the buzz log

On April 6, National Geographic announced the discovery of the lost Gospel of Judas. The 1,700-year-old document, believed to be from an early Gnostic Christian sect, not only tells the disgraced disciple's side of the story, but describes Jesus actually asking Judas to sell him out.

Many Biblical authorities say there's nothing new here, but everybody loves a good comeback story. Searches on the "gospel of judas" are up an astonishing 22,820% this month. "Book of judas," "evangelio de judas," "judus iscariot," and "national geographic judas" are also soaring.

With two new books, a National Geographic cover story, and an exhibition in the works, more Judas buzz is surely on the way. In the meantime, here's a sampling of the top related searches that have ascended over the past week...

One final note: Things may be looking up for the Benedict Arnold of the Biblical set, but what about heavy metal bands counting on the disciple's bad behavior? We can't promise that the two are related, but we noticed that searches on "judas priest" dropped 30% last week.

Filed under: Religion, History, The Bible