MORE MODERN GNOSTICS: The Los Angeles Times has a collection of responses to the Gospel of Judas, starting with a Bishop of the Gnostic Society:

Gnostics Find Affirmation in Gospel of Judas

The document portrays the disciple as a faithful servant of Jesus, not a villain -- a firm belief of the small Christian branch. But it doesn't shake up mainstream doctrine.

By Arin Gencer, Times Staff Writer
April 22, 2006

When National Geographic unveiled the Gospel of Judas this month, the narrator in the accompanying television documentary solemnly announced: "It tells a different story. One that could challenge our deepest beliefs."

The Gospel portrayed a Judas who simply carried out his master's orders — and did not betray him.

But for Gnostics, a small branch of Christianity, that so-called revelation was just a confirmation of a long-held belief that there was more to Judas and the crucifixion story than the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John suggest.

"Gnostics were inclined in this direction for a long, long time," said Bishop Stephan Hoeller, of the Gnostic Society, who also leads a congregation in Los Angeles. The society was founded in 1923, he said, and the church, Ecclesia Gnostica, was started in 1956.

"The notion that Judas was this terrible villain … that has never really been accepted in Gnosticism," Hoeller said.

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