[dartuser]

Overly complicated explanation of Judas' motives ... and it doesn't really have any textual support.

How about ... "Judas was a thief?" That IS supported by the text. He betrayed the Lord for 30 silver, that IS supported by the text.

[stylin19a]

The Gospel of Judas, is a manuscript accepted by Pope Benedict, (but gives it no credence,) that was written before the gospels, and tells a different story.

also,

St. Luke & St. John suggest that judas didn’t gradually over time become a “non-beleiver”...but rather “Satan came to him”.

[Sans-Culotte]

It has been popular for some time to depict Judas (primarily in films) as a disappointed Zealot who betrayed Christ in order to force Him to use His power to conquer the Romans. I guess filmmakers feel that no one will accept that Judas could be a follower of Christ and be a member of an elite group while being a mere petty thief who did not believe.

I think the movie (and play) Jesus Christ Superstar hit upon a convincing portrait of Judas. In that piece, he was depicted as someone who saw Christ as a great Community Organizer. He did not accept Jesus as being divine, and thought "the message" was to "help the poor". So, I think that's a good way to think of Judas. He was a typical lib who worshiped a community organizer but not the Son of God; and he was not averse to skimming off the top like a any libtard would do.