Religion: Jesus: A Myth
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"The legend concerned with one of these Apostles [Judas Iscariot] has caused great mischief. That it ever gained credence does not speak well for men's acumen. . . . There is no exaggeration in saying that this legend, which sets a devil up against the figure of light for the sake of an effective background, has caused hundreds of thousands of human beings to be tortured and murdered.
"Not only is Judas more superfluous than a fifth wheel on a cart, but he is an absurdity, explicable only as a manifestation of the hatred felt by Gentile Christianity against the Jewish Christians during the second century."
Other scholars, who had labored long to establish the historicity of Jesus Christ and the Twelve Apostles, read Georg Brandes's book avidly, scoffed at the old-age gesture of a literary critic.
*According to St. Matthew, the twelve Apostles were: Simon (called Peter), Andrew (his brother), James (son of Zebedee), John (his brother), Philip, Bartholomew, Thomas, Matthew (the publican), James (son of Alphens), Lebbeus (surnamed Thaddeus), Simon (the Canaanite), Judas Iscariot (the betrayer). St. Mark lists the same twelve, but Luke names Judas (brother of James) in place of Lebbeus (surnamed Thaddeus).
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