Judas Iscariot And The Myth Of Jewish Evil

Maccoby returns to the sources of Christianity to show how Judas was invented by successive gospel writers, thereby ingraining in the minds of Christian Europeans a perverted image of the Jew as a malevolent betrayer. He goes on to show how this idea helped to justify 2,000 years of genocidal persecution.

Judas: Images of the Lost Discipletraces the development of the stories about the most famous traitor in the history of Western Civilization. Its purpose is not to find the Judas of history, but rather to provide readers with a map that shows the similarities and connections between generations of Judas's story. Judas has been portrayed as an effete intellectual, a jealous lover, a greedy scoundrel, a misguided patriot, a doomed hero, a man destroyed by despair, or God's special, misunderstood messenger and agent. Judas means as many different things to us as does Jesus or God. The enigma of Judas's story in the Gospels left later literature and legend with a creative challenge they richly answered, and which is presented here: to write the real story of the worst villain of all time.

At the beginning of the 20th century, Judas was characterised in film as the epitome of evil: the villainous Jew. Film-makers cast Judas in this way because this was the Judas that audiences had come to recognize and even expect. But in the following three decades, film-makers - as a result of critical biblical study - were more circumspect about accepting the alleged historicity of the Gospel accounts. Carol A. Hebron examines the figure of Judas across film history to show how the portrayal becomes more nuanced and more significant, even to the point where Judas becomes the protagonist with a role in the film equal in importance to that of Jesus'. Hebron examines how, in these films, we begin to see a rehabilitation of the Judas character and a restoration of Judaism. Hebron reveals two distinct theologies: 'rejection' and 'acceptance'. The Nazi Holocaust and the exposure of the horrors of genocide at the end of World War II influenced how Judaism, Jews, and Judas, were to be portrayed in film. Rehabilitating the Judas character and the Jews was necessary, and film was deemed an appropriate medium in which to begin that process.

Series: Jewish and Christian Heritage, 1 Is the Gospel of John anti-Jewish? What would this mean in the context of the original writer, of his community, the final text and its first readers? Who, precisely, are the Ioudaioi who are so scathingly criticized in the Gospel - “Judeans”, perhaps, or some other more specific group than the Jewish nation as a whole? What are the implications for New Testament study and for Christian theology in the light of the troubled history of relations between Judaism and Christianity? The papers in this volume were presented at the special international colloquium held in January 2000 in Leuven, Belgium, which was convened to assemble the world’s leading experts on John’s Gospel and issues of anti-Judaism for a thorough assessment of the state of the question. The result is a fascinating panorama of the issues and of current approaches to them, and an extremely valuable resource for further work on anti-Judaism in the Christian tradition. Contents: 1. Wrestling with Johannine Anti-Judaism: A Hermeneutical Frame-work for the Analysis of the Current Debate - Reimund Bieringer, Didier Pollefeyt, Frederique Vandecasteele-Vanneuville 2. The Embarrassment of History: Reflections on the Problem of ‘Anti-Judaism’ in the Fourth Gospel - James D.G. Dunn 3. Anti-Judaism in the Fourth Gospel as a Theological Problem for Christian Interpreters R. Alan Culpepper 4. The Fourth Gospel and the Salvation of Israel: An Appeal for a New Start Stephen Motyer 5. Anti-Judaism in Revelation? A Response to Peter Tomson - Jan Willem van Henten 6. Anti-Judaism in the Fourth Gospel - Judith M. Lieu 7. Escape Routes as Dead Ends: On Hatred towards Jews and the New Testament, Especially in the Gospel of John - Simon Schoon 8. The Coming Son of Man Became Flesh. High Christology and Anti-Judaism in the Gospel of John - Bertold Klappert 9. “Abraham is our Father” (John 8:39)The Gospel of John and the Jewish-Christian Dialogue - Hendrik Hoet 10. Biblical Thinking as the Wisdom of Love - Roger Burggraeve 11. The Identity of the ‘Jews’ for the Readers of John - Johannes Beutler 12. The ‘Jews’ in the Gospel of John - Henk Jan de Jonge 13. The Depiction of ‘the Jews’ in John’s Gospel. Matters of Behavior and Identity - M.C. de Boer 14. Speaking of the Jews .‘Jews’ in the Discourse Material of the Fourth Gospel - Raymond F. Collins 15. ‘Jews’ in the Gospel of John as Compared with the Palestinian Talmud, the Synoptics and Some New Testament Apocrypha - Peter J. Tomson 16. ‘Jews’ and Jews in the Fourth Gospel - Adele Reinhartz 17. The Nicodemus Enigma: The Characterization and Function of an Ambiguous Actor of the Fourth Gospel - Jean Marie Sevrin - 18. “Salvation is from the Jews.” The Parenthesis in John 4:22b - Gilbert van Belle 19. John and Judaism - C. Kingsley Barrett 20. “You Are of Your Father the Devil” in Its Context: Stereotyped Apocalyptic Polemic in John 8:38-47 - U.C. von Wahlde 21. Scriptural Dispute between Jews and Christians in John: Literary Fiction or Historical Reality? John 9:13-17, 24-34 as a Test Case - Maarten J.J. Menken 22. The Farewell Discourses (John 13:31–16:33) and the Problem of Anti-Judaism - Jean Zumstein 23. The Gospel of John: Exclusivism Caused by a Social Setting Different from That of Jesus (John 11:54 and 14:6) - James H. Charlesworth 24. Anti-Judaism in the Book of Revelation - Jan Lambrecht 25. The Canon – Understanding of Revelation – History of Reception and Effects. Problems of a Biblically Oriented Theo...

