Three Versions Of Judas

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.

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.

Forty short stories and essays have been selected as representative of the Argentine writer's metaphysical narratives.

Uses film and literature to engage the biblical texts and demonstrates the ways that the boundaries of canons are artificial and unhelpful. >

"Why should we take into account the history of reception in biblical methods? It is because as exegetes we have no choice. Recognizing our dependence on interpretations of the past is not a new method, but it is the very way we understand texts. Régis Burnet shows how this allows us to put our current interpretations into perspective, but also to dialogue with those of the past." --

Deconstructing Paradise investigates Christian symbols that appear in Latin American Literature in an inverted way. The texts under investigation invert the Christian center to generate a social, political, cultural, or even artistic commentary. In doing so, each text underscores a search for meaning that rejects the centering presence of the more traditional Christian focus that has long validated humankind’s existence both in society and in literature. As Deconstructing Paradise examines, finding a unified center around which to construct meaning is no longer possible, although the search for meaning persists in the inverted Christian center. The first three chapters analyze the trifecta of novels that offer a full allegory of inverted Christian symbolism including: Miguel Ángel Asturias’ El Señor Presidente; Juan Rulfo’s Pedro Páramo and José Donoso’s El lugar sin límites. Chapters Four and Five focus on inverted Christ and inverted Judas figures in multiple novels and short fiction. As many Latin American literary critics affirm, it is increasingly difficult to categorize fiction after the Boom, although even the usefulness of these categories is ultimately questionable. Literary critics now look for patterns and Deconstructing Paradise offers one such pattern by identifying a trend in an impressive scope of the well-known authors of twentieth-century Latin American literature, while also tracing this pattern back to nineteenth-century precursors. Deconstructing Paradise offers a unique and comprehensive look at a significant trend that will undoubtedly foment new ideas and paths of study in contemporary Latin American literature.

First published in 1880, Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ became a best-seller. The popular novel spawned an 1899 stage adaptation, reaching audiences of over 10 million, and two highly successful film adaptations. For over a century, it has become a ubiquitous pop cultural presence, representing a deeply powerful story and monumental experience for some and a defining work of bad taste and false piety for others. The first and only collection of essays on this pivotal cultural icon, Bigger Than "Ben-Hur" addresses Lew Wallace’s beloved classic to explore its polarizing effect and to expand the contexts within which it can be studied. In the essays gathered here, scholars approach Ben-Hur from multiple directions—religious and secular, literary, theatrical, and cinematic—to understand not just one story in varied formats but also what they term the "Ben-Hur tradition." Drawing from a wide range of disciplines, contributions include the rise of the Protestant novel in the United States; relationships between and among religion, spectacle, and consumerism; the "New Woman" in early Hollywood; and a "wish list" for future adaptations, among others. Together, these essays explore how this remarkably fluid story of faith, love, and revenge has remained relevant to audiences across the globe for over 130 years.

A sweeping history of how writing has preserved cultural practices, traditions, and knowledge throughout human history. In How Writing Made Us Human, 3000 BCE to Now, Walter Stephens condenses the massive history of the written word into an accessible, engaging narrative. The history of writing is not merely a record of technical innovations—from hieroglyphics to computers—but something far richer: a chronicle of emotional engagement with written culture whose long arc intimates why the humanities are crucial to society. For five millennia, myths and legends provided fascinating explanations for the origins and uses of writing. These stories overflowed with enthusiasm about fabled personalities (both human and divine) and their adventures with capturing speech and preserving memory. Stories recounted how and why an ancient Sumerian king, a contemporary of Gilgamesh, invented the cuneiform writing system—or alternatively, how the earliest Mesopotamians learned everything from a hybrid man-fish. For centuries, Jews and Christians debated whether Moses or God first wrote the Ten Commandments. Throughout history, some myths of writing were literary fictions. Plato's tale of Atlantis supposedly emerged from a vast Egyptian archive of world history. Dante's vision of God as one infinite book inspired Borges's fantasy of the cosmos as a limitless library, while the nineteenth century bequeathed Mary Shelley's apocalyptic tale of a world left with innumerable books but only one surviving reader. Stephens presents a comprehensive history of the written word and demonstrates how writing has preserved and shaped human life since the Bronze Age. These stories, their creators, and their preservation have inspired wonder and an endless appetite for historical revelation.