I always felt like Judas got a raw deal -- if the crucifiction was always part of the Plan, then somebody had to be the Betrayer. And in a way, it's a far greater sacrifice to do something that will have you reviled for all time, than one which leads to your Transfiguration in 3 days time, don't you think? The document in question sounds like a Gnostic text -- there was a tradition in gnostic thought, for example, that when Cain asks God, "Am I my brother's keeper", the word he uses for "I" in the Hebrew is the more formal "Anochi" rather than "Ani" -- and Anochi is usually reserved for God, which means what Cain is really saying is, "Aren't YOU my brother's keeper? Didn't you set all this up?" The idea of Judas' betrayal as part of the larger Plan is kind of like that. Fascinating, really. Thanks for the pointer.
more on the subject from Elaine Pagels can be found here: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/08/opinion/08pagels.html?ex=1145160000&en=4ee784867daa9d60&ei=5070&emc=eta1
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
no subject
no subject
Gorgeous icon, BTW!
no subject