--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "John" <jr_esq@...> wrote:
>
>
>
> --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, turquoiseb <no_reply@> wrote:
> >
> > --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "John" <jr_esq@> wrote:
> > >
> > > You should consider that gospel as fiction and for entertainment
> > > use only.
> >
> > Finally, someone who agrees with me. The only difference
> > between JohnR and myself is that I extend his advice to
> > ALL scripture, no matter what its supposed "pedigree" or
> > claim to authenticity.
>
> Barry,
>
> You appear to be committing the same mistake Adam made in the Garden of Eden.
> That is, he thought that he was a god. And the rest is history.
Adam thought no such thing. It was Eve who fancied the idea of becoming like a
god. Adam just ate the apple because Eve gave it to him. He should maybe have
asked her a question or two about it, but he didn't. He was just a simple guy.
His mistake was to trust a woman, and we have all been paying the price ever
since.
>
>
> >
> > > There's a reason why the Christian Church excluded this writing
> > Results sectionfrom the official church canon.
> >
> > If you had actually read the Gospel Of Judas, you would
> > know what that reason is. The language he uses clearly
> > identifies him as a Gnostic, thus raising the question,
> > "Was his spiritual teacher (Jesus) one, too." The Church
> > couldn't have that, since they had designated Gnosticism,
> > Catharism, and other forms of Dualist thought to be heresy.
>
> Personally, I have not read the Gospel of Judas. But you have to understand
> the history of the Christian Church to see how the official gospels were
> formed. According history books, Constantine, the emperor of Rome, requested
> all of the Christian leaders, specifically the bishops throughout the then
> known world, to gather in a synod to determine the official doctrine of the
> church and to determine which existing books were to be included in the
> official church canon. For some reason or the other, the bishops rejected
> many books that were then existing and excluded them from the official canon.
>
> From my own readings, I have doubts about the authenticity of this Gospel of
> Judas. From the other gospels, we are told that Judas betrayed Jesus and
> committed suicide.
>
> Also, some writers believe that Judas was a zealot who espoused the coming of
> the worldly messiah that was prophesied in the OT. When he realized that
> Jesus was teaching about a spiritual kingdom, Judas betrayed Jesus for a few
> silver pieces.
>
> >
> > > More likely, the source of that writing is questionable. You
> > > should do more research on this matter to satisfy your own
> > > curiousity.
> >
> > As <ahem> should you.
> >
> > It's an interesting text, more so for me than for you,
> > probably, because I can easily recognize the Dualist
> > elements in it. Were they there in Christ's teaching, or
> > did Judas project his own Gnostic "baggage" onto a
> > different teaching? We'll never know.
>
>
> As stated above, it appeared that Judas was a Jew who believed in the return
> of the old kingdoms led by King Solomon and King David. They believed in a
> warrior messiah who would conquer their enemies. Many of the Jews today
> still believe and are expecting for this messiah to come.
>
>
> >
> > All that we do know is that -- FOR PURELY POLITICAL
> > REASONS -- the Church felt that it had to stick to
> > the Party Line it had developed in the first century
> > after Christ's death. Once the Party Line was in place,
> > no "gospel" could be earmarked as authoritative if it
> > deviated from that Party Line.
>
>
> It is more likely that the early Christian Church already had a common
> tradition and beliefs based on the Jesus experience. The council of bishops
> was gathered to sort out which books are consistent with the accepted beliefs
> or faith that were formed at that time.
>
