HAY GUYS

Meth · 12:59 PM

Originally Posted by Jerrica

Or did they simply hate Judas for his betrayal (as they perceived it), or for being Jesus' favourite?

Traditionally John was considered to be "the disciple whom Jesus loved." There doesn't seem to be any animosity towards him from the other disciples for being the favorite.

Originally Posted by Jerrica

If, as the GoJ suggests, Judas really was the only Apostle to truly understand Jesus, and if other early Christian writings support this theory, should we believe it?

Again based on the canonized 4 gospels, it was recorded that Peter was the first one to really understand Christ's message and who he was.

I don't see any of these writings having too lasting of an impact on Christianity as a whole. In a way, the fictional da Vinci Code seems to have contributed more to the widespread question of faith than any of these gnostic gospels in particular. These writings should however be examined and taken with all seriousness. While many think that the questioning of Christianity in such a way is disrespectful or irreverent, it may lead to the reaffirmation of faith by many people.

Edit: Also, can you actually imagine planning to get tortured and crucified as a political move? That just doesn't seem too rational, but then again under this assumption one could argue that Jesus was insane.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Meth · Local time: May 19, 2006, 12:15 PM

Originally Posted by SCHNEE-5

Well, there are a lot of things that are done for the purpose of making political statements that are not exactly rational, terrorism for example.

I definitely agree. I guess though that being willingly crucified takes a little more spine than just blowing yourself up, or crashing a plane. Self sacrifice with regards to terrorism rarely includes 24 hrs of torture.

And yah RABicle, you're correct. Jesus knew full well what he had to do, and he knew that Judas would be the one to set things in motion. In many ways, Judas is a metaphor for mankind, and I think it's been unfair for the church to demonize him in such a way. If it wasn't Judas, it would've been somebody. He was merely a pawn in a bigger plan. In the same way, it's strange how many people within the church treat Mary the mother of Jesus as a deity underservingly. It's not like she died for the sins of mankind. She was also a pawn used to serve a greater purpose. More than anything for her it was just a great personal honor to be so directly involved and have a positive role.

There's nowhere I can't reach.