JUDAS AND DAVINCI: Truth or Myth?

Bishop Paul S. Coakley

Suddenly it seems that everyone is interested in some alternative version of the Gospel.  For these persons it seems that orthodoxy is not enough.  This human fascination with novelty is nothing new.  St. Paul had such times as these in mind when he wrote, “For the time will come when people will not tolerate sound doctrine but, following their own desires and insatiable curiosity, will accumulate teachers and will stop listening to the truth and will be diverted to myths” (2Tim.4:3).

The latest example of this fascination with novelty and myth is evident in the significance attributed by some to the recent re-discovery of a centuries-old Gnostic document which reinterprets the traditional understanding of Judas, as the betrayer of Jesus.  The so-called Gospel of Judas claims that Judas was in fact the favored disciple to whom Jesus entrusted special knowledge of salvation.  According to the Gospel of Judas Jesus asks Judas to betray him so that Jesus could be freed from the prison of the flesh.  This heretical document was already known and condemned by St. Irenaeus late in the second century.  These days some are suggesting its unexpected rediscovery is evidence of a conspiracy by the Church to hide the truth.

Conspiracy theories always seem to find a hearing with some.  The DaVinci Code, a best-selling novel soon to be released as a major Hollywood film, alleges a similar conspiracy.  It is a combination of ancient heresies, myths and half-truths packaged in an appealing format for mass-market consumption and sure to earn its producers and its author millions of dollars. 

 The DaVinci Code is also based on apocryphal Gnostic writings, such as the Gospel of Philip.   Like many similar ancient texts (including the Gospel of Judas) which the Church rejected this one denies core Christian beliefs about the reality of the incarnation as well as the crucifixion, death and resurrection of Jesus.

Gnosticism was the first heresy which the early Church had to confront.  Its name comes from the Greek word for knowledge, gnosis.  Besides holding the body and all material creation in contempt, it claimed that salvation was only for those few who had received secret knowledge of special mysteries which they alone possessed.  It has resurfaced in various forms throughout the centuries, most recently in forms of New Age spirituality.

 The buzz over the upcoming release of the motion picture, The DaVinci Code, and the fanfare over the recent discovery of the so-called Gospel of Judas certainly confirm our human fascination with novelty.  Though The DaVinci Code is a work of fiction many people are ready to accept its premises as true.  Even many Catholics are confused when confronted with some of the patently false aspects of its plot, such as its blasphemous presentation of the relationship between Jesus and Mary Magdalen. 

P.T. Barnam once said, “There’s a sucker born every minute.”  If we do not want to fall for the half-truths and deceits of The DaVinci Code or “the next big thing” we have to know our faith.  The danger which these fads pose is largely neutralized when our faith is fully formed by the authentic Gospel as received by the Church and handed on in its authoritative teaching.  What if this present fascination with The DaVinci Code and The Gospel of Judas motivated Catholics to seek a deeper knowledge of their faith?  A fine catechetical website has been prepared by the USCCB to help Catholics respond to The DaVinci Code.  Check out www.jesusdecoded.com .  The media may be more interested in novelty than in truth, but it is the truth that sets us free.