After reading The Gospel of Judas, my major takeaway was how the text contradicted Bible teachings.

One example is the difference in Judas’s character in the text versus what is in the Bible and accepted throughout society. Commonly Judas is known as one of the original disciples who betrayed Jesus for silver. Judas is seen as a traitor and today, his name carries the same negative meaning. This common portrayal of Judas is vastly different than how Judas is displayed in the text. In The Gospel of Judas, he is rendered as a confidant to Jesus. Jesus holds private conversation with Judas which suggests that Judas is the only original disciple that could understand the knowledge being given. It felt like Judas was enlightened by Jesus and his only goal was trying to fulfill what Jesus desired. As I read, I had a hard time wrapping my mind around the Judas who is portrayed as follower of Jesus and the traitor Judas is portrayed to be in Christian teachings.

Additionally, I noticed that the creation of humans in the text also differs from the Bible. In the text, it names many different spiritual beings and claims that Saklas is the creator of Adam and Eve. However, the Bible teaches that God personally created Adam and Eve. In fact, Adam is generally known to be the son of God.

The contradictions created by The Gospel of Judas may be the reason this text is considered “forbidden.” The immense disparities of Judas’s personality and the identified creator of humans could lead to Christians and the church rejecting the gospel and all its content. Moreover, if accepted, this gospel could change the confidence placed into the Christian church. Specifically, the text could challenge the trust put into the Bible since there are many differences between the two. This could lead Christians to doubting their beliefs and teachings.

In conclusion, The Gospel of Judas presents contradictions to Christian beliefs.  Common teachings about Judas’s character, and the creator of Adam and Eve are brought into question. When foundational beliefs are brought into question, believers can experience tension and uneasiness. These feelings can lead to the gospel being cast out and fully rejected.

While the Gospel of Mary Magdelyn no doubt contains some amount of religious significance, recounting a (mostly lost) revelation given by Jesus following his resurrection, the most striking aspect of the Gospel itself is not the preaching itself but rather Mary’s role as a leader and the other apostles’ harsh reaction to her teaching.
Contrary to most bigoted perceptions of a woman’s societal role, especially those held when this work was first written, it is Mary, the sole woman, who remains calm while the male apostles are portrayed as frightened and confused following Jesus’s departure. She takes command of the situation, comforting the men, and recounts a teaching that she alone had received from Jesus. Upon hearing this, two of the men, Peter and Andrew, immediately dismiss her, casting her retelling into doubt. I find it interesting how even those portrayed as closely following Jesus’s teachings were portrayed in this text as distrustful, even jealous, accusing Mary of lying for recounting a teaching and dismissing her words as “strange”.
The text portrays Mary as a leader, someone who Jesus Himself showed favoritism towards, as well as someone who, even when faced with a challenging situation like the departure of Jesus, was able to organize the men and comfort them. This situation is unlike many seen in the bible. While some women were revered (another Mary, Jesus’s mother, comes to mind), a woman actually being portrayed as competent and leading men was rare, with the bible even stating that women should remain subservient to men (Ephesians 5:22).
The text serves as a rare legitimization of women in power during biblical times. While the text itself faded into obscurity, after its reemergence it was treated as noncanonical by most religious authorities. I think that part of the reason for this decision (apart from the recency of its emergence) is that it goes against the common conception of women in the bible, and Mary’s character in general. While in canonical texts, Jesus treated her well and loved her like all the other disciples, this was treated as an exception, and that respecting a woman was something groundbreaking to society at the time. This text shows Mary to be a powerful leader in her own right, able to preach and control a crowd, while the men are treated as ignorant and distrustful, contrary to the patriarchal religious authority in place both at the time of writing and still today.

When I looked at the introduction to The Gospel of Mary, I saw that the text assigns Mary a role which is far more important than is generally expected. It is stated in the introduction that the gospel was composed very early in the history of Christianity, although a large portion of the original text has been lost and only a small part of it has survived as a result of this, making the gospel difficult to understand in its entirety. Despite the sections that are missing, the gospel still illustrates Jesus teaching his disciples about spiritual knowledge and the inner self, and Mary is one of those who appears to understand these teachings better than the rest, thus making her role very significant. 

