Judas Iscariot, the apostle whose name is often translated to mean “dagger man,” may not have been the hatchet man the Bible makes him out to be. A recently translated early Christian text proclaiming itself the gospel of Judas paints a different picture of the apostle infamous for betraying Jesus to his crucifixion.

The gospel of Judas is one of four religious texts translated from a fourth-century document discovered in Egypt during the 1970s and recently authenticated and translated by the National Geographic Society.

The Judas gospel elevates its patron as a chosen apostle who committed his most famous act at the request of Jesus himself to facilitate the prophecy of his death. The new gospel also claims that before his death Jesus revealed certain privileged teachings to Judas not shared with his other apostles.

The Rev. Everett Hemann, pastor at St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church, said the gospel’s claims are not new revelations, but the doctrine of an early Christian sect known as Gnosticism.

“Gnosticism holds that salvation is connected to having special knowledge,” Hemann said.

He said the church has long been aware of the Gnostics’ texts, which are mentioned in early Christian sources along with other subgroups. The discovery of a nearly complete Gnostic gospel offers a chance for a more in-depth look into alternate Christian philosophies.

Hector Avalos, associate professor of religious studies, said documents such as the gospel of Judas help shed light on the diversity and development of early Christianity.

“We are getting documents that are apparently authentic that show there were many stories about many events,” Avalos said. “We see that there were other and contradictory versions of any stories that you have heard.”

Other works challenging the traditional interpretation of biblical characters, such as Dan Brown’s “The Da Vinci Code,” have created significant controversy within the Christian community. Hemann said he believes the gospel of Judas will be seen more as an insight into the Gnostic tradition than a challenge to contemporary church doctrine.

“We know where it came from and we know that it was a set of beliefs that were very early on rejected [from] being mainstream Christian beliefs. I don’t see why it would be more of a challenge now than 2,000 years ago,” he said.

The gospel of Judas is the most recently translated of many non-canonical Christian texts to be discovered. A number of texts were found at Nag Hammadi, Egypt, in 1945 and a collection of early Christian writings, known as the Dead Sea Scrolls, were uncovered in 1947.

There is some disagreement as to whether Judas’ gospel is a contemporary of the four canonical Gospels of the New Testament. The document has been dated to the fourth century, but the period of the gospel’s original composition has been estimated at somewhere during the second century.

“In fact, there are no gospels that come from the first century,” Avalos said. “There are no biblical gospels until the second century.”

Peter Swanson, graduate student in mechanical engineering and member of The Salt Company campus Christian group, said although opinions vary on dating of the biblical accounts, he considers the relative dates of the gospels irrelevant.

“It doesn’t tell you much about the life of Jesus,” Swanson said. “I don’t think it a big deal at all.”

Although it presents little new material of interest to mainstream Christians, Swanson said provocative stories such as the ancient gospel of Judas still have an important role to play in modern religious thought.

“Things like this are good to create interest and discussion,” Swanson said. “If this says something different than in the Bible, . what are you going to believe? It kind of makes you sit down and do your homework.”