Burying the truth.Your May 5 editorial ("Jesus, Da Vinci da Vinci Surgery A surgical robot for performing certain surgeries–eg, mitral valve repair and laparoscopic procedures–eg, cholecystectomy and gastric ulcer repair. See Laparoscopic surgery, Robotics, Surgical robot. , and Us") is a masterful example of throwing dust in the eyes of the truth. To compare the gnostic Gospel of Judas The Gospel of Judas is a Gnostic gospel. The document is not claimed to have been written by apostle Judas Iscariot himself, but rather by Gnostic followers of Jesus Christ. with the pure fiction of Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code is an editorial cheap shot. You might not like the theology of the Gospel of Judas, but you cannot deny its authenticity. The inquisitors of the second and third century literally buried conflicting views of Christianity in the dustbin of history. As these documents are found they deserve serious study by theologians. They should not be lightly dismissed as a "headline-grabbing publicity campaign" by the National Geographic Society National Geographic Society U.S. scientific society founded in 1888 in Washington, D.C., by a small group of eminent explorers and scientists “for the increase and diffusion of geographic knowledge. . The Roman Catholic Church Roman Catholic Church, Christian church headed by the pope, the bishop of Rome (see papacy and Peter, Saint). Its commonest title in official use is Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church. has a long history of distorting truth to protect and advance its concept of Christianity. The thought that "mediation means trusting people who may be wrong" does not give a free pass to those who deliberately distort the truth. I believe that God has a purpose in allowing these ancient texts to be found--so that they may be used to question the conventional wisdom of those who might in fact be wrong. EDMUND S. RUMOWICZ Hollywood, Fla. THE EDITORS REPLY: It is not clear what truth Edmund Rumowicz thinks is being distorted in the church's rejection of Gnosticism. Is it the church's teachings about Christ's Resurrection, his Incarnation, or our understanding of him as "one in being with the father"? These are the central teachings of the church, and it is not clear in what way they are distortions. Nor is it clear what Rumowicz means by the "authenticity" of the Gospel of Judas. No one questions that this newly discovered "gospel" reflects the views of some religious group. The question is whether it is an accurate reflection of Christian faith. Jack Miles's "Judas & Jesus" (June 2) is especially helpful in this respect. As Miles points out, Gnostics did not aspire "to be regarded as orthodox Christians and to have their texts ecclesiastically canonized can·on·ize tr.v. can·on·ized, can·on·iz·ing, can·on·iz·es 1. To declare (a deceased person) to be a saint and entitled to be fully honored as such. 2. To include in the biblical canon. 3. ." Instead, Gnosticism was a "multicultural syncretistic syn·cre·tism n. 1. Reconciliation or fusion of differing systems of belief, as in philosophy or religion, especially when success is partial or the result is heterogeneous. 2. polytheism polytheism (pŏl`ēthēĭzəm), belief in a plurality of gods in which each deity is distinguished by special functions. The gods are particularly synonymous with function in the Vedic religion (see Vedas) of India: Indra is the " which "neither had nor aspired to have a closed canon." With regard to second- and third-century inquisitors, Miles points out that the early church was "far too weak to suppress anything effectively." Judas, Ayn Rand, Peter Singer, et al. |
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