April Deconick ,professor of Biblical studies at Rice University, has an excellent piece on Judas in the NY Times Op-Ed column today called “Gospel Truth.” In it she offers more accurate translations of the so-called Gospel of Judas, exposing poor and slanted scholarship of the National Geographic project, which was the first to release a documentary and book on the subject.
She writes: “While National Geographic’s translation supported the provocative interpretation of Judas as a hero, a more careful reading makes clear that Judas is not only no hero, he is a demon.” Adducing her evidence she correctly comments:
the National Geographic transcription refers to Judas as a “daimon,” which the society’s experts have translated as “spirit.” Actually, the universally accepted word for “spirit” is “pneuma ” — in Gnostic literature “daimon” is always taken to mean “demon.”
She also notes various other omissions and errors in the work of NG. Whoever wrote the gospel of Judas, it is clearly gnostic in slant. As Deconick points out, Judas sacrificed Jesus not to God, but to the demons. As chief of demons, he is depicted as a counter Christ, mocking the sacrifice of Jesus in his offering, as a parody of the central event of Christianity.