"Stanford embraces Judas' ambiguity as his most irresistibly appealing characteristic."—Booklist
"A straightforward biography that thankfully avoids preaching. Readers curious about Judas' broad effect on world history will welcome this book."—Kirkus
"Light–hearted in tone, anecdotal in style, Peter Stanford's narrative introduces the reader to profound themes. How does the human imagination depict evil, despair and repentance? He takes us through some of the darkest moments of human history, including the Holocaust, revealing our chronic addiction to creating scapegoats to carry the weight of our own failure and betrayal.. From a very early point in Christian history, Christians celebrated the "happy fault" of Adam, because it led to redemption. Stanford asks us to consider if this should also be said of Judas."— Karen Armstrong, author of The Case for God
"A cracking piece of writing that posits such a great idea – a pilgrimage to Judas." –– Frank Cottrell Boyce
"I've been reading Peter Stanford's JUDAS. It's great. He's a beautiful writer." –– Author Jon Ronson
"There is no better navigator through the space in which art, culture and spirituality meet than Peter Stanford. His biography of the Devil is a masterpiece. This is an easier book, written in a friendlier style, but the research is just as through.' 'Despite the layers of confusion between the present day and what happened – or not – 2,000 years ago, he finds meaning, and spins a good yarn. (There is also an A to Z of Judas–related bits and pieces, from asparagus to the Zodiac, which is fun).' 'Stanford is more than willing to admit that some or all of this – including the character of Judas himself – may be fiction, as he picks apart the gospels beautifully and uncovers what appears to be home truths.' 'This entertaining, enlightening biography serves the sympathetic old devil wonderfully well.' –– Cole Morton, The Independent on Sunday
"Peter Stanford's engrossing book shows that Judas is a man for all seasons, nearly all of them bad for him and those around him. Judas is a chameleon, though a chameleon in consistently dark colours, endlessly fertile as a symbolic figure, because he helps us to reflect on our own dark side. Stanford, a journalist and broadcaster, says a lot about the many faces and other attributes of Judas and does so very engagingly: his book manages to be fun as well as sometimes profound, and it is as much an enjoyable tour of Christian art and thought as an account of a 2,000–year–old traitor. –– Diarmaid MacCulloch, The Times
"The biggest question has always been whether Judas was an "out–and–out traitor or cog–in–the–wheel of a divine plan", as Stanford puts it. With Judas, as with other religious figures, you can and must believe just what you choose. One of the best moments in the book is when Stanford sees a sign outside the Basilica of the Agony in Jerusalem that reads, "Please: no explanations in the Church." –– Christopher Hart, The Sunday Times
"It's a fascinating subject." –– Clare Balding, BBC Radio 2
"This is scary and thought–provoking stuff. Curiously, thoughtfully and reassuringly English." –– James Runcie, The Independent
"Wide–ranging and engaging ... Stanford, a much–respected commentator on Catholic affairs, has unearthed some fascinating material and left his readers with more than enough material to prompt some echo of the question "Is it I?"" –– Rowan Williams, New Statesman
"Stanford's book is ultimately a cultural history of the forces which subsumed Judas, leading unstoppably to the version of him – so close to 'Jew' or 'Yehuda' – that lent weight to the idea that the Jews were the murderers of Christ... this book provides, among many insights, a timely account of the origins of anti–Semitism." –– Justin Cartwright, The Spectator
"Judas continues to play an important part in Christian history, the symbol of the bad guy or more specifically the traitor, and especially in the history of anti–Semitism. 'In a brilliant piece of writing, the whole enduring story is summed up in the Appendix, the tale of the author's visit to Laurence Whistler's engraved Judas window in Dorset, entitled "the Forgiveness Window".' –– Henry Wansbrough, TLS
