2006年VOA标准英语-Controversial Judas Manuscript Discovered

By Ernest Leong
Washington, DC
24 April 2006
 
watch Judas Gospel report
 

Gospel According to Judas, Egyptian Coptic codex  
  
In Christian¹ theology, the character of Judas has long been reviled³ as the apostle who betrayed Jesus Christ to the Romans for money. But what if Christ asked Judas to perform this deed to achieve a greater good?

Should Judas still be seen as a traitor⁴?

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Easter is the Christian holiday commemorating⁵ the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  But a recent archaeological find has put the story of Christ's Passion [Christ's suffering during the Crucifixion] in a different light.

The National Geographic⁶ Society has announced the discovery of a 1,700-year-old Egyptian Coptic codex [manuscript], which includes the Gospel according to Judas.

 
Terry Garcia
  
National Geographic's Vice⁷ President for Missions Programs is Terry Garcia. "You don't find a lost gospel very often."

How this document was acquired concerns some scholars and archaeologists, who consider it a looted object.  According to National Geographic, in the 1970s the codex was discovered by Egyptian farmers.  It passed through several antiquities⁸ dealers⁹' hands in Europe and the United States before it finally was acquired by the Maecenas Foundation for Ancient Art in Switzerland.  National Geographic provided financing to the foundation to authenticate¹⁰, restore and translate the manuscript.

"They would take a photograph of each page, and each fragment.  And then, they would painstakingly¹¹ try to match pages with fragments," said Garcia.

The gospel was later translated, and the text revealed an unexpected retelling of events leading up to Christ's Passion.  

 
Bart Ehrman
  
Bart Ehrman is Chairman of the Religion Department at the University of North Carolina. He says, "The New Testament¹² portrays¹³ Judas as engaging in a nefarious¹⁴ act in turning over Jesus to the authorities.  This gospel [Gospel of Judas] portrays the act as far from nefarious, but the greatest thing Judas could do for Jesus."

This interpretation¹⁵ sparked strong reactions. While commemorating Jesus' washing of his apostles' feet before the Last Supper, Pope Benedict said, Judas was a liar¹⁶ and double-crosser for whom money was more important than communion with Jesus. 

Dr. Robert Schuller   
  
Dr. Robert H. Schuller, Founding Pastor¹⁷ of Crystal Cathedral, made his feelings clear. "I don't need anything more than I get out of Matthew, Mark, St. Luke and John.  I mean, wow!  Who needs anything more?"

These four apostles wrote accounts of Jesus Christ's life and death in the New Testament.  They all agree Judas received thirty pieces of silver, after which he singled out Jesus Christ for the Romans with a kiss.  Filled with remorse¹⁸, he later committed suicide.

The Gospel According to Judas was written by the Gnostics, an early Christian group.

Rev². Timothy Friedrichsen  
  
Rev. Timothy Friedrichsen of the Catholic University in Washington, D.C., explains why the Gnostics' writings were rejected by the Christian church. "How the books [of the New Testament] got in there, they had to be widely used by various groups.  So, works that were used by small sects¹⁹ of Christianity, especially those on the fringe of understanding of Jesus and so forth²⁰, they would have a harder time getting into the New Testament."

Friedrichsen says the Gnostics believe everyone has "secret knowledge" locked within them.  Therefore, it was necessary for Judas to turn Jesus over to the Romans in order for Jesus to shed the physical shell he was trapped in, and find that knowledge.

"Salvation²¹ comes from within.  That, by knowing oneself, you're able to achieve, you can find that divine spark," explains Garcia.

The Gnostics' belief system diverges²² significantly from the Catholic Church, which says mankind can be saved only through communion with Jesus Christ, who died for our sins.

Both Friedrichsen and Garcia agree on the document's historical importance.

"It's an important find, for purposes of history," says Friedrichsen. "It allows us to see how people were thinking at a particularly important time in history," adds Garcia.

Three other documents also contained in the codex are currently being restored and translated.

