Pastor Steve's thoughts

The National Geographic Society is releasing a translation of a document called the Gospel of Judas. This document fits into the category of Gnostic writings which were prevalent in the 2nd and 3rd centuries. I haven’t read the gospel of Judas but I have read some of the other Gnostic writings. (This is an important issue because the foundation of Christianity is being attacked. On a popular level, the Da Vinci Code reflects the ideas of liberal scholars. My goal is to inform you of the issues.)

Many of the Gnostic materials were discovered in 1945 in the desert of Egypt at a location called Nag Hammadi. The literature eventually made its way to scholars who translated the material. The Nag Hammadi materials included 5 separate works that have been categorized as gospels: Truth, Thomas, Philip, Egyptians, and Mary. The Gnostic material claims to be written by an apostle such as Thomas. The validity of this claim will be addressed in my next blog.

Who were the Gnostics and what did they believe? Scholars often debate what Gnosticism is and who they were. However, it seems that some basic beliefs come to the surface. I will try to briefly summarize their views.

1. Some Christians (only Gnostics) have access to special knowledge that leads to salvation.

2. The universe is dualistic (Anything physical is evil and Everything spiritual is good). Therefore, God has no contact with anything physical. Gnostics believed in two gods. One god was evil and created the physical world. The other god was a good father and purely spiritual.

3. Jesus existed in two beings: the living Lord and Savior Jesus, and a human substitute Jesus. The human substitute Jesus was nailed to the cross but the real Jesus was not. The Gnostics believed that human flesh was evil and therefore the real Jesus could not have been a man.

4. The New Testament canon (the bible we have) is insufficient. Additional secret knowledge is a key to salvation. Therefore, the Gnostics added their own writings to the bible.

5. Gnostics believed that females needed to become males to enter God’s kingdom. (Gospel of Thomas 114).

The Gnostic writings were vehemently denounced by orthodox Christians. Early Christian writers are often called the church fathers. Some of the church fathers who wrote against Gnosticism included Irenaeus (130-200), Hippolytus (170-236), and Tertullian (160-220).

The Gnostic writers composed their material well after the apostles. Their beliefs stood in direct contradiction to the teachings of the apostles. Thus Christian leaders stood firm against the Gnostics and labeled their beliefs as heresy.

In “The Gospel of Judas” it is asserted that Judas was not a betrayer of Jesus. Judas helped save man kind by collaborating with Jesus to hasten the journey to the cross. Is there any validity to this idea? Not at all. The eye witnesses who wrote the New Testament stated that Judas betrayed Jesus.

Next Blog: Do the Gnostic writings belong in the bible?