Frida Ghitis: Religious text, political agenda

Frida Ghitis: Religious text, political agenda

What a fabulous coincidence. Or maybe not. Just in time for Easter, Passover and the movie version of "The Da Vinci Code," we learn of a fascinating discovery, an ancient text that could begin to accomplish what no image consultant would dare to attempt: transforming the biblical figure of Judas Iscariot from villain to hero. The text may or may not prove historical or religious "fact." It does, however, present a potent reminder that the powerful started using religion for political gain long, long before Evangelical Christians joined the Republican Party.
Not surprisingly, the so-called Gospel of Judas -- claiming that the much-maligned disciple of Jesus was following his master's instructions when he turned him in to authorities -- has sparked a flurry of criticism and denial.

The more interest the public shows in the ancient story in the crumbling papyrus, the more we will see the church and its minions declare the document is a forgery, an irrelevancy, or maliciously misleading. For a preview of what's to come, look at the shelves of books refuting "The Da Vinci Code," a work of fiction clearly deemed threatening by those who derive power from religious dogma.

The Judas story, as Jews sitting at their Passover celebrations know painfully well, played a central role in promoting a version of Christianity that spawned catastrophic anti-Semitism. The writers, and especially the editors of the Christian Bible, had an understandable interest in discrediting the Jews. And turning Judas into the archetype of the untrustworthy, despicable Jew played perfectly into that plan.

Christian attitudes toward Jews and Judaism have changed enormously in recent decades. But in the early days of Christianity, the mere existence of Jews who refused to accept Jesus as the messiah of the Bible stood as a challenge to the legitimacy of the new faith, especially because Jesus gave his message to the Jews, and his followers believed him to be the Messiah of the Jews.

The power and persuasiveness of the new faith depended on convincing the doubters that the people who insisted on calling themselves Jews were not only wrong, they were evil. And Judas became the character chosen to play that part when the story was told for mass consumption.

When the Romans executed Jesus, the Jews took the blame. Not just some Jews, all of them, for generations to come. That made sense. The perceived threat to the power of Christianity came not from the Jews of the first century, but from the survival of Judaism. The Romans crucified Jesus, but hating today's Italians for it would be ridiculous. Besides, it would serve no useful political purpose.

Instead, the story of Easter and the Passion plays it inspired became the spark that ignited massacres of Jews through the centuries all over Christian Europe. Even Adolf Hitler reveled in the 1934 performance of a Bavarian Passionsspiel, calling the play a "convincing portrayal of the menace of Jewry."

The orgy of mass murder directed by Hitler found willing followers among the millions who had grown up hearing that Jews were "Christ killers." After the European Holocaust, Christianity awoke to the destructive power of that calumny. Gradually, the church has revised its anti-Semitic dogma, and Christians and Jews have forged strong bonds.

With Christianity firmly established, the church itself feels little threat from the existence of a few million Jews. Anti-Semitism, of course, has not died. And the biblically inspired, Qur'an-fortified caricature now thrives in the Muslim world. Again today, political leaders are using religious texts to bolster their political agendas, and again those texts include anti-Semitic rants.

The discovery of this new portrayal of Judas, the loving and loyal disciple, as the experts tell us, echoes the views of the so-called Gnostics, early Christians who had a different view from that promulgated by the political leaders of the church. The editors of the New Testament decided which gospels, which versions of the story of Jesus, to include in their Holy Book. Dozens of original gospels are said to have been written, but only four were chosen to become the foundation of Christian dogma. They became the basis for political decisions over centuries to come.

With Easter, Passover -- and an election year -- upon us, it's a good time to remember that politics and religion have always created a potentially disastrous combination.