Remember last year’s Gospel of Judas hype? No suprise: turns out things are not the way National Geographic presented them.

When the Gospel of Judas was released last spring, another book appeared, The Secrets of Judas, which sneered at the notion that the new gospel was revolutionary or that it revealed anything new about Jesus. Author James M. Robinson, a giant in the world of early Christian studies, also accused National Geographic of sensationalizing the gospel in order to make as large a profit as possible.

Scholars might have been too quick to portray Judas as a hero earlier this year, says a Nova Scotia professor who was part of the controversial project.

Given that the old Greek word behind the English term "gospel" means "good news," you have to wonder whether the much-touted and recently published Gospel of Judas really qualifies as either.

News of the "Gospel of Judas" coincides nicely with the never- ending juggernaut of The Da Vinci Code, the novel and soon-to-be- released motion picture. Both bring into the public forum a long- dead group of pseudo-Christian cults called the Gnostics. Who were these "alternate" Christians, and what do they have to say to the modern world? Is the Christianity practiced today what Christ really intended? And is there something we're not being told?

The woman at the centre of the Judas Gospel controversy was once arrested in Cyprus at the request of Italian police over suspected illegal dealing in antiquities, it emerged yesterday.

JACKSON, Tenn. (BP)--The newly published “Gospel of Judas” contains teaching that is completely foreign to the New Testament, according to the assessment of several Union University professors.

Our correspondent takes issue with recent attempts to portray Judas in a sympathetic light

Early manuscript a hot topic in area's churches for Holy Week

(AP) - The tale of how the Gospel of Judas was rediscovered is worthy of a hard-boiled detective novel, but there's an even more tantalizing religious mystery - whether the newly released document tells us anything authentic about either Jesus or Judas.

The National Geographic Society released the manuscript of what is called "The Gospel of Judas" yesterday. By National Geographic's own account, a team first assembled by the Maecenas Foundation has been working on the text since 2001. As a result of press releases tied to publication of the text, widespread coverage has repeated the claim that this is an authentic and unique representation of the historical relationship between Jesus and Judas, and that Jesus encouraged Judas to betray him.

In 1959, when the Gospel of Thomas was first published in English, many Christians were shocked to learn that any gospels existed other than Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.

An early Christian manuscript, including the only known text of what is known as the Gospel of Judas, has surfaced after 1,700 years. The text gives new insights into the relationship of Jesus and the disciple who betrayed him, scholars reported today. In this version, Jesus asked Judas, as a close friend, to sell him out to the authorities, telling Judas he will "exceed" the other disciples by doing so.

Discovery of 'Gospel of Judas' Raises Questions

(ANSA) - Rome, April 3 - A fourth-century papyrus manuscript containing the long-lost 'Gospel of Judas' will be presented in Washington on Thursday .