Review by jkosse -- Misreading Judas by Robert Wahler
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- Latest Review: Misreading Judas by Robert Wahler
Review by jkosse -- Misreading Judas by Robert Wahler
[Following is a volunteer review of "Misreading Judas" by Robert Wahler.]
3 out of 4 stars
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Robert Wahler’s 2016 work, Misreading Judas: How Biblical Scholars Missed the Biggest Story of All Time, presents an important reading of the Jesus betrayal and offers an alternative way to read Judas—not as the cause of Jesus’s death but instead as the Gospels’ true hero. Drawing upon the Gospel of Judas--a Gnostic text \within the Nag Hammadi library discovered in Egypt in 1945--the author offers an alternative reading of the crucifixion story and the scholars have missed important clues about the New Testament’s most important figures.
Wahler provides early in the study a verse-by-verse translation of the short Gospel, with commentary that details the mystic interpretation of its often cryptic passages. He then provides a close reading of other ancient Near Eastern texts, which serves to undercut the role of Jesus (who may not have actually existed), assert that Judas is actually James the Just, and that James is the true source of salvation for followers of Christianity. Of course, this flies in the face of the canonical narrative that we were taught in Church and Sunday school and centuries.
Misreading Judas is brief but dense, and Wahler demonstrates an exhaustive understanding of the ancient world and its writings, particularly the Gnostic tradition. While some readers will appreciate this knowledge being balanced by a folksy tone as well as a lament that seems aimed at academic professionals, for this reader his consist use of exclamation points and references to himself tend to undercut his reliability, almost demonstrating a defensiveness about his outsider role as an amateur sleuth taking on a field of academic elites. For example, he writes near the end that “It takes a retired farmer from Hawaii to tell the Ph.D.’s that Judas is not Judas and that Jesus is not the savior that we all thought that he was?”
While my primary criticism is of his style, that should not detract from the significance or thoroughness of Wahler’s scholarship. For those interested in Biblical history, especially those formative first few centuries when the Jewish offshoot sect had not yet become the religion of the Roman Empire and thereafter the primary religion of the West, this book is a fascinating read. He also offers a concrete reading of early church mysticism in the context of its times.
Overall I give the work 3 out of 4 stars. The text does not contain any blatant typos or errors, but the writer’s style can sometimes distract from his message, which from time-to-time is more about himself as the academic outsider than about the important ancient text about which he is writing.
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Misreading Judas
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3 out of 4 stars
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Robert Wahler’s 2016 work, Misreading Judas: How Biblical Scholars Missed the Biggest Story of All Time, presents an important reading of the Jesus betrayal and offers an alternative way to read Judas—not as the cause of Jesus’s death but instead as the Gospels’ true hero. Drawing upon the Gospel of Judas--a Gnostic text \within the Nag Hammadi library discovered in Egypt in 1945--the author offers an alternative reading of the crucifixion story and the scholars have missed important clues about the New Testament’s most important figures.
Wahler provides early in the study a verse-by-verse translation of the short Gospel, with commentary that details the mystic interpretation of its often cryptic passages. He then provides a close reading of other ancient Near Eastern texts, which serves to undercut the role of Jesus (who may not have actually existed), assert that Judas is actually James the Just, and that James is the true source of salvation for followers of Christianity. Of course, this flies in the face of the canonical narrative that we were taught in Church and Sunday school and centuries.
Misreading Judas is brief but dense, and Wahler demonstrates an exhaustive understanding of the ancient world and its writings, particularly the Gnostic tradition. While some readers will appreciate this knowledge being balanced by a folksy tone as well as a lament that seems aimed at academic professionals, for this reader his consist use of exclamation points and references to himself tend to undercut his reliability, almost demonstrating a defensiveness about his outsider role as an amateur sleuth taking on a field of academic elites. For example, he writes near the end that “It takes a retired farmer from Hawaii to tell the Ph.D.’s that Judas is not Judas and that Jesus is not the savior that we all thought that he was?”
While my primary criticism is of his style, that should not detract from the significance or thoroughness of Wahler’s scholarship. For those interested in Biblical history, especially those formative first few centuries when the Jewish offshoot sect had not yet become the religion of the Roman Empire and thereafter the primary religion of the West, this book is a fascinating read. He also offers a concrete reading of early church mysticism in the context of its times.
Overall I give the work 3 out of 4 stars. The text does not contain any blatant typos or errors, but the writer’s style can sometimes distract from his message, which from time-to-time is more about himself as the academic outsider than about the important ancient text about which he is writing.
******
Misreading Judas
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Like jkosse's review? Post a comment saying so!
Latest Review: Misreading Judas by Robert Wahler
