Review by Chrystal Oaks -- Misreading Judas

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Chrystal Oaks
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Review by Chrystal Oaks -- Misreading Judas

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[Following is a volunteer review of "Misreading Judas" by Robert Wahler.]
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3 out of 4 stars
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Misreading Judas by Robert Wahler falls under the genre of non-fiction. It is a little over one-hundred pages which includes an introduction, four chapters, a conclusion, a summary, bibliography, and endnotes. In the introduction, Wahler provides a brief statement of “gnostic or mystic tradition,” and begins the argument that Judas is not a “betrayer” but a “successor Master.” In Chapter 1, he gives a brief overview of the perspective and teachings of Mysticism/Gnosticism and explains how the mystics/gnostics differ in the interpretation of the Gospel of Judas compared to traditional thought. In Chapter 2, he answers the question of who Judas really is, and Chapter 3, he presents the idea that the Gospels in The Bible are a “cover-up” of the real “successor Master.” Finally, in Chapter 4, he explains why Mysticism is the belief system everyone should follow.

First, what I liked most was all the sources Wahler cited. He referred to websites, non-canonical writings, canonical writings, and published books written by Biblical scholars. My knowledge of Gnosticism, Mysticism, and Mythicism is minimal and looking up the sources helped to broaden my understanding. He presents interesting perspectives that differ from the accepted teachings in Christianity, both in the canonical and non-canonical writings. The predominant difference is the idea that Judas is the “successor Master” and not the “betrayer.” Another aspect I liked was the history Wahler provided on some of the words or phrases. It’s interesting how the meaning of words changes over time.

There were several things I disliked as I was reading Misreading Judas. Wahler interchanges Gnosticism and Mysticism throughout the book and even states, “Gnostic teaching and modern mystic teaching are one and the same.” I did a Google search on the two words and discovered there is a distinct difference between the two belief systems, and they cannot be used interchangeably regardless of modern teaching. For me, this conflict made reading his book more challenging and confusing.

For all the research Wahler compiled, I thought the information he presented was confusing. He would make a statement about point A followed by another statement about point B, and before making those two points clear, he would make another statement about another point that didn’t seem to connect to the previous points. To add to the confusion, Wahler wasn’t completely clear about why he sometimes italicized or bracketed parts of the quotes he used.

In spite of the complexity of using so many quotes, I only found a couple of punctuation mistakes. I didn’t notice any grammar mistakes, but I hesitate to say that Misreading Judas was well-written because his reasoning was confusing. I think, perhaps, if this book had been edited, it might have helped Wahler make some of his points clearer.

After careful consideration, I decided to rate Misreading Judas 3 out of 4 stars. Even though Wahler cited sources that are easy to find and generated different perspectives from traditional thought, I gave it only 3 stars because the writing was so confusing. Also, I would have liked it if Wahler had included an “About the Author” section. It seems as though he is interpreting all the information differently from what has been the accepted norm, and I’m wondering if his background would explain why. I would recommend this book for anyone who enjoys questioning and searching the different points-of-view towards not only the Gospel of Judas but also The Bible and other writings.

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Misreading Judas
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