Judas Iscariot (, ''Yehuda'', ) was, according to the New Testament, one of the twelve disciples of Jesus. He is best known for his betrayal of Jesus to the hands of the chief priests for 30 pieces of silver.

Etymology

In the Greek New Testament, Judas is called Ιούδας Ισκάριωθ (Ioúdas Iskáriōth) and Ισκαριώτης (). "Judas" (spelled "Ioudas" in ancient Greek and "Iudas" in Latin, pronounced ''yudas'' in both) is the Greek form of the common name Judah (יהודה, Y^ehûdâh, Hebrew for "God is praised"). The Greek spelling underlies other names in the New Testament that are traditionally rendered differently in English: Judah and Jude.

The significance of "Iscariot" is uncertain. There are several major theories on etymology: One popular explanation derives ''Iscariot'' from Hebrew איש־קריות, ''Κ-Qrîyôth'', or "man of Kerioth". The Gospel of John refers to Judas as "son of Simon Iscariot", implying it was not Judas, but his father, who came from there. Some speculate that ''Kerioth'' refers to a region in Judea, but it is also the name of two known Judean towns. A second theory is that "Iscariot" identifies Judas as a member of the ''sicarii''. These were a cadre of assassins among Jewish rebels intent on driving the Romans out of Judea. However, some historians maintain the ''sicarii'' arose in the 40s or 50s of the 1st century, in which case Judas could not have been a member. A third possibility advanced by Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg is that Iscariot means "the liar" or "the false one," perhaps from the Hebrew File:HebrewIscariot-1.jpg‎. Fourth, some have proposed that the word derives from an Aramaic word meaning "red color," from the root File:HebrewIscariot-2.jpg. Fifth, the word derives from one of the Aramaic roots File:HebrewIscariot-3.jpg or File:HebrewIscariot-4.jpg. This would mean "to deliver," based on the LXX rendering of Isaiah 19:4a--a theory advanced by J. Alfred Morin. Finally, the epithet could be associated with the manner of Judas' death, i.e., hanging. This would mean Iscariot derives from a kind of Greek-Aramaic hybrid: File:HebrewIscariot-5.jpg, ''Iskarioutha'', "chokiness" or "constriction." This might indicate that the epithet be applied posthumously by the remaining disciples, but Joan E. Taylor has argued that it was a descriptive name given to Judas by Jesus, since other disciples such as Simon Peter/Cephas (''Kephas'' = "rock") were also given such names.

Biblical narrative

Judas is mentioned in the synoptic gospels, the Gospel of John and at the beginning of Acts of the Apostles.

Mark states that the chief priests were looking for a sly way to arrest Jesus. They decided not to do so during the feast since they were afraid that people would riot; instead, they chose the night before the feast to arrest him. In the Gospel of Luke, Satan enters Judas at this time.

According to the account in the Gospel of John, Judas carried the disciples' money bag. He betrayed Jesus for a bribe of "thirty pieces of silver" by identifying him with a kiss — "the kiss of Judas" — to arresting soldiers of the High Priest Caiaphas, who then turned Jesus over to Pontius Pilate's soldiers.

Death

There are several descriptions of the death of Judas, two of which are included in the modern Biblical canon: Matthew 27:3-10 says that Judas returned the money to the priests and committed suicide by hanging himself. They used it to buy the potter's field. The Gospel account presents this as a fulfillment of prophecy. The ''Acts of the Apostles'' says that Judas used the money to buy a field, but fell headfirst, and ''burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out''. This field is called Akeldama or ''Field of Blood''. The non-canonical ''Gospel of Judas'' says Judas had a vision of the disciples stoning and persecuting him. Another account was preserved by the early Christian leader