Posted on 04/13/2006 8:12:35 AM PDT by Mr. Silverback
Welcome to Holy Week, American style. Just as millions of Christians are preparing to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus, the media is once again out to debunk historical Christianity.
Just last weekend I was in an airport bookstore and saw the new book counter filled with numerous editions of The Da Vinci Code. Then I picked up the New York Times, and there I was greeted with the headline on the front page that read, “In Ancient Document, Judas, Minus the Betrayal.”
You probably have seen the hype, including a one-hour National Geographic TV spectacular: After seventeen hundred years, the story goes, the long-lost text of the so-called “Gospel of Judas” has re-surfaced. It claims that Jesus secretly told Judas to betray Him; so Judas is really a good disciple.
Well, it’s not a new discovery. This “new gospel” and the heresy it espouses—Gnosticism—were rejected as fiction by Christian leaders and the Church as early as 180 A.D.
Gnosticism was an attempt to add to Christianity an essentially Eastern worldview dressed up with Christian language. It was presented to the Roman world as the true Gospel—complete with endless mysteries that only those with secret knowledge could unravel. Many unsuspecting people were enthralled with Gnostic writings, particularly their sometimes gory and salacious initiation ceremonies. Christian pastors and theologians repeatedly rejected all forms of Gnosticism, until, by the middle of the third century, it had all but disappeared.
But now it is back with a vengeance, with supposed discoveries and works like Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code. It provides the means for Christianity’s detractors to debunk the historical Jesus, and it certainly sells books. Seven million copies of The Da Vinci Code is testimony to that. Gnosticism has particular appeal today because of the postmodern age, which has rejected historical truth. So you can find God any way you wish, through your own group. This, of course, is the belief that is at the root of the spreading New Age movement.
The danger is that we have a biblically illiterate population. People today don’t know—maybe don’t care—whether there is a difference between the Gospel of Judas and the Gospel of John. They are unfamiliar with the work of the ancient canonical councils of the Church (which rejected the Gnostic “gospels” time and again) or even of the basic creeds or confessions of the Christian Church. Sadly, people are as gullible today as ever.
Now it is tempting to get angry at National Geographic and the liberal press for unleashing this fraudulent “gospel” at the beginning of the holiest week of the year. But don’t. Instead, let’s use the media attention to debunk the debunkers, to point out to friends that this regurgitated Gnosticism—the Da Vinci Code and the “gospel” of Judas included—is nothing more than historically unsupportable fantasy.
Then we can point them to the knowledge that is accessible to all people that has been accessible to Christians for two thousand years and proven historically accurate. It’s called the Bible.
But whatever you do, get informed first. Come to our website (see further reading below) or call us here at “BreakPoint” (1-877-322-5527) and find some of the resources that we are offering. And get busy because millions can be suckered in—unless you and I set the record straight.
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Oh, geez. Brown's book is FICTION. Mother Goose is more factual.
I've accidently flipped to the Judas show a few times, but never can get through a few minutes before flipping channels again.
Uh, dude, The Da Vinci Code is fiction. To get mad over that is like the Muslims getting mad over The Satanic Verses, minus the death threat.
Ping!
John 15:
18 If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you.
19 If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.
i saw that show ... judas said that Jesus appeared as a kid during the last supper, told him that only judas was worthy of the eternal secrets among other oddities ... sounded like the DemUnderground existed around the year 200ad
Mr. Colson hit the nail on the head. This "gospel" of Judas is a hoax and heresy. Any true Christian can see right through this ridiculous claim.
If any Christian believes this garbage, then they need to get into a good bible study.
That's my 2 cents.
Gnosticism was an attempt to add to Christianity an essentially Eastern worldview dressed up with Christian language. It was presented to the Roman world as the true Gospel—complete with endless mysteries that only those with secret knowledge could unravel. Many unsuspecting people were enthralled with Gnostic writings, particularly their sometimes gory and salacious initiation ceremonies. Christian pastors and theologians repeatedly rejected all forms of Gnosticism, until, by the middle of the third century, it had all but disappeared.
This is all I need to know.
The endless TV programs about the "Bermuda Triangle", "UFOs" and "Bigfoot", remind me of both the gullibility and persistence of moonbat subjects, and the large following that they enjoy.
My personal conviction is that we can't even unravel what happened, exactly, 100 years ago in our own culture and country and, yet, some are obsessed with finding "hidden" meaning or fact in long lost myths and fabrications.
Most of us are busy enough with our daily lives that we have no time for mischief. Others, obviously, have a lot more time than knowledge and good sense, and are forever digging up myths to "re-examine".
Contemporary Americans are mostly ignorant of the role that fabrications and negative propaganda played throughout history, primarily around the time of the Reformation. Just become familiar with the outrageously juvenile and primitive beliefs and gullibility of modern illiterate muslims, and you have a good grasp of what most of history has been like.
No longer are the creeds studied and dissected for the truth they hold.> We forget that the ancient creeds were written to refute ancient heresies. We think they are useless, but look at where we are now.
I have been a Christian all my life. But the more I read about the early and middle Christian eras the more I find that the bible as we know it has been rewritten how many times and how much has been lost in these rewritings??????
Garbage like this just makes my faith stronger.
True enough, but there is enough fact twisted and mixed into it to make it highly pernicious, and there are a good number of people (one of whom cornered me and nearly killed me with boredom at the feed store some time back) who believe that there is a str5ong factual basis for what the book presents as fiction.
So was Uncle Tom's Cabin. Many people, including Brown himself, believe the book is a form of historical fiction.
