Title: Misreading Judas – How Biblical Scholars Missed the Biggest Story of All Time
Author: Robert Wahler
Publisher: AuthorHouse
ISBN: 978-1524627607
Pages: 205
Genre: Non-Fiction
Reviewed by: Barbara Scott Bamberger
Pacific Book Review
Basing his thesis mainly on The Gospel of Judas, Robert Wahler asserts that much of what is considered true about Jesus of Nazareth and his disciples may be false as he explains in Misreading Judas – How Biblical Scholars Missed the Biggest Story of All Time.
The Gospel of Judas was discovered in the 1970s and has been dated as composed in the late 2nd Century AD. The papyrus on which it was written consists of numerous fragments, but is nonetheless readable. Linking this document with the Gospel of Thomas, the Apochryphon of James and other Gnostic texts, Wahler sees sufficient evidence that Judas was not a villain who callously sold Jesus to the Romans, but a sort of spiritual hero. In a complicated thread of logic based on his considerable study, Wahler regards Judas as a mystic in the Eastern tradition, able, through advanced meditation techniques, to “enter the luminous cloud and become one with Jesus within.” The other disciples, he believes, were mired in worldly activities such as animal sacrifice and, according to Wahler, did not absorb the true wisdom conveyed by their master. Judas was the only one who genuinely sought to understand Jesus’ message. In yet another layer of exploration, the author has concluded that the name “Judas” is interchangeable with that of James, and that Judas/James was the beloved disciple given the honor of succeeding Jesus.
Misreading Judas is dense with quotations—from the Bible, from the Gospel of Judas, from a variety of gnostic texts, and from modern sources such as Eastern spiritual teacher Maharaj Charan Singh. Wahler’s view of Judas as a favored disciple, acting in obedience to Jesus, is reasonable and is held by diverse other authorities. Some of what the author has to impart, however, is undeniably problematic, such as his basic assertion that Jesus was not unique, but one in a continuing line of masters and that James was his successor, putting Paul and the other disciples on a lesser footing. Since mainstream Christian scholars generally dismiss some of the theories to which Wahler gives credence as contrary to orthodox Christian teaching, the author often expresses his frustration with such presumed experts and urges, “Please, everyone, read the Gospel of Judas as the Gnostic text that it is.”
Wahler is an independent thinker who has reached his conclusions after extensive study. This slim but information-rich book can serve as a starting point for those who want to delve deeply into Gnostic and Eastern cosmology as an alternative, or a supportive counterpoint, to standard Christian beliefs.
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