Karen L. King (2) (1954–)

This one was a bit odd in its quality. The first half of the book is text co-authored by Pagels and King, and there I would give it at best 3½***. Not bad, but this textual discussion of this heterodox second-century scripture is a bit light-weight. It's not really so much an analysis of the scripture text as it is a multi-chapter general introduction running roughly a hundred pages.

What's really excellent, though, is the second portion of the book, consisting of King's translation of Judas accompanied by a fairly comprehensive end-note commentary on the text by King (substantially longer than the scriptural text itself), and here I'd give it at least 4½**** or even 5*****

Judas would have been written in the mid-second century. It couldn't have been later because it is one of the heterodox scriptures condemned by St Irenaeus of Lyon in Against Heresies {Wikipedia}, which itself was written around 180CE, Irenaeus dying a martyr just about the turn of the century; and it definitely postdates the canonical gospels (Mark, Matthew, Luke, and John) because it was written in response to and criticism of these canonical gospels.

There seems to be some expectation that Judas could be an antidote to the sometime anti-Semitism of the canonical gospels (especially John), but that's not the case. In fact, there's no reference in Judas to a Roman execution of Jesus – the Jewish leadership alone is implicated. Judas also might prove offensive to current-day readers for its snide references to homosexuality.

The significance of Judas is that it condemns orthodoxy's glorification of martyrdom, equating this to "blood sacrifice"; rejects atonement theology (Jesus died for the sins of the world), seeing this as a hideous "child sacrifice" theology; and denies a physical, bodily resurrection of the dead. Instead, resurrection is a spiritual resurrection (which isn't necessarily entirely contrary to the resurrection theology of the genuine Pauline letters) – but this isn't docetism {Wikipedia}, which denies the humanity of Jesus or of the suffering of his human body.

It would be too lengthy and complicated a discussion to completely summarize King's treatment of Judas. Suffice it to say that this heterodox scripture treats the "traitor" apostle as the only one who really "got it right" – he "betrays" Jesus at Jesus's own direction in order that Jesus can fulfill his destiny of dying to give an example of exactly how a spiritual resurrection will occur. Those who truly understand this message and live a life consistent with it will themselves be spiritually resurrected while the rest of humanity will simply die (i.e., no eternal lake of hellish fire, or whatever).

Judas, though, seems not to reject martyrdom entirely. Yes, die if need be as a result of your spreading the message of Jesus (Judas himself is finally stoned by the other apostles); but don't expect it to be an "express ticket" to heaven or to any bodily resurrection, don't claim that "the blood of martyrs is the seed of the church," and reject atonement theology.… (mere)

EL EVANGELIO DE MARÍA DE MAGDALA: JESÚS Y LA PRIMERA APÓSTOL

El Evangelio de María ha quedado prácticamente ignorado por el gran público. La primera redacción de este Evangelio, cuyo manuscrito se conserva desde 1896 en el Departamento de Egiptología de los Museos Nacionales de Berlín, dataría alrededor del año 150. Se trata pues, como los otros Evangelios, de uno de los textos fundadores o primitivos del cristianismo, atribuido a Miriam de Magdala, esa María Magdalena que fue el primer testigo de la Resurrección, la amiga íntima de Jesús y la “iniciada” que transmitió sus más sutiles enseñanzas.

Se dice que Jesús tuvo una seguidora que lo amó tanto como para tener el valor de asistir a su crucifixión, una seguidora a la que él amó tanto que la eligió para ser la primera en saber de su resurrección. Este personaje ha llegado hasta nosotros con una profesión y un nombre polémicos: María Magdalena, la prostituta. Sin embargo, la Iglesia Católica no duda en denominarla “Apóstola de Apóstoles”, aunque no reconoce como canónico el Evangelio de María Magdalena, un bellísimo texto gnóstico que nos propone un cristianismo como vía de conocimiento, un camino de regreso a nuestros verdaderos orígenes.

María Magdalena, la santa y sabia maestra del Santo Grial, a quien Cristo entregó su tesoro de los tesoros -la sangre mírrica-, difundíala atmósfera de la adoración. 'Amad a Cristo con todo vuestro ser. Adoradlo como yo lo adoro. Con esto es suficiente y todo lo demás se abrirá ante vosotros'. Este es el fundamento de la enseñanza de María Magdalena. En el albor de una nueva humanidad, la humanidad solar se ratifica, se revela la Sabiduría Divina. María Magdalena, la Madre de la civilización venidera, la Madre del Reino del Puro Amor en la Tierra, nos muestra el camino hacia el destino del alma: la divinización a través de la adoración al Cristo del Supremo Amor. Este no es un evangelio apócrifo. Es el Nuevo Evangelio Solar
¿Y si el despertar de la conciencia en nuestros días pasara por una sensibilidad más femenina? ¿Y si María Magdalena no hubiera sido la pecadora arrepentida de los textos oficiales? Hasta hace poco el gran público ignoraba que aquélla que parece cada vez más como la primera discípula de Cristo fue la inspiradora de un Evangelio.… (mere)

In Christian history, Jesus Christ gathered twelve people to his side to be his apostles and spread his beliefs throughout the world. According to The Bible, Judas Iscariot accepts payment of thirty silver coins from the Sanhedrin priests and agrees to point out Jesus to the local authorities so that he can be captured and tried for purporting to be the Son of God. Judas’s betrayal results in the trial, crucifixion, and resurrection as depicted later in the Gospels. The traditional telling of this matter is done by the four Gospels—Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John--, but what if Judas himself got a say in the matter? In the 1970s, a papyrus codex was discovered near Beni Masah, Egypt which appears to be from Judas’s point of view. In Reading Judas, Elaine Pagels and Karen King tackle the new text to see if it can shed new light on old mythology.

There are a lot of things to learn from a shredded piece of paper from 1,700 years ago. First, Christianity was, is, and will always be an infinitely nuanced and an infinitely personal set of beliefs. Each iteration of the religion in each person begets a new system. In the Bible, each voice has a different Christianity, and in this new text, we hear the voice of the oft-reviled Judas Iscariot. The text is short, but packed with historical details, research, and annotations to the original document. It is a Coptic translation of a 2nd century Greek text, so things can definitely get lost through the years. Judas’s act, seen through Gnostic eyes, is one of love and loyalty, setting in motion the inevitable resurrection of his friend and the salvation of mankind.

Pagels’s and King’s text is nice and tight. They know that not everyone will be pleased to read about the “good” deeds of Judas Iscariot. Traditionalists will see this as a deliberate blurring of the lines between good and evil, but the codex is still a legitimate piece of history. Scholars can debate among themselves about the literal meanings of certain words and phrases, but they are more qualified than I in this matter. Overall, this was a very interesting book that illuminates a rather shady character in the Bible.… (mere)