In this bold, captivating and controversial book, the author combines his own intensely moving personal accounts with incisive scriptural analysis, and challenges the reader to reassess what they think they know about Judas Iscariot and suicide. Drawing on the memory of his own brother’s action in taking his own life, Aaron Saari examines Judas Iscariot as the definitive figure of God’s abhorrence for suicide and a powerful symbol of the cultural taboo originating from Christian doctrine. Instead, he argues, this ancient condemnation of Judas’ death is unfounded: Judas is instead a literary invention of the Markan community meant to undercut the authority of the Twelve, entering the Christian story c.70 CE through the Gospel of Mark. Written with passion and clarity and consistently relevant to today’s moral issues, this book is as much an ideal introduction to biblical studies for the general reader as it is essential reading for students, scholars, and anyone with an interest in Biblical studies, ancient scripture and theology.

Jewish esotericism is the oldest and most influential continuous occult tradition in the West. Presenting lore that can spiritually enrich your life, this one-of-a-kind encyclopedia is devoted to the esoteric in Judaism—the miraculous and the mysterious. In this second edition, Rabbi Geoffrey W. Dennis has added over thirty new entries and significantly expanded over one hundred other entries, incorporating more knowledge and passages from primary sources. This comprehensive treasury of Jewish teachings, drawn from sources spanning Jewish scripture, the Talmud, the Midrash, the Kabbalah, and other esoteric branches of Judaism, is exhaustively researched yet easy to use. It includes over one thousand alphabetical entries, from Aaron to Zohar Chadesh, with extensive cross-references to related topics and new illustrations throughout. Drawn from the well of a great spiritual tradition, the secret wisdom within these pages will enlighten and empower you. Praise: "An erudite and lively compendium of Jewish magical beliefs, practices, texts, and individuals...This superb, comprehensive encyclopedia belongs in every serious library."—Richard M. Golden, Director of the Jewish Studies Program, University of North Texas, and editor of The Encyclopedia of Witchcraft: The Western Tradition "Rabbi Dennis has performed a tremendously important service for both the scholar and the novice in composing a work of concise information about aspects of Judaism unbeknownst to most, and intriguing to all."—Rabbi Gershon Winkler, author of Magic of the Ordinary: Recovering the Shamanic in Judaism

Judas Iscariot, known for his betrayal of Jesus, is a key figure in the Gospel narratives. As an insider become outsider, Judas demarcates Christian boundaries of good and evil. 'Three Versions of Judas' examines the role of Judas in Christian myth-making. The book draws on Jorge Luis Borges' "Three Versions of Judas" to present three Judases in the Gospels: a Judas necessary to the divine plan; a Judas who is a determined outsider, denying himself for God's glory; and a Judas who is demonic. Exploring the findings of biblical criticism and artistic responses to Judas, 'Three Versions of Judas' offers an analysis of the evil necessarily inherent in Christian narratives about Judas.

An honest, probing look at the dynamics of the New Testament—in relation to problems that disconcert Jews and Christians today. Despite the New Testament’s impact on Jewish history, virtually all Jews avoid knowledge of its underlying dynamics. Jewish families and communities thus remain needlessly stymied when responding to a deeply Christian culture. Their Christian friends, meanwhile, are left perplexed as to why Jews are wary of the Gospel’s “good news.” This long-awaited volume offers an unprecedented solution-oriented introduction to Jesus and Paul, the Gospels and Revelation, leading Jews out of anxieties that plague them, and clarifying for Christians why Jews draw back from Christians’ sacred writings. Accessible to laypeople, scholars and clergy of all faiths, innovative teaching aids make this valuable resource ideal for rabbis, ministers and other educators. Topics include: The Gospels, Romans and Revelation— the Key Concerns for Jews Misusing the Talmud in Gospel Study Jesus’ Trial, the “Virgin Birth” and Empty Tomb Enigmas Millennialist Scenarios and Missionary Encroachment The Last Supper and Church Seders Is the New Testament Antisemitic? While written primarily with Jews in mind, this groundbreaking volume will also help Christians understand issues involved in the origin of the New Testament, the portrayal of Judaism in it, and why for centuries their “good news” has been a source of fear and mistrust among Jews.