a genuine fraud

By Diogenes ( articles ) | Apr 07, 2006

The National Geographic Society has unveiled the "Gospel of Judas," and the New York Times reports that the ancient document "will set off years of study and debate." The story continues:

The debate is not over whether the manuscript is genuine-- on this the scholars agree.

Whoa! Hold on just a minute! The document is apparently genuine, all right. But it's a "genuine" product of the Gnostic sect, dating back to around 300 AD-- or about 270 years after Judas died.

The "Gospel of Judas"-- of which this document is apparently a copy-- was produced by an unknown Gnostic author earlier. We know this (as the Times helpfully reminds us) because St. Irenaeus, writing late in the 2nd century, has already identified the "Gospel of Judas" as a fraud.

But hey, it's a genuine fraud.