Some footage Courtesy National Geographic Channel: Gospel of Judas

1 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

2 rev   

v.发动机旋转，加快速度

参考例句：

• It's his job to rev up the audience before the show starts.他要负责在表演开始前鼓动观众的热情。
• Don't rev the engine so hard.别让发动机转得太快。

3 reviled   

v.辱骂，痛斥( revile的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The tramp reviled the man who drove him off. 流浪汉辱骂那位赶他走开的人。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• The old man reviled against corruption. 那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 traitor   

n.叛徒，卖国贼

参考例句：

• The traitor was finally found out and put in prison.那个卖国贼终于被人发现并被监禁了起来。
• He was sold out by a traitor and arrested.他被叛徒出卖而被捕了。

5 commemorating   

v.纪念，庆祝( commemorate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• He was presented with a scroll commemorating his achievements. 他被授予一幅卷轴，以表彰其所做出的成就。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The post office issued a series commemorating famous American entertainers. 邮局发行了一个纪念美国著名演艺人员的系列邮票。 来自互联网

6 geographic   

adj.地理学的，地理的

参考例句：

• The city's success owes much to its geographic position. 这座城市的成功很大程度上归功于它的地理位置。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Environmental problems pay no heed to these geographic lines. 环境问题并不理会这些地理界限。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

7 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

8 antiquities   

n.古老( antiquity的名词复数 )；古迹；古人们；古代的风俗习惯

参考例句：

• There is rest and healing in the contemplation of antiquities. 欣赏古物有休息和疗养之功。 来自辞典例句
• Bertha developed a fine enthusiasm for the antiquities of London. 伯沙对伦敦的古迹产生了很大的热情。 来自辞典例句

9 dealers   

n.商人( dealer的名词复数 )；贩毒者；毒品贩子；发牌者

参考例句：

• There was fast bidding between private collectors and dealers. 私人收藏家和交易商急速竞相喊价。
• The police were corrupt and were operating in collusion with the drug dealers. 警察腐败，与那伙毒品贩子内外勾结。

10 authenticate   

vt.证明…为真，鉴定

参考例句：

• We would have to authenticate your relationship with the boy.我们必须证实一下您和那个孩子的关系。
• An expert was needed to authenticate the original Van Gogh painting from his imitation.这幅画是凡·高的真迹还是赝品,需由专家来鉴定。

11 painstakingly   

adv. 费力地 苦心地

参考例句：

• Every aspect of the original has been closely studied and painstakingly reconstructed. 原作的每一细节都经过了仔细研究，费尽苦心才得以重现。
• The cause they contrived so painstakingly also ended in failure. 他们惨淡经营的事业也以失败而告终。

12 testament   

n.遗嘱；证明

参考例句：

• This is his last will and testament.这是他的遗愿和遗嘱。
• It is a testament to the power of political mythology.这说明，编造政治神话可以产生多大的威力。

13 portrays   

v.画像( portray的第三人称单数 )；描述；描绘；描画

参考例句：

• The museum collection vividly portrays the heritage of 200 years of canals. 博物馆的藏品让运河200 年的历史再现眼前。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The film portrays Gandhi as a kind of superman. 这部电影把甘地描绘成一个超人。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 nefarious   

adj.恶毒的，极坏的

参考例句：

• My father believes you all have a nefarious purpose here.我父亲认为你们都有邪恶的目的。
• He was universally feared because of his many nefarious deeds.因为他干了许多罪恶的勾当，所以人人都惧怕他。

15 interpretation   

n.解释，说明，描述；艺术处理

参考例句：

• His statement admits of one interpretation only.他的话只有一种解释。
• Analysis and interpretation is a very personal thing.分析与说明是个很主观的事情。

16 liar   

n.说谎的人

参考例句：

• I know you for a thief and a liar!我算认识你了，一个又偷又骗的家伙！
• She was wrongly labelled a liar.她被错误地扣上说谎者的帽子。

17 pastor   

n.牧师，牧人

参考例句：

• He was the son of a poor pastor.他是一个穷牧师的儿子。
• We have no pastor at present:the church is run by five deacons.我们目前没有牧师：教会的事是由五位执事管理的。

18 remorse   

n.痛恨，悔恨，自责

参考例句：

• She had no remorse about what she had said.她对所说的话不后悔。
• He has shown no remorse for his actions.他对自己的行为没有任何悔恨之意。

19 sects   

n.宗派，教派( sect的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Members of these sects are ruthlessly persecuted and suppressed. 这些教派的成员遭到了残酷的迫害和镇压。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He had subdued the religious sects, cleaned up Saigon. 他压服了宗教派别，刷新了西贡的面貌。 来自辞典例句

20 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

21 salvation   

n.（尤指基督）救世，超度，拯救，解困

参考例句：

• Salvation lay in political reform.解救办法在于政治改革。
• Christians hope and pray for salvation.基督教徒希望并祈祷灵魂得救。

22 diverges   

分开( diverge的第三人称单数 )； 偏离； 分歧； 分道扬镳

参考例句：

• The beam of flashlight diverges, but it can be refocused with lenses. 一个发散的闪光灯束可以用透镜重新聚焦。
• At the end of the wood, the path diverges to the left. 在树林的尽头，小路向左拐去。