• The Lost Gospel of Judas Iscariot

  • A New Look at the Betrayer and Betrayed
  • By: Bart D. Ehrman
  • Narrated by: Dennis Boutsikaris
  • Length: 8 hrs and 49 mins
  • 4.4 out of 5 stars (391 ratings)

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The Lost Gospel of Judas Iscariot  By  cover art

The Lost Gospel of Judas Iscariot

By: Bart D. Ehrman
Narrated by: Dennis Boutsikaris
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Publisher's summary

Lost for nearly 1,700 years, newly restored and authenticated, the Gospel of Judas presents a very different view of the relationship between Jesus and Judas. Rather than paint Judas as a traitor, it portrays him as acting at Jesus' request.

A National Geographic special introduced tens of millions of viewers to one of the most important biblical discoveries of modern times. Now a leading historian of the early church (and a featured commentator in the special) offers the first comprehensive account of the gospel, revealing what it contains and why it is so important for believers around the world.

Ehrman recounts the fascinating story of where and how this ancient parchment document was discovered, how it moved around among antiquities dealers, and how it came to be restored and translated. He gives a complete and clear account of what the book teaches, and he shows how it relates to other gospel texts, including the Gnostic texts of early Christianity. Finally, he describes what we can now say about the historical Judas and his relationship with Jesus.

The Gospel of Judas raises many questions. Ehrman provides illuminating and authoritative answers.

©2006 Bart D. Ehrman (P)2006 HighBridge Company

Critic reviews

"In typically brilliant fashion...Ehrman's fast-paced study introduces us engagingly to the Gospel of Judas." (Publishers Weekly)

What listeners say about The Lost Gospel of Judas Iscariot

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

Not Another One!

First, I will not sound like a fan of Dr. Erhman's, but I assure you that I am. You will not find a better authority on early christianity, or the persons who figure prominently in it's beginings. Bart Ehrman is, by now, known by most readers of religeous non-fiction, and is best known for works such as 'The Lost Christianities,' 'Misquoting Jesus,' and 'Truth & Fiction In The DaVinci Code.' His latest offering is an account of his part in bringing to life the lost gospel of Judas Iscariot. He spends about half the time to retrace Judas' history, as we know it, and to solidify what little truths we can gleen from the information. Turns out that this "Lost Gospel," is another discovery of Gnostic Literature. I was disheartened when I heard that, as some outlandish themes were bound to be included in the documents. Turns out that I was right! In this gospel, Judas is portrayed as a Demi-God, and not the low life that he is in the Cannonical Gospels. Jesus claims that sacrificing the mortal part of the messiah will earn him a high place in another plane of existence. Jesus laughs at the other apostles for paying homage to what he considers the wrong God. I do not even have enough room to explain Gnosticism, but you can gleen that it isn't even a close offshoot of Christianity. If you are interested in the Gnostics, Elaine Pagels has the best book out there, which Audible does carry. It is called, 'The Gnostic Gospels.' The problem with Bart Erhman's book is that it is quite redundant, expecially for those that have read any of the other surviving Gnostic Texts. I found myself screaming, "Not another one!" Currently, there are at least 3 books out there, just on this theme. If your looking for something fresh and new, this isn't it. If your looking for something plausible, this isn't it. If you like Bart Ehrman and you want to hear some background history about Judas Iscariot, this is your book. Want to experience some
Gnosticism, this is your book.

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21 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

love this author's style

Another interesting book by this author. Not as engaging as Peter Paul and Mary Magdelene but nonetheless enlightening.Try reading "Misquoting Jesus" first, then "P.P. and M.M." and then follow it with "Judas".

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20 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

The Laughing Jesus

I strongly agree with David from Wisconsin. I believe that Bart does a better job with this subject then probably anyone else could. Several chapters are devoted to how this document was found and what happened to it after. Bart explains why this document is important and in layman's terms. He explains a lot about Gnostic teachings. At first this is fairly interesting, but later he goes into so much detail that I lost interest.

