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An exhibit containing artifacts of the Gospel of Judas opened at the National Geographic Society in Washington, Thursday, April 6.

Text might be Gospel of Judas

WASHINGTON, D.C. (AP) — For 2,000 years Judas has been reviled for betraying Jesus. Now a newly translated ancient document seeks to tell his side of the story.

The “Gospel of Judas” tells a far different tale from the four gospels in the New Testament. It portrays Judas as a favored disciple who was given special knowledge by Jesus — and who turned him in at Jesus’ request.

“You will be cursed by the other generations — and you will come to rule over them,” Jesus tells Judas in the document put in display Thursday, April 6 .

The text, one of several ancient documents found in the Egyptian desert in 1970, was translated by a team of scholars. It was made public in an English translation by the National Geographic Society.

Religious and lay readers alike will debate the meaning and truth of the manuscript.

But it does show the diversity of beliefs in early Christianity, said Marvin Meyer, professor of Bible studies at Chapman University in Orange, Calif.

The text, in the Coptic language, was dated to about the year 300 A.D. and is a copy of an earlier Greek version.

A “Gospel of Judas” was first mentioned around 180 A.D. by Bishop Irenaeus of Lyon, in what is now France. The bishop denounced the manuscript as heresy because it differed from mainstream Christianity. The actual text had been thought lost until this discovery.

Elaine Pagels, a professor of religion at Princeton University, said, “The people who loved, circulated and wrote down these gospels did not think they were heretics.”

“Let a vigorous debate on the significance of this fascinating ancient text begin,” said Rev. Donald Senior, president of the Catholic Theological Union of Chicago.

Senior expressed doubt that the new gospel will rival the New Testament, but he allowed that opinions are likely to vary.

Craig Evans, a professor at Divinity College in Nova Scotia, Canada, said explanations for Judas’ betrayal range from money to the influence of Satan.