The instant New York Times bestseller interpreting the controversial long-lost gospel
The Gospel of Judas (wiki) is a non-canonical Gnostic gospel. The content consists of conversations between Jesus and Judas Iscariot. Given that it includes late 2nd-century theology, it is widely thought to have been composed in the 2nd century (prior to 180 AD) by Gnostic Christians.^[1] The only copy of it known to exist is a Coptic language text that has been carbon dated to 280 AD, plus or minus 60 years. It has been suggested that the text derives from an earlier manuscript in the Greek language.^[2] An English translation was first published in early 2006 by the National Geographic Society.

From the seller, a biblical scholar. The original manuscript itself has so many leaves missing that we need a scholar to fill in the blanks, and there's none better than Elaine Pagels and Karen King. What we find in this gospel seems to me to be a complete turn-around of the consensus gospels. Here, the only true disciple is Judas Iscariot, and he proves his righteousness by being stoned by the other disciples. Sounds corny, but who really knows?

The recently unearthed Gospel of Judas is a source of fascination for biblical scholars and lay Christians alike. Now two leading experts on the Gnostic gospels tackle the important questions posed by its discovery, including: How could any Christian imagine Judas to be Jesus' favorite? And what kind of vision of God does the author offer? Working from Karen L. King's brilliant new translation, Elaine Pagels and King provide the context necessary for considering its meaning. Reading Judas plunges into the heart of Christianity itself and will stand as the definitive look at the gospel for years to come.