A particularly interesting aspect is the dispute between Mary and the rest of the disciples, particularly Peter. When Jesus has left, Mary informs the disciples of the teachings which she had received from him. Peter does not think that Jesus would have given a woman teachings that the other disciples did not get. He questions Mary and appears to doubt her since she is a woman. However, Levi supports her and states that the disciples should concentrate on spreading Jesus’s message rather than arguing with Mary. This section illustrates that there were disagreements among the early Christians concerning who had authority and whether women could have important leadership positions. 

To sum up, The Gospel of Mary presents a different view of early Christianity. Rather than containing only the beliefs which later became the most widely accepted, the text indicates that Christians in that early period held various opinions regarding Jesus, spiritual knowledge, and the place of women. The aspect that interested me most was the way in which Mary is depicted as someone who understood Jesus’s teachings and was willing to pass them on to the rest of them. Even though some parts of the gospel are missing, it still offers an interesting insight into the fact that Christianity was still in a state of development and that different voices were included in its history. 

Hey, all viewing! I’ve never gotten around to making a blog before, but it seemed like one of those neat little internet-y things that I wanted to try someday, so I’m glad that this class is giving me an excuse to do so. This blog, as implied by the title, is going to be going over the various readings and viewings for my FSEM, centered on Forbidden Texts. I’ve always had an interest in more controversial literature, especially those banned on account of their subject matter, so this class is right up my alley. The first two things I’ll be reading/writing about are the gospels of Judas and Mary Magdelyn (or is it Magdala?), which should be published shortly after I write this little blog intro.

I realised after having read The Gospel of Judas that the way in which this text presents Christianity is quite unlike that of the Bible. A major point of difference lies in its account of creation. It refers to various spiritual beings and states that Saklas took part in the creation of Adam and Eve. The text also dedicates a great deal of space to angels, the stars, and different realms. This is not the same approach as is normally taken in the Bible to explain creation. Since there are these differences, the gospel may be confusing to someone who is familiar with the traditional Christian narrative. 

A major point of difference concerns the way in which Judas is portrayed. In the Bible, Judas is mainly remembered for having betrayed Jesus; in this gospel, on the other hand, Jesus holds private talks with Judas and confides in him information which the other disciples do not get. Judas is therefore treated almost as if he has a deeper understanding of what Jesus is explaining. This alters the way we usually perceive his character. The gospel also contains explanations about the spiritual world which are not typical in most Christian teachings. That is the reason why this text must have appeared problematic to Christians and the Church. 

In summary, The Gospel of Judas offers a wholly different interpretation of some key Christian beliefs. The most notable differences lie in its account of creation, its reference to spiritual beings and the stars, and above all in the way it presents Judas. Because of these differences the gospel is hard to reconcile with the traditional Bible; I believe this is one of the reasons why the text was not included in the Bible. Yet, by reading it we can see that early Christianity had alternative views regarding Jesus, Judas, creation, and the spiritual world. Even though I do not accept all the ideas set out in the text, it is interesting since it illustrates another way in which some people understood Christianity. 

In reading The Gospel of Judas I recognized that much of what is written within this admittedly short passage seems to contradict the generally accepted teachings of the Bible. In one section another “being”, named Saklas, chose to create the earth as we know it, rather than God himself. In fact, within the entire lesson that Jesus was said to have taught Judas in this passage, there is no mention of any of the known names of God; Yahweh, Jehovah, Elohim, or otherwise. These other beings and the usage of cosmology as a foundational idea for all creation goes directly against the message of the other published books of the Bible; that there is no other god but God himself, a truth established in the very first book of the Bible, and that any form of astrology or the like is witchcraft and heretical, which should not be accepted as a truth within the Christian faith.

