Spit Out the Bones

I just read a front page story that talked about the release of a translation of the Gospel of Judas. The writer (an Associated Press drone) waxed eloquent about the notion that this writing would change how Christians view their religion. It would change how they think about Judas Iscariot, because in this writing Judas is portrayed as a special friend and confidante of Jesus, and only turned him over to the authorities because Jesus wanted him to do so.
I don’t usually like to rain on anyone’s parade, but this gospel is just one of a long list of writings that came out of that era (about 150 to 400 AD) which purport to tell this or that aspect of the story of God’s redemptive plan. So far, over 100 of these writings have surfaced, among them the Epistles of Pontius Pilate and the Gospel of the Egyptians.
Many believe that these writings are the “lost writings of the Bible”. Not true. These writings, for the most part, have never been recognized by Christians as being a part of the Bible. While many of them may shed some light on the life and times in which they were written, and many tell stories that are true and reliable, they never were placed into the Canon of Holy Scripture.
Modern versions of these writings might include books by Billy Graham, biographies of the Popes, and pop fantasy books like The DaVinci Codes. No one is suggesting (with the possible exception of Pope Deification and DaVinci Code fanatics) that these books are God-breathed. Some are good literature…others are trash. The same with the early writings.
Take a look at them, chew on them, spit out the bones, and go on. But whatever you do, don’t spout off at the mouth about some ancient writing changing the face of Christianity unless you’ve done some homework. Further, don’t call anything a book of the Bible unless you have at least a working knowledge of how those writings came to be part of the Christian Canon, and why others were excluded.