Judas gets an image makeover I've always thought that Judas got a bad rap over that whole betrayal of Christ episode. But now, after hundreds of years of bad press, it appears that the black sheep of the disciples is going to get a much-needed makeover, courtesy of the Vatican. The Times of London reports that Vatican theologians plan to clear Judas's name somewhat on "the ground that he was not deliberately evil, but was just 'fulfilling his part in God's plan'."
"Some Bible experts say Judas was 'a victim of a theological libel which helped to create anti Semitism' by forming an image of him as a 'sinister villain' prepared to betray for money," the Times reports.
Link via ChristianityToday's Weblog, where Ted Olsen rightly points out that Judas's makeover has been under way for some time now. "Judas is almost always a hero in most modern depictions, or at least he's a conflicted protagonist whose betrayal was all Jesus' idea." Though Olsen doesn't mention Jesus Christ Superstar, that Andrew Lloyd Weber musical has probably done more to portray Judas in a positive light than any number of scholarly decrees could ever do.