All this goes to say that the reason why this hidden gospel is considered a “forbidden text” is because it contradicts the otherwise self-confirming messages of the Bible. Additionally, the idea that Judas, a man who is often made out as an example of who not to become, is the one receiving all of this information from Jesus would also cause the church to reject the gospel in its entirety. As a Christian myself, I do not feel comfortable making a true judgement on what this could possibly mean in regards to the traditional teachings of the Bible; but I can say with certainty that this gospel is considered heresy to the very last letter.

To conclude, this text is a scrambling of the very foundation of most Christian beliefs. It lends itself to ideas that are, not only unheard of, but antithetical to the most basic of Bible-based teachings. The hidden nature of this text could be due to the fear of the church when creating its “easy to swallow” version of Christianity as it is known today. The fear of the unknown, misunderstanding, or simply being wrong would have been enough for this gospel to be thrown away and buried with other heretical ideas.

One of the most striking things I noticed in the Gospel of Mary was the role that Mary played in an important religious context, especially since women back in the 3rd century CE typically were not high on the totem pole or as spiritually enlightened as men in religious settings due to issues like sexism. For instance, Mary is portrayed as being very close to Jesus, even more so than the other disciples. Because of this, she appears more spiritually enlightened than them because she “gets” Jesus’s teaching and they don’t. When the disciples are worried about spreading Jesus’s message, Mary comforts them and recounts a vision she had where Jesus responded to her. Even though the disciples ask her to explain the teachings she learned to them, they start to question her and accuse her of lying about Jesus’s words because she knows more than they do and even more so because she’s a woman. I thought it was just really interesting how Mary, the only woman disciple mentioned in this text, who has also been wrongly labelled as a prostitute for a very long time, was the only person to receive more enlightenment from Jesus than the other disciples, and was the only person that could truly understand his teachings. This text portrayed Mary as having somewhat of a special leadership role which feels very uncharacteristic for religious manuscripts, particularly ones from the 3rd century CE. The way in which the Gospel of Mary is written and how Mary is portrayed makes me wonder about whether or not the author of this text wanted to legitimize Mary and what she had to say after she had seemingly been discredited many times, which might be what makes it so controversial as it challenges current views on Mary’s character and the legitimacy of her “strange ideas” that seem to have been overlooked by many.

One of the most striking things I noticed in the Gospel of Mary was the role that Mary played in an important religious context, especially since women back in the 3rd century CE typically were not high on the totem pole or as spiritually enlightened as men in religious settings due to issues like sexism. For instance, Mary is portrayed as being very close to Jesus, even more so than the other disciples. Because of this, she appears more spiritually enlightened than them because she “gets” Jesus’s teaching and they don’t. When the disciples are worried about spreading Jesus’s message, Mary comforts them and recounts a vision she had where Jesus responded to her. Even though the disciples ask her to explain the teachings she learned to them, they start to question her and accuse her of lying about Jesus’s words because she knows more than they do and even more so because she’s a woman. I thought it was just really interesting how Mary, the only woman disciple mentioned in this text, who has also been wrongly labelled as a prostitute for a very long time, was the only person to receive more enlightenment from Jesus than the other disciples, and was the only person that could truly understand his teachings. This text portrayed Mary as having somewhat of a special leadership role which feels very uncharacteristic for religious manuscripts, particularly ones from the 3rd century CE. The way in which the Gospel of Mary is written and how Mary is portrayed makes me wonder about whether or not the author of this text wanted to legitimize Mary and what she had to say after she had seemingly been discredited many times, which might be what makes it so controversial as it challenges current views on Mary’s character and the legitimacy of her “strange ideas” that seem to have been overlooked by many.

