Since there is nothing much to write about my life now, I shall treat dear readers to some serious rambling and drivel.

*For those who aren't into religion, you can ignore this or just read it for a bit of boredom, If you find the heaven, hell and Almightly God stuff hard to buy into, you can treat it as fiction.

Right now, it is 12.15am on the Saturday before Easter. If I remember correctly, it's called Holy Saturday. I'm a Roman Catholic who doesn't attend Church. Should I be damned? For those of you who know about the Catholic faith, you'll know that it is against abortion, suicide, divorce and homosexual behaviour among a host of other things. Personally, I am can't agree with a lot of the Church's teachings without lying. It's alright to not like homosexuals and not agree with people who abort pregnancies but who gave them the authority to tell these people they are eternally damned?

So, continuing in the same vein, we will look at the guy called Judas Iscariot. For those who know the bible stories, Judas was the disciple of Jesus who betrayed him to the guys who whacked him onto the cross to die. He received 30 pieces of silver for his trouble (a small amount). After that, he felt bad and hanged himself.

Throughout the centuries, Christains everywhere have condemned Iscariot and branded him The Wickedest Man Ever. He was a traitor and a suicide and therefore a straightforward case of damned with no hope of redemption. Ask any Christain about Judas and they will probably tell you that he was THE bad guy. (Search the bible and you won't find any information on whether or not Judas's soul was cast into hell)

However, I have a problem with the idea of Judas being damned. I think he was a necessary tool used by Almighty to fulfil the promise that Jesus would die for our sins. In all sorts of stories, from fairytales to Dan Brownian thrillers, you have bad guys and heroes. If you think about it, heroes cannot be heroes without bad guys. Without the Dragon, who would have remembered St. George? Without the Saruman and Sauron, who would have remembered Gandalf and gang?

I wonder if Judas really had a choice in the matter? Due the the matter of God being almighty, and Judas being his chosen "means" of setting off the whole chain of events leading to Jesus being whacked on the cross, Judas couldn't have possibly not betrayed Jesus.

Imagine this: You pick up a coin. Then, ask yourself why you picked up the coin. Probably because you felt like picking it up. Then ask why you felt like picking it up. Now, if you believe in the Almighty and His ineffable plan, you would know that you picked it up because you felt like picking it up because He wanted you to feel like picking it up. And now the million-dollar question: Would you have picked it up if Almighty hadn't made you want to? Apply the same logic (if you see any) to the case of the Judas guy who betrayed Jesus and ask if he would have done so if God hadn't planned for him to.

That Christ would die for the sins of people was planned way before either Christ or Judas was born. One was destined to be betrayed and the other to betray. Even if he hadn't wanted to, Judas was doomed to betray Christ. But then again, he definitely would have wanted to. (because of the Almighty *see above) In other words, no Judas equals no Christ on the cross equals no blood of the Son of God to wash away our sins. Jesus himself chose Judas as his disciple and he knew he would be betrayed.

Whew! and there you have it. My view on the issue of Judas the Traitor. Please realise, I am not criticizing God and Son. People say Judas was damned. Church guys say suicides, divorcees and gays go to the hot place. But Jesus said, "Love" and he loved everybody.

I hear people qouting bible phrases to "back up" their own opinions, phrases and paragraphs taken out of context. They used to damn "witches". Now, they damn abortion doctors. Every age needs it's bad guys. People to be loooked down upon and cast aside. How will you know what to think if the priest says gays belong to the devil and then reminds you that Jesus said to Love you neighbour and that according to the bible we should treat others in the way we wish others to treat us? This world is full of voices and each voice says a different thing. Where is the voice of God to show me right from wrong. I think I have found it and it is Conscience. You don't need for other people to tell you what to do or what to believe. You have the Voice in your own head. Little voice or big voice, it is there. If you were Jesus, would Judas still be your friend?

If you haven't been bored to death, you can visit
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/progs/listenagain.shtml
and listen to the programme "The Wickedest Man"

Below is an extract from a poem by Victorian poet, Robert Buchanan. Judas has died and his soul is wandering. He finds a banquet hall and Jesus (aka Bridegroom of the Church) is inside.

’Twas the Bridegroom stood at the open door,
     And beckon’d, smiling sweet;
’Twas the soul of Judas Iscariot
     Stole in, and fell at his feet.

‘The Holy Supper is spread within,
     And the many candles shine,
And I have waited long for thee
     Before I poured the wine!’

The supper wine is poured at last,
     The lights burn bright and fair,
Iscariot washes the Bridegroom’s feet,
     And dries them with his hair.

*The complete version of The Ballad of Judas Iscariot can be found at
http://mysite.wanadoo-members.co.uk/robertbuchanan/html/judas.html