"The tortuous journey of the arch–traitor through cultural history is something of a revelation' A "clever and nimble book" "Stanford's book is engaging without being decisive on Judas and his fate (no matter, the Church has the same problem). In his pilgrimage in search of Judas, some of the finest material in this work is in the form of travelogue: the various sites which have become associated with Judas in the Holy Land, few of which appear in standard tours of Bethlehem, Nazareth, Gethsemane and Calvary." 'No Christian, I think, can have avoided wrestling with the nature of Judas. Stanford's book makes this evident, while charting a dangerous history of co–opting the figure for some of humanity's most shameful episodes. When one thinks of the horrors perpetrated by seemingly decent men and women, the scapegoat Iscariot seems more deserving of pity than terror." —Scotland on Sunday
"Stanford is particularly good at explaining how interpretations evolved during Christianity's early years as the new religion sought to differentiate itself from other sects. Stanford avoids trying to write an all–encompassing study of treachery. He sticks to his subject... he does not balk at explaining theological concepts, yet his manner is always engaging. All in all, his quest for Judas provides a satisfying left–field approach to the entire history of Christianity." –– Andrew Lycett, The Sunday Telegraph
"But a new book from Peter Stanford asks Christians and non–believers alike to look anew at Judas. It chronicles the hatreds, often anti–Semitic in nature, that were cultivated around Judas and contrasts the subsequent mythology with the historical and Biblical record. When it was uncomfortable for Christians to think of their God going willingly, even meekly, to death, Judas made a convenient scapegoat. While Stanford finds much fault in Christendom, he settles on the cornerstone of the faith: Forgiveness. Stanford writes: 'In Matthew, straight after the Judas kiss, Jesus tells his betrayer: 'My friend, do what you are here for' (26:50). And in John's account of the Last Supper, once Jesus has identified Judas as the one who will betray him, he tells him: 'What you are going to do, do quickly'(13:28). Contrary to two millennia of remorseless official vilification and scapegoating, these two brief remarks surely indicate that Jesus knew all too well that Judas was playing his anointed role in God's plan. It was not a task to win him fans, or a halo, but equally is hardly sufficient to tar him ever after as 'the most hated name in human history'." —Fox News
"A delightful Odyssey which attempts to unravel mystery of the enigmatic Judas Iscariot The National, Scotland 'Peter Stanford...holds our attention with the skill of an experienced writer.' Eastern Daily Press Very thought–provoking and well–informed," –– Peter Costello, The Irish Catholic
"'magnificent...this book does several things at once: it's a study in biography, intellectual history and iconography; a personal pilgrimage to the places where the tragedy of Judas took place; and a meditation on his meaning for our time. It does all these things with a generosity of spirit that lends nobility to what could otherwise be a tale of unremitting woe." —Daniel Johnson in Standpoint
"fascinating from start to finish...a richly detailed portrait [that] neatly debunks the idea of Judas Iscariot as the most evil man who ever lived." Alexander Larman, The Observer
"...it is a delight to follow Stanford on his unique journey – a fascinating cultural and historical biography." —Nick Major in The National
"...a fascinating story of febrile myth–making over two millennia…The persistent idea that Jews are the cause of much that is toxic in this world is so absurd, so irrational that this book provides, among many insights, a timely account of the origins of anti–Semitism." —Justin Cartwright in The Spectator
"In this highly readable biography, Stanford traces the progress of Judas through Western literature and art and personally visits the most significant sites associated with him. What we end up with is an entertaining travelogue to accompany a comprehensive history." —Nigel Nelson in Tribune
"...a clever and nimble book – some of the finest material in this work is in the form of travelogue." —Stuart Kelly in Scotland on Sunday
"God needed Judas to betray Jesus in order to carry out his divine plan. The author unravels this knotty theological problem with aplomb, bringing Judas into the secular age." — Michael Conaghan: "7 Books You Should Own" in the Belfast Telegraph
"In a brilliant piece of writing, the whole enduring story [of Judas] is summed up in the tale of the author's visit to Laurence Whistler's engraved Judas window in Dorset, entitled the “Forgiveness Window"." — Dom Henry Wansbrough in the Times Literary Supplement