One of the most striking things I noticed in the Gospel of Mary was the role that Mary played in an important religious context, especially since women back in the 3rd century CE typically were not high on the totem pole or as spiritually enlightened as men in religious settings due to issues like sexism. For instance, Mary is portrayed as being very close to Jesus, even more so than the other disciples. Because of this, she appears more spiritually enlightened than them because she “gets” Jesus’s teaching and they don’t. When the disciples are worried about spreading Jesus’s message, Mary comforts them and recounts a vision she had where Jesus responded to her. Even though the disciples ask her to explain the teachings she learned to them, they start to question her and accuse her of lying about Jesus’s words because she knows more than they do and even more so because she’s a woman. I thought it was just really interesting how Mary, the only woman disciple mentioned in this text, who has also been wrongly labelled as a prostitute for a very long time, was the only person to receive more enlightenment from Jesus than the other disciples, and was the only person that could truly understand his teachings. This text portrayed Mary as having somewhat of a special leadership role which feels very uncharacteristic for religious manuscripts, particularly ones from the 3rd century CE. The way in which the Gospel of Mary is written and how Mary is portrayed makes me wonder about whether or not the author of this text wanted to legitimize Mary and what she had to say after she had seemingly been discredited many times, which might be what makes it so controversial as it challenges current views on Mary’s character and the legitimacy of her “strange ideas” that seem to have been overlooked by many.

One of the biggest things I took note of from this reading was the light in which Judas is painted. Based on my current understanding of Christian theology, Judas was a disciple of Jesus who betrayed him for money, leading to the crucifixion of Jesus. In the Christian tradition, Judas is typically portrayed as a backstabber, and his name carries a strong negative connotation, which is why no one ever wants to be called a “Judas”. However, in Gospel of Judas, Judas appears to be seeking enlightenment from Jesus in a sincere way in that he’s constantly asking Jesus questions about what’s going to happen to the next generation. He even tells Jesus about a vision that he had and receives a response from him in order to learn more about his vision and what it means. Overall, Judas seems like he’s very close to Jesus, particularly because Jesus speaks to him in private on multiple occasions, which he doesn’t do with the other disciples. Towards the end of the reading, Jesus tells Judas about what happens to baptized people and that Judas will betray him. This section of the text reads almost like a prophecy to me because Jesus is telling Judas what he’s going to do before he does it. It almost seems like Jesus wants Judas to betray him, in order to set important biblical events in motion. Because of the way Jesus relays this information to Judas and the nature of their relationship in the text, it almost feels like Judas was only trying to help fulfil a prophecy because it’s what Jesus wanted. The way that Judas is portrayed here makes him seem less like an unfaithful traitor, and more like someone that was just trying to follow what his superior wanted of him in order to further events of biblical significance like Jesus’s resurrection. In a nutshell, I think Judas is portrayed in a much more positive light in this text than he is in traditional Christian theology, which could explain why the text is considered controversial as it contradicts traditional belief, making it a form of heresy.

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We know of the disciple Judas, the one that betrayed Jesus for money?? Well maybe that’s not the whole story…and there may be a reason the church wants it to be.

Judas Iscariot is a traitor who forsakes the Lord Jesus Christ to the Roman Authorizes in exchange for money. He was cast away and marked in the history books as a villain. But upon new buried evidence, there may be another part of this story that the Church doesn’t want you to know…..

As someone who knows little of religious writings, I wasn’t quite sure how to take the Gospels of Judas as I wasn’t fully sure what I was reading. After rereads, research, and piecing together bits and pieces of what I do know of the Christian church and religion, I manage to complete a few ideas. 

The Gospel of Judas was rejected as a true text, stating that it was untrustworthy. I think, with a bit of a closer look, there are a couple of other reasons why it may have been rejected from the Church and its followers beyond it being “random”. 

First of all, let’s talk about the star of the show, Judas. Judas Iscariot was one of the twelve disciples and the one to turn Jesus Christ over to the Roman authorities to be crucified, receiving monetary compensation for the action. Because of his betrayal, Judas has gone down as a sinful and vicious man, retold and carried throughout history with a ruined name. The Gospel of Judas gives the other side, something I have no doubt a few here and there have wondered about.

The Gospel of Judas is a perspective of Judas being a confidante and almost a “chosen one” of Jesus’ disciples. Along with that, Jesus offers a teaching about the way to worship the higher holy spirit and the Christian God, and it is not the way that has been followed through the years. He claimed that the other disciples and many followers are worshipping lesser material gods due to their inability to find inner peace and understanding.

