A Letter Regarding the "Gospel of Judas"

Dear Members and Friends of Second Reformed Church:

Satan had a good chuckle this past Holy Week with all the brouhaha about the "Gospel of Judas." The initial news reports about this poorly written fiction presented a major new find that contradicted the Bible. Questions were raised about whether this "accidental" find during Holy Week proves Christianity a fantasy. (And if you think it was an accident, you probably also believe that the fact that the price of gas goes up every summer is one of those mysteries we will never understand.)

I pray that you were able to shake the fog of this nonsense off and your faith was not disturbed by the lies and cotton candy reporting.

Let us understand that this document is a historical piece, worthy of understanding. It has its place among the rest of the fictional writings of the Gnostics, like the "Gospel of Thomas" and the "Gospel of Mary" and the "Revelation of Peter," etc. But let us also understand that it does not have the authority of the biblical texts.

By the time the April 7th (New Jersey) Star Ledger reported the story -- on Good Friday -- NOT a coincidence, the story of this document had changed, and gotten more accurate.

It was initially reported that this text was a new discovery -- NOT SO. In recent history, this text was discovered in 1978, studied, and translated. The Star Ledger reports that the National Geographic Society has been working on the document since 2001, "authenticating it, [and] translating it" for its "surprise discovery" this Holy Week, five years hence!

However, it is not even that new a discovery, as Irenaeus wrote about this "fictitious history" in his Against Heresies, back around 180 A.D. The text, then, was probably written between 150 and 180 A. D., which is when the other Gnostic writings were written. It's nothing new.

Not only that, it is fiction. Nothing that is written in the "Gospel of Judas," has any historical backing (except for the names). It could not have been written by Judas and it has been rejected as fiction by all scholars, except the most liberal and Christ-hating, for over 1800 years.

On the other hand, the texts of the Bible were completed by 70 A.D., and there has never been a single text that has been proven to be inaccurate. There are texts of Scripture with historical and archeological proof behind them, and then there are texts where such proof has not been discovered. There is not, however, one word of the Scripture that has been proven false.

But perhaps most disturbing about this whole "incident" is the continual reference to this being an "alternate Christianity." The Star Ledger quotes professor Elaine Pagels, who is a Gnostic Scholar, but NOT a Christian, as saying that the Gnostic writing show "how diverse and how fascinating the early Christian movement really was."

Christianity cannot be understood by the non-Christian; it is only after God changes a person's heart, the inclination of the will, and regenerates a person, that one can believe and understand Christianity. So, to accept a non-Christian's assessment that Gnosticism is "another branch" of Christianity, makes about as much sense as to accept a squirrel's understanding of bovine lactation.

What's the difference -- the GREAT, BIG DIFFERENCE -- between Christianity and Gnosticism? Christianity says that we are saved by Jesus Christ Alone: "There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:12). Gnosticism says that its brand of salvation comes, NOT through Jesus, (though He's nice enough...), but through the gaining of a secret knowledge.

Beloved, do not be disturbed by false writings. We are saved through Jesus Christ Alone. All we need to know for life and salvation is contained in the Bible, sixty-six books, completed by the time the apostles had died, and never yet, or ever, to be shown to be inaccurate.

The "Gospel of Judas" is a historical piece of fiction that another religion made up, based, in part, on the history recorded in the Bible. It is not authoritative for Christians, nor is it a threat. It is an interesting ancient document, like so many others, that will be burned up in the fires to come.

Sola Scriptura