The recent National Geographic special on the Gospel
of Judas was a major media event, introducing to tens of millions
of viewers one of the most important biblical discoveries of modern
times. Now, a leading historian of the early church, Bart Ehrman,
offers the first comprehensive account of the newly discovered Gospel
of Judas, revealing what this legendary lost gospel contains and
why it is so important for our understanding of Christianity.
Ehrman, a featured commentator in the National Geographic special,
describes how he first saw the Gospel of Judas--surprisingly, in
a small room above a pizza parlor in a Swiss town near Lake Geneva--and
he recounts the fascinating story of where and how this ancient
papyrus document was discovered, how it moved around among antiquities
dealers in Egypt, the United States, and Switzerland, and how it
came to be restored and translated. More important, Ehrman gives
the reader a complete and clear account of what the book teaches
and he shows how it relates to other Gospel texts--both those inside
the New Testament and those outside of it, most notably, the Gnostic
texts of early Christianity. Finally, he describes what we now can
say about the historical Judas himself as well as his relationship
with Jesus, suggesting that one needs to read between the lines
of the early Gospels to see exactly what Judas did and why he did
it.
The Gospel of Judas presents an entirely new view of Jesus, his
disciples, and the man who allegedly betrayed him. It raises many
questions and Bart Ehrman provides illuminating and authoritative
answers, in a book that will interest anyone curious about the New
Testament, the life of Jesus, and the history of Christianity after
his death.
Above
description written by Oxford University Press