Fair enough given that they provide conservatives with yet another golden opportunity to plumb the depths of rabid barking moonbattyness in Old Media.
Jesus said it would have been better had Judas not even been born.........End of Story!
I have argued with people right here on FR who have stated flatly "The book is fiction, but the history in the book is fact."
Of course, all they had to back up the claim was the book itself.
Where in the Bible is there the instruction for a canonical council to determine what should be in the Bible?
"Gospel" means "good news".
The word "logos" (Greek) means "word".
"It's also embarrassing that most don't know the word Gospel has nothing to do with religion, it means "word" and nothing else."
... uh, no, it does not mean "'word' and nothing else." The word "Gospel," Greek, "euangelion," (spelled phonetically) means "good news" or "good message." It has a clearly more hopeful and optimistic denotation than merely "word" and a distinctively Christian connotation. Word in Greek is "logos." Which, although denotatively merely means "word," does in given contexts mean far more, e.g. John 1:1. And context, far more than mere dictionary definition, determines what a word really means.
So criticize both the "Gospel of Judas," which is just another piece of Gnostic junk, and, if appropriate, the over-reaction of some Christians to it. But don't assert what is clearly not true.
Actually, doesn't gospel mean "Good word", or "good news", rather than just "word"?
More information - here
The interesting thing on the National Geographic video was that at one time there were something like 30 gospels. Isn't the DaVinci Code based around studies of the Gospel of Mary Magdeline?
I didn't know that the earliest Gospel, Mathew, wasn't written by Mathew, and wasn't written until decades later. Apparently John wasn't written until 60 or more years later. None of the authors for the for Cannonized Gospels are known.
It was interesting that the Gnostism denomination of Christianity believed in a more "personal" relationship with Christ and with God, just as todays funamentalists believe. But the hierchical Christians which became the Catholics dominated them two centuries later.
One thing in the NG show I remember from my Southern Baptist Sunday School, or perhaps my New Testament history class at Oklahoma Baptist University, was that Judas was particularly favored by Christ. The Gospel of Judas confirms that, and they hadn't even dug it out of the desert when I was taught that.
Yes it does means Good Word, my mistake.
"The story is true" - Dan Rather
On behalf of the people who read the Bible on a regular basis, thank you!
Didn't they also believe that the flesh was inherently evil, countered by the Spirit being inherently good? (Carried through to modern thought, this is one of the basic concepts of Scientology...)
If we are "made in God's image", how can our bodies be inherently evil?
And again, the heresy of "hidden knowledge" given only to the elite of the Followers. (Another concept rewarmed for Scientology. New Age = Old Lies, eh?)
"Emporer"?
I guess Judas lacked a good spokesman and press secretary.
Probably the same ones who said, "Forged but factual", about certain documents.
I'm going to waste my time arguing with that?
I want ON your Chuck Colson ping list, please!
I think your post is a very clear cut explanation. I would add that the MSM is driving these questionable interpretations of religious events - from the *DaVinci code to this latest Judas gospel.
Without arousing doubt about fundamental Christian belief, the social secular and liberal agenda fails.
*Yes, I know the "it's only fiction" defense.
I'm sure that as one of the faithful Judas was high on the Lord's list until those last few hours.
But without Judas, there might not have been Christianity at all.
To me, this is the most salient point that Colson makes.
If people were even aware of what is stated in the Bible, these wierd suppositions would never be able to see the light of day.
Looks like some others piled on as well. You can't get away with anything around here!
The Albigensians in the south of France during the Middle Ages were gnostics. Gnosticism has survived even to this day, if you count all Christians who believe that they have "special knowledge" that departs from the canonical scriptures. That gnostic vice is the same vice that resulted in Adam's fall. "Eat of this tree and ye shall be as gods!" Orthodox Christianity has never been about special knowledge.
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The idea that Judas was “unsung and unrecognized hero” of the 12 apostles? Afraid not – Jesus called him the “son of perdition” and “the devil.”
Others talk about the inaccuracy of the traditional canon due to the idea that many recollections weren’t written down until sometimes hundreds of years after Jesus’ time.” They are unaware that scholars now agree most of the New Testament was written within 5 to 30 years of the resurrection. Certainly before the destruction of Jerusalem about 35 years post resurrection which wasn’t mentioned anywhere in the NT. Think about it; Paul quoted the writers of the gospels in the book of Acts and also mentions in the creed or “statement of belief” in 1 Cor 15 that over 500 people saw the risen savior and most were still alive at that time.
Happy Pesach!
That is the first thing I thought when I heard about this new Judas gospel! I will take the words of christ over anyone!
Think about it: God's way of "cleansing" syncretistic and heretical revisionism of the Gospel.
Only Christianity had the strength--the staying power--to survive the Trial By Ordeal. It did purify the faith.
Kinda like Spock losing his vision while the pancake monster died. Both Spock and the alien flapjack had to undergo the intense light. It killed the creature, but Spock survived. Same analogy here.
Tells you something about the conviction with which the Gnostics really viewed their faith, huh?
Sauron
You're looking at it as a non-Christian.
As a Christian, the Da Vinci Code, while fiction, is dangerous for two reasons:
(1) Assuming Christians are right, believing in Dan Brown's bestseller will damage your right relationship with God.
(2) Being full of fabrications and a few half-truths, there are many gullible people who will believe what was written. If they read it in a book, it's got to be right, right? ;) The power of a half-truth is stronger than that of a lie.
That's why Christians oppose the book.
HTH,
Sauron
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