I did like the explanation about how people often combine the three Gospels, which in effect creates another gospel all together. All the gospels where written in a certain way to a certain group of people and to highlight a certain theology. When you combine them, it distorts the effect. I have narrated a lot of Easter programs for my church and have seen how that happens.

Gnostics seem to believe that the Old Testament God (Creator God) is not the same as the New Testament (Loving) God. This is an interesting concept, but from there it gets pretty weird. They seem to become the Anti-Church. They believe almost the opposite of what Christians believe.

Toward the end, Bart starts repeating himself and gets into thick details I lost interest in.

The narrator is so good, that I thought it was the author. Narrator is very comfortable to listen to.

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17 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Great

An Excellent and fascinating story revealing that some early Christians had a completely different perspective of Judas. Highly recommended for anyone interested in early Christian history.
Dennis Boutsikaris does an outstanding job at narrating; his style is warm and conversational.

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16 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Recommended

Exceeded expectations!

The main message was not on "The Gospel of Judas". The main focus was on the questions: "Who was Jesus" and "What was Judas's relationship with Jesus"

This book did not bore me with tedious details of the text of "The Gospel of Judas", but gave a good review of this text in light of the historical Jesus.

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12 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

A fresh way of looking at an ignored subject

First Bart Ehrman assumes his readers/listeners have a brain and questions. This is not a dumbed down, you will never be able to understand this if I don't dumb it down text. In many ways it is like you the reader were having a conversation in person with the author. It is not filled with esoteric and jargonistic techno-babble. When a specialized term must be used it is defined.
There is also a nice blend of how the lost gospel came to light and what it went thru as well as what the content tells us about the time it was written.
If you are looking for the full text of the lost gospel you won't find it here.
To repeat, if you have a brain and questions about this topic this is the book for you. I've read and listened to many of his books and they are well worth the time and money.

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9 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

interesting then becomes arcane

For those of us who don't spend time reading Gnostic gospels, it is a good and interesting introduction to the history and themes and at first is very interesting but then drifts into some repetion, more and more minute internal disagreements in the field, and finally just poops out as both a book and an area of interest for the uninformed. Worth it, but just.

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7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

Content OK...But.....

The content of this work is fine, although a little redundant.
BUT....the use of two readers is a little over-done.
One reads the regular text, but when scripture is read or different sections are addressed another voice (GOD?) makes the appearance...it's overdone and frankly a little silly. Then, just when things get back to normal, a series of chime-like notes take over...not sure why...maybe for emphasis?..but once again not adding anything of value.
It would have been nice just to hear someone read the book!

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

glaring truths ignored

It was an interesting book though one glaring truth that was ignored puts a question mark on all the rest. Also I would have liked to hear for myself some of the writings of this gospel not just a verse here and there as the writer see fit. As presented, I agree this is no where near being a true Gospel account, but I also take umbridge to the writers notion that Christianity changed at the death of Jesus to become what it is today. He puts forth some scenarios as possibilities implying those are the only ones when there may be others.
In short, would I recommend this book, I would say get it only if you want to hear one man's opinion peppered with partial sources to back up his views while he ignores others that don't fit his narrative.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Very informative w. explanations to build context

Bart D. Ehrman's book does well to be informative in building the scene for his audience to have a deeper understanding of the significance of the gospel of Judas. The book provides a window through the gospel of Judas to see how diverse the Christian faith even back in "bible times" really was.

I listened to this audiobook straight after listening to Bart D. Ehrman's "Jesus Interrupted." I found that some of the same material was discussed. This, however, was definitely needed to build the scene for new readers to better grasp the contents of the gospel.
But to compare both books "Jesus Interrupted" is definitely better (in my opinion) IF you are more interested in getting a better understanding of the history of the gospels that are in the kanon today.

I was a little bored at the very long chapters about how the gospel was found, It's interesting to know and shouldn't be forgotten, however, I really wanted to get to what was in the gospel itself.

The best parts are the beginning and near the end. I don't regret using a credit to listen to this book.

Happy listening~

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