In the story, Judas is the one disciple who will rule over the others, as he has and will manage to gain the inner understanding that allows him into the higher afterlife. To do this, Jesus tells him that he will need to betray him and walk with a shamed name. This betrayal is the turning over to the authorities, obviously. And then the story continues as we know. Judas is outcast, Jesus rises again, and so on. 

What’s even more interesting than the whole Judas carrying out a sacred mission secretly, is that Jesus seems to reject the way of worshiping that the other disciplines have been following. He says that it seems most people remain materialistic and are actually worshipping lower gods, rather than the almighty himself. 

Now we are getting somewhere. A different teaching and idea, that could bring change to the Church, is surely to be rejected and considered heresy. Even if given by the lord himself. What Jesus is basically saying, is that the way of the Church is wrong and almost sacrilegious. If this passage were to be believed, the whole structure of the Church could collapse. 

The church runs based on the belief that in order to achieve peace and be in good with the almighty, you must attend, believe, and worship with them. This has given them great power and control over centuries in many countries. The Gospel of Judas could potentially make it out that the Church is a form of placebo worship, losing its power and control. 

Now could one text really bring down a century year old power house followed by billions…maybe not. But it would certainly bring to question personal beielfs and practices and over time, there were be a shift of power. What kind of shift, I don’t know. 

My take is based on basic research, understanding, and mostly what social media says about Christianity and my own limited experience with it. In terms of how a text like this might relate to a class called Forbidden Texts, the work offers a form of expression and teaching that changes the balance of already existing societal belief and foundations. So while it isn’t technically “forbidden” to read, it has been labeled as heresy and untrustworthy to keep the balance. 

Which isn’t ridiculous or unusual to happen in history. 

History is written by the winners. The Christian Church, whatever branch you are a part of, is a winner in the history books, therefore, they have full control over what is right, and what is wrong. 

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In the Gospel of Mary Magdalene, Mary is illustrated to be a woman that is well versed with the teachings of Jesus. Peter asks Mary what Jesus has said to her that he did not say to the others. Mary then shares her knowledge with the other disciples but they do not believe her. They start to doubt that Jesus even spoke to her in the first place. It makes sense at that time period since women usually had less authority than the men. Jesus choosing to only tell her the teachings made the other disciples slightly resentful.

This book was most likely excluded since it goes against mainstream teachings, such as how women weren’t typically in leadership roles and how sin doesn’t really exist. Most believe that the death of Jesus washed people’s sins away but instead Jesus explains how only in good works can sin be absolved. I find this interesting because that is similar to how in the Quran, good works cancel out bad deeds. Jesus also says “It is your love for things that deceive you” which makes me think of how people find “love” in things that drain them such as alcohol. It is a false love that traps you into a constant cycle of self destruction.

Jesus points out that the attachment to material items go against your true nature. This makes me think of Buddha since that was his main belief. If the Gospel of Mary Magdalene is legitimate then it would certainly raise some questions about the religion and why it has elements of so many other religions. Since Mary is a key figure to witnessing Jesus’s resurrection, it raises only one question for me. If ‘sin’ is only to be erased by good works, then what was the point in Jesus’s crucifixion?

Gospel of Judas

Jesus’s image is depicted in this Gospel in a fashion that differs from my personal image of him. When the disciples made a statement about Him being the “Son of God” Jesus asks the disciples “How do [you] know me? Truly [I] say to you, no generation of the people among you will know me.” This completely contradicts John 14:9 which states “He that hath seen me hath seen the Father.” This statement from Jesus caused the disciples great anger. One thing that popped out for me was how Jesus told Judas he would give him insight on the mysteries of the Kingdom, not for him to expect to go there but to grieve since someone else will replace him.

In the canonical Gospels, Judas is the one that betrays Jesus and is usually described as the antagonist, but the Gospel of Judas paints him in a different light. Jesus explains to Judas how his “star is led astray” and how he is fated not to enter the Kingdom. Judas’s betrayal instead serves a more meaningful purpose. Jesus tells Judas to turn Him in, in order to separate His spirit from His flesh.

