The many deaths of Judas Iscariot : a meditation on suicide / A.M.H. Saari.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Saari, A. M. H.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Judas Iscariot.

Suicide--Religious aspects--Christianity.

Suicide.

Physical Description:

x, 164 pages ; 23 cm

Place of Publication:

London ; New York : Routledge, 2006.

Summary:

In his thirty-third year, Aaron Saari's elder brother - a sufferer of distressing mental illness - ended his own life by jumping off a rusting steel bridge into the Licking River in Kentucky, an action Christian teaching asserts will condemn him to Hell. Such personal tragedy could have turned this biblical scholar into a confirmed atheist - instead it cemented his faith.

Judas Iscariot has for centuries embodied the doctrine of God's abhorrence of suicide and is a powerful symbol of the cultural taboo, originating from Christian doctrine, which still clings to voluntary death. Yet, A.M.H. Saari argues, this ancient condemnation of Judas' death is unfounded: Judas is instead a literary invention of the Markan community meant to undercut the authority of the twelve, entering the Christian story C.70 CE through the Gospel of Mark.

In this bold, captivating and controversial book, the author combines his own intensely moving personal accounts with incisive scriptural analysis to challenge the reader to reassess what they think they know about Judas Iscariot and suicide.

Written with passion and clarity and consistently relevant to today's moral issues, this book is as much an ideal introduction to Biblical Studies for the general reader as it is essential reading for students, scholars, and anyone with an interest in Biblical Studies, Ancient Scripture and Theology.

Contents:

Part I Life 1

1 The legacy of Augustine 15

2 The earliest levels of the written Christian tradition: Paul and Q 18

3 Mark: The beginning of the Judas myth 35

Part II Death 57

4 Whether 'tis nobler 59

5 The growth of a myth: Judas in Matthew 77

6 Luke-Acts: Judas as Satan 99

Part III Resurrection? 117

Excursus One: Judas Iscariot: what's in a name? 139

Excursus Two: Judas as an historical figure 144.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [161]-162) and index.

ISBN:

041539239X

0415392403

0203087488

0203987489

OCLC:

62172726

Publisher Number:

9780415392396 (hbk.)

9780415392402 (pbk.)

9780203987480 (ebk.)

Online:

Publisher description