Some Thoughts on Judas

I most certainly don’t care about Christianity or any religion at this stage of my life. However, if you are a true believer, I don’t get the Judas hate. Here’s a good example of how Judas serves to describe treasonous evil today. Judas is the necessary ingredient for Christianity to come together. Christ has to die for our sins. Someone has to betray Christ in order for that to happen. That someone is Judas.

            -- Erik Loomis 

If someone doesn't want to be religious, fine, especially with so many "nones" out there. The dislike of some can be a bit much, yes, especially since religion is important to many allies. 

On another level, religion is a significant part of our society, history (including the areas he is concerned with), and so forth. It's silly not to "care" about it at all. It is not only that; it's misguided.

Jesus could have "died for our sins" in various respects. The Gospel of Judas says that Jesus blessed Judas, turning him over to the authorities. The gospels says he was aware of what Judas would do (Jesus is after all the son of God) and didn't stop him.

Judas turned him over for unclear motives (the gospels cite greed, an evil spirit, and a prophecy), leading people to pose various possibilities. One comment to the post assumes Judas was a religious and/or political radical. That's possible. It's far from clear from the gospels. Paul doesn't name Judas.

Someone with Erik Loomis' overall mentality should not be too surprised an informer gets bad press. That sort of thing -- even if we can spin it as useful -- is not a favorite of many labor and political movements. 

A major reason Judas was despised is that he (see the very name) became symbolic of Jews. The gospel that says he was in charge of the money furthers that sentiment. He did it for the money and so on.

The "hate" also, according to multiple gospel accounts, was self-inflicted. We get more than one version of how Judas died. The understanding was that he soon felt he made a mistake. 

One comment suggested a part of the problem is that Judas took it upon himself to force the issue. Such an act of hubris is problematic. It is also very human, which makes him a good dramatic character.

To toss it out there, in my Substack discussion, I cite Mark Osler's book. He suggests Peter's denial might be spun positively. Perhaps, he was asked as a part of a witness search. His denial protected Jesus!

Again, that is not how the gospels and Peter thought about the matter. Anyway, I don't have "hate" for Judas. He is if anything a tragic figure, which might be a warning. But, Christianity is about forgiveness, right? One early Christian thinker even suggested it was even possible to redeem Satan.

If so, I think Judas has a shot. We can give him a bit more respect and take some from Pontius Pilate, who is framed a tad too innocently in the gospels.