Baptisms are a common practice within Christianity to cleanse your body of sin. Essentially wiping your slate clean. But in the Gospel of Judas, Jesus says that baptisms will destroy the whole generation of the “earthly Adam.” This idea directly opposes the whole point of a baptism. Implying that instead of the cleansing of the spirit, it will lead to the destruction of mankind.

The birth of Adam and Eve is also illustrated differently. Instead of God being the one that creates humans after his image, it’s Saklas and his angels who create Adam and Eve in the image of God. If God wasn’t the one who created us then that would mean that Saklas is our Father, not God. This Gospel is hard for me to fathom since all my life I’ve been told that the Lord is our Father.

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"The purpose of life is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience." - Eleanor Roosevelt

Library Scavenger Hunt and AI Assignment: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1fz7sw7l1AZi26iiFimEzpPJ6KGFOFTh2/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=118073462577958172665&rtpof=true&sd=true

Group project presentation: Censorship of Identities in American Literature: https://www.canva.com/design/DAG0qrKVFCY/XIwLLJuVwmrt8lpH2Wxe6w/edit

Group project handout: https://www.canva.com/design/DAG3A_cNXus/tK9ud4s6pssyaE3Oq9xj2A/edit

Final project presentation: The Censorship of LGBTQ Identities in American School Districts: https://www.canva.com/design/DAG6R7YMeHI/SufpJAXCRgFyPCbB33qdEA/edit

Final project handout: https://www.canva.com/design/DAG6Sjhaf5A/vURKQmobVmdkWja-J_bugA/edit

Final essay: The Censorship of LGBTQ Identities in American School Districts: https://docs.google.com/document/d/107aNjSP_B7ZPIhR9qNtax4DvVpdgzAVhVMIcB7ZkWbw/edit?usp=sharing

The Bible of the Racist Right

The story centers around Earl Turner, a low ranking member of a group called The Organization. The Organization was a new government that seized power, “saving” society from the Jews and other minorities (The System).

The first diary entry talks about how The Organization is finally waging war against the System and that it is said that the citizens are not allowed to own firearms under the Cohen Act. This entry also enforces harmful black stereotypes, Turner writes that without guns, there has been many black groups popping up to take advantage of defenseless whites.

Continuing on, Turner recalls how they tried to take away his firearms, apparently he had 8 firearms. I don’t quite understand why anyone would need so many. Another interesting piece of detail was that the Gun Raiders weren’t encouraged to search black neighborhoods because racists were primarily the ones that owned guns. The writer is very good at making whites the victim and antagonizing minorities.

Entry one ends with new rules that were enforced in The Organization. Anyone who missed a meeting twice in a row were expelled, anyone who failed to carry out a work task was expelled, anyone who talked bad about The Organization was expelled.

The second entry talked about how the members of The Organizations lived their lives. They had little to no money and had abandoned their cars because the police was looking for them. Turner wrote about how him and his friend, Henry, who was also a part of the Organization, robbed a liquor store and how they killed others for resources and money (Ex : Berman’s Deli).

The third entry talked about how The Organization and The System were actively fighting each other and that The Organization is very hellbent on getting rid of racists.

The next entries just follow Turner’s life in The Organization, which eventually they make a move, and take over more, and more of the country. When The Organization takes over, they kill all non-whites and race traitors (those who protected or married a non-white) a day they called The Day of the Rope. The book ends with Turner carrying out a Kamikaze style mission, destroying a important System stronghold.

The book was written by William Luther Pierce, who was the leader of a Neo-Nazi, white supremacist group called The National Alliance. Pierce was a physics professor at Oregon State University and was also a follower of George Lincoln’s American Nazi Party.

Pierce was said to not be very interested in politics until his colleagues blamed much of the state of the world on Jews. As he became more interested in politics, he neglected his kids, didn’t pay attention to them unless he was beating them. He was a very abusive father. Disgusting.

The Turner Diaries are also said to be the cause of a federal building bombing by Timothy McVeigh in 1995, which killed 168 people.

[7/10 Read, The story kind of reminded me of 1984, and gave me a new perspective on the dangers of oppressing people, even if the people are not innocent and are harmful to society.]