayer but someone following God's path, has been presented before. Hope to read more books like this - transcribed manuscripts reading is a passion of mine. To be read with an open mind. Easy to read for a layperson, and to understand the notion of storytelling from the past.At first I thought it would be a direct translation of the manuscript, but having this extra information was helpful.

Another hit from Ehrman. Great breakdown of this gospel, it's significance, and how it impacts our understanding of the early church and cannon today.

First things first: there is nothing revolutionary or scandalous in the ancient text called "The Gospel of Judas." If the Vatican has a copy in their archives, they are not sitting on it out of fear of the response. This text is unique in its focus on Judas, but in other ways has a great deal in common with other Gnostic texts written in the first few centuries of the Common Era.That being the case, Bart Ehrman -- one of the leaders in his field -- does an excellent job of using the text as an entry into the world of the scholarship of ancient scriptures.I came to the book from a background of having studied such texts (in translation) in both a public graduate school and a seminary, so I ended up skipping over a lot of the background material Ehrman includes for the lay person. It's all very well written and accessible; it was just old news to me.The best part of the book was not, I think, his study of the Gospel of Judas itself, but his use of historical-literary criticism to dig more deeply into what we can reasonably deduce about Judas from the canonical books of the New Testament. It's not a lot -- but Ehrman does a lovely job in taking the reader step-by-step through how a specialist approaches such a question.I would recommend this book to anyone who has any interest in New Testament criticism or who has a romantic or suspicious interest in "lost gospels." This book is an excellent primer on what we do and do not know about early Christianity in its wide variety of forms and how we come it know it.And for those who might wonder: it is not disrespectful of faith. Ehrman makes no theological claims one way or the other. He simply looks at the texts more closely than most people ever will, with the advantage of his decades spent studying the historical, cultural, theological, and literary nature of the era, and communicates his insights in a straightforward, very clear way.

A great overview of the gospel and the religious (gnostic) community that fostered it. This genre is Prof. Ehrman's speciality and it shows

Thank you professor Ehrman for the neutral academic presentation of this book and insight as to how it fit within the first two centuries of Christianity. Blessed are those who fled persecution and hid these books. Rome and the "orthodox" church tried to abolish the diverse appreciation of God. God is Love. Knock, seek, ask and question established truths.

The book is essentially stating that the Gospel of Judas Iscariot is a Gnostic Gospel.The author makes a clear distinction between an orthodox gospel and a Gnostic gospel, which is quite interesting. According to the Gospel of Judas Iscariot, Jesus was a Gnostic in that he believed, not in monotheism as we would expect, but in multiple gods, both physical and ethereal, much along the lines of the Cathars.Of course, any words could have been put into Jesus' mouth long after the fact, so it is important not to take the Gnostic ideas as having come from Jesus himself.The only real disappointment in the book is that the actual Gospel of Judas Iscariot is not written into the book. It is only a discussion of those beliefs. That may be for the better because of the confusing effort the Gnostics went into the multiple layers of gods, demigods and angels that supposedly were part of the belief system.

Fascinating, fast, and highly enjoyable. Ehrman, an esteemed biblical scholar, discusses the fascinating saga of the recently discovered "Lost Gospel of Judas Iscariot", and uses it as a backdrop from which to discuss many aspects of the Bible in a purely historic context. The interwoven Biblical and early-non-mainstream-Christianity plotlines that it touches-on are fascinating. If you have already read/listened-to Ehrman's New Testament course (Great Courses), or his Truth and Fiction in the De Vinci Code, this book is only slightly redundant, and well worth the read/listen.

This is terrific. Not unfamiliar ground for those who have read, for example, Robert Eisenman, but well-researched, well-written, and a welcome addition to the canon.

Excellent

Great. condition as described

A thought provoking read. Well worth the effort.

Everything as expected, Excellent choice, great purchase.