"Stanford, a much–respected commentator on Catholic affairs, has unearthed some fascinating material" —Rowan Williams in the New Statesman
"Stanford is no stranger to the darker corners of theology [which] may make Judas sound heavy–going. It isn't. He has a light touch and a quick eye for absurdity and drama. The book is stuffed with haunting detail." —Piers Plowright: Camden New Journal
"Highly recommended." —Church of England Newspaper
"Many have tried to chart Judas's cultural trajectory through the centuries. Few have approached the task with Stanford's skill and nuance." —Jonathan Wright: Catholic Herald
11/09/2015
In April 2006, scholars announced the discovery of the Gospel of Judas to great fanfare, though the fragmentary text, likely written almost 200 years after Judas Iscariot’s death, shed little light on the most vilified of Jesus’s followers. In this pedestrian study, Stanford (The Legend of Pope Joan) sheds scant new light on Judas, simply retracing older scholarship on the disciple in order to answer questions about Judas’s name’s association with betrayal and about whether or not he was an essential part of God’s scheme of enacting Jesus’s death and resurrection. Stanford moves through the canonical gospels of Mark and Matthew, uncovering the passages in which the writers establish Judas’s part in Jesus’s story. Stanford then describes medieval images of Judas that present him as Satan’s tool, further cementing his reputation as an opponent of Jesus and, later, the Church. Other books, including Reynolds Price’s portrait of Judas in A Serious Way of Wondering: The Ethics of Jesus Imagined, provide a more imaginative and complex view of the disciple. Stanford’s newest book, unfortunately, doesn’t rise above a superficial glance. (Jan.)
01/01/2016
Religious journalist and author Stanford (The Devil: A Biography) recounts the story of Judas Iscariot (d. 30), the disciple who famously betrayed Jesus, and made Jesus's death on the cross inevitable. Stanford engages the ancient paradox. While Judas is a hated figure, widely depicted as suffering the torments of the damned forever, his betrayal of Jesus was an unfortunate necessity, says the author, an instrument in Jesus's world-saving and self-sacrificing death. Stanford writes with fluency and intelligence; his text is enlivened by alphabetical pullouts featuring smaller cultural oddities and traditions surrounding Judas. VERDICT A well-written supplement to Suban Gubar's Judas: A Biography, Stanford's scholarly account is useful for his account of Judas in popular music, and his informative appendixes.
2015-10-04
A biography of one of the most reviled men in history, a perpetual scapegoat representing the deepest root of anti-Semitism and, in medieval times, usury. Daily Telegraph and Sunday Telegraph senior features writer Stanford (Catholicism: A Complete Introduction, 2015, etc.) sees Judas at the heart of the embattled early church. The Pauline believers thought Christianity was a new religion altogether, led by St. Paul's writings. Then there were those who felt this doctrine was a new part of the Jewish religion. The latter was reawakened with the 2006 National Geographic film revealing the Gospel of Judas. This gospel was written in Greek at the end of the second century long after the synoptic and more historically reliable Gospels of Matthew, Luke, Mark, and John. Judas' gospel was written about Jesus as seen by him in the last three days of his life, adding nothing to detail or defend Judas' life. While the author does not give many details of the gospel, Jesus comes across as more human than divine. He is short-tempered and generally disagreeable, and he mocks his inner circle and dismisses the Eucharist. In the late fourth century, Pauline orthodoxy really began to grow, and the beliefs and texts of the Gnostics and Judas were dismissed and destroyed. The author argues that the Gospels should be taken seriously, but not literally, accepting Judas as a true figure rather than a manufactured scapegoat. He sees the Judas of the four Gospels as too inconsistent, too human, and too unpredictable to be a mere device. There are still those who wonder whether Judas was doomed or damned. Was he truly a money-grabbing traitor, or was he part of the entire divine plan? A straightforward biography that thankfully avoids preaching. Readers curious about Judas' broad effect on world history will welcome this book.
