Last night I watched the National Geographic Channel's program about the "Gospel of Judas." You may have seen it, or you may have read one of the many news stories about the program and the text it scrutinizes. Here are a few observations and comments about the program... and about faith in general.

One of the best things about the program is that it functions as a pretty good informal education on the so-called "Gnostic Gospels" in general... so you can watch it knowing nothing about early pseudo-Christian Gnosticism and learn some of the basics. If you're unfamiliar with Gnosticism, check out this great, short primer at Burr in the Burgh.

There were things I enjoyed about the program, but I have a few complaints as well. If you read this blog from time to time, you probably know the position from which my views are formed. If not, you should know up front that I'm a church-going Catholic convert. I won't try to camouflage my own personal bias at all.

First of all, I'll say that I don't believe that the Gnostic Gospels are spiritually authentic, nor do I think that they're historically accurate. I do believe, though, that it's probably good for a practicing, studious Christian to read them. Don't get me wrong, the "Christ" that they present most assuredly isn't the Jesus Christ of Christian tradition. The Gnostics believed a lot of things that are alien to Christianity. They saw the physical world as evil, where as Christianity sees it as a good creation of God (albeit one that is currently occupied by an enemy). They also saw physical existence as a trap, a prison... where as Christians believe that our physical, temporal lives are crucial, and that the way we live this life determines the way we live in the next sphere of existence. Gnosticism is fundamentally at odds with traditional Christianity... as a faith practice, as a philosophy, and as an instruction for our lives.

No, the reasons that a Christian should read the Gnostic gospels aren't because they're valuable to our faith. Not at all. So, why do I think that Christians should read them? For one thing, it is a good idea to familiarize ourselves with the attacks on Christianity that are being made by secularists, new-agers, and others who oppose our beliefs. If we understand the positions and opinions of those who oppose us... and if we are as familiar with their sources as they are... then we are better able to argue against those attacks with knowledge, eloquence, and kindness.

Another reason to read the Gnostic gospels is because, if you're like me, you're constantly guilty of casting Christ in your own mold. I'm constantly guilty of taking the Lord's name in vain in the most meaningful and damning way. That is to say, I often find myself arguing that my own predispositions are valid because they are shared by God and the Savior. It's easy (for me, at least) to become couched in personal beliefs and to grow assured of personal righteousness simply through mental laziness. Because the Christ portrayed in the Gnostic gospels is so radically different from the Christ of Christian tradition, I find it impossible to read them without having my own ideas about Christ shaken and stirred. I think that's good for me. I think I benefit from this kind of introspection and reflection. To put it simply, I don't think that it's enough for me to simply ask What would Jesus do? I also have to ask myself Am I right about what I think Jesus would have done... or am I fooling myself? The picture to the left, the one of Christ laughing, is one of my favorite images from popular culture... it presents the humanity of Christ in an undeniable way. Christ's humanity is as important as his divinity... and he was fully human, just as you and I are. It's easy to forget that. It's easy, for example, to think theologically about Christ performing the miracle at the wedding in Cana. It seems strangely foreign, however, to contemplate the likelihood that he also had a really nice time with his friends and family at that wedding.

So, yes, the Gnostic gospels do have some value for the practicing Christian, in my estimation. If nothing else, they provide a little spiritual exercise for Christians readers. They provide us with a chance to get in contact with our traditions, our history, and the reasons why we believe what we believe. If I might be so bold, I'll suggest that they also provide the reader with a chance to connect in a very real way with the Holy Spirit. Sometimes when I'm reading something from the Gnostic texts, I'll come across a passage so bizarre and outrageous that a cold chill will run down my spine. Could that be confirmation from the ultimate Authority that what I'm reading is NOT, in fact, the inspired word of God? I certainly think it's possible.

The most frustrating thing, however, about the National Geographic program was how little it concerned itself with Judas himself. That was a disappointment to me because I'm fascinated by Judas. Above all else, here was a man of striking contrasts. He was called to be one of Christ's twelve apostles, and yet he was Christ's betrayer. His betrayal was a shocking act of disloyalty, and yet my religion proclaims a salvation that was only possible because of that betrayal. I feel mixed emotions about Judas. Sometimes I think he got a raw deal, that he was only doing what had to be done. Yet Judas, like all of us, has to be held accountable for his own actions. Judas chose treachery. His sin, the very action that made Christian salvation possible, was in-and-of-itself an inherently and obviously unchristian act. Sometimes I wonder if Judas was what we'd call bipolar these days. Sometimes I wonder if he himself was puzzled by his own actions. These things cross my mind because they are the same things I wonder about myself when I examine my own actions and confront my own betrayals of Christ. Like every other Christian, I have been Judas from time to time. Maybe more than I'd like to admit.

Last night's program wasn't concerned with Judas at all. It was concerned with proving the "authenticity" of the supposed Gospel of Judas, and it aimed to offer that proof in scientific terms. By means of expert examination, carbon dating, and other scientific measures, the document itself was determined to be as much as seventeen hundred years old. In the view of National Geographic, this was proof enough of the document's authenticity. The problem with that is that proving that the document is actually very old and proving that it's ideas are valid and accurate are two different things. Words like authentic can seem to mean a variety of different things.... especially when they're applied to texts like the Gnostic Gospels.

The most important thing to remember about the "Gnostic Gospels," however, is that these religious ideas are not what the media would have us believe that they are. These aren't really ideas that have been suppressed and hidden for almost two thousand years, and there's nothing startling or new in their passages. Gnosticism, at it's heart, is no different from many other non-Christian religions. Gnostic pseudo-Christianity shares many attitudinal presumptions with Buddhism, New Age faith, etc. Like those religions, Gnosticism denies the inherent goodness and value of the physical human experience. The Gnostic Gospels present a Christ who sees our earthly lives in largely negative terms. How strikingly different from the Jesus of John's Gospel, who wept over the death of his friend Lazarus. For the Jesus in John's Gospel, Lazarus hadn't been freed from an earthly prison by dying. Rather, Lazarus had lost a precious and holy gift; the life bestowed upon him at his conception by God.

It is my belief, after a great deal of prayer and reflection, that the Jesus of the New Testament clearly valued human existence. The goal of his ministry was not to transcend human life, but to redeem it. To perfect it. To remove the stain of sin and to restore each of our lives to it's intended condition: A divine endowment, worthy and pleasing in the eyes of the Creator.

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Other bloggers respond to the National Geographic program:

Burr in the Burgh: Ignorance Is Not An Option


Inheret The Whirlwind: Christians Riot Over "Gospel Of Judas"


Catholic Apologetics Of America: Experts Skeptical Of New "Gospel Of Judas"


Faith and Freedom Network: The Non-Gospel of Judas