ARA Review by fredwitzgall of Misreading Judas

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fredwitzgall
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ARA Review by fredwitzgall of Misreading Judas

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[Following is an OnlineBookClub.org ARA Review of the book, Misreading Judas.]
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5 out of 5 stars
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The title of Robert Wahler's book is a perfect segue to any summary. Misreading Judas: How Biblical Scholars Missed the Biggest Story of All Time. Wahler sets out to prove that Judas, the traitor to Jesus in the Gospel narratives, was in fact falsely portrayed. The author believes Judas acted benevolently, engaging in a mystical form of self-sacrifice to Jesus. The Gnostics of the day recognized his action as a transfer of spiritual mastership: Judas let go of his own earthly nature and became one with Jesus, succeeding Jesus in the role of Spiritual Master. In a surprising twist, Wahler also maintains that Judas was actually a cover for a different person, a Gnostic known as James the Just.

According to the author, the early church saw itself in severe competition with the Gnostic belief system. Church leadership responded by altering the Gospel narratives and by rejecting a plethora of Gnostic documents. Many of these documents, or fragments of them, were discovered or have surfaced during the past century. They provide the substance behind Wahler's treatise.

The author painstakingly researched his endeavor, meticulously analyzing ancient Gnostic documents and fragments, as well as Biblical passages. He is obviously brilliant and well-educated, making use of classical Greek and Hebrew. I was often fascinated and absorbed by Wahler's arguments. However, this book is complex and easily confusing, especially for those who are unacquainted with Gnosticism. It is definitely not light reading.


Robert Wahler also displays sincerity and passion in his writing. He firmly believes that salvation is not based upon a savior shedding his blood to appease God for human sin, but upon
spiritual revelation liberating the "divine spark" within people, allowing their souls to enter the divine realm. While I do not fully concur with his conclusion, I valued its similarity with the Christian doctrine of letting go of one's self-centered nature and embracing the Spirit of the Christ. I also sense a delightful similarity between Gnosticism and the Cosmic Christ presented in the allegedly Pauline letters of Colossians and Ephesians. But I'm not sure the author adequately accounts for the suffering-and-sacrificial Messiah motif that I think exists in Old Testament prophecy.

I gave Robert Wahler's book five out of five, because of his passion, effort and research. I appreciated the opportunity to better understand the Gnostic viewpoint, and ultimately agree wholeheartedly that salvation must stem from a spiritual transformation rather than any cerebral acknowledgement.

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