Larry Hurtado on the Gospel of Judas

Here's another commentary on the so-called Gospel of Judas by a respected New Testament scholar, Professor Larry Hurtado of the University of Edinburgh School of Divinity.

Eventually, Mario Jean Roberty, a Swiss lawyer who is head of the Maecenas Foundation, which is also Swiss, bought the codex for a reported $1.5 million plus half the proceeds from the future marketing of its contents. In 2004, Roberty struck a deal with the National Geographic Society to finance scholarly conservation and publication. In other words, the various owners of the codex couldn't sell the artifact because legitimate potential buyers suspected it had been illegally obtained. And then Roberty cleverly hit upon the idea of making his money back by marketing the contents of the codex. More

Judas: Traitor or Pawn?

Reimund Bieringer, professor of New Testament Exegesis, Faculty of Theology, Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium wrestles with the question: Was Judas a traitor or pawn in God's plan? His answers include implications for the theology of the cross. More

Ben Witherington

Ben Witherington is also blogging the so-called "Gospel" of Judas. He is a Professor of New Testament Interpretation at Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, Kentucky

I was on the phone yesterday with my close friend Dr. A.J. Levine who teaches at Vanderbilt Div. School. She was called in late in the game to give a bit more balance to the group of scholars unveiling the Gospel of Judas. I asked her point blank: " Well A.J. is this document of any importance at all in helping us understand the historical Jesus or the historical Judas and their relationship?" She said unequivocally--- "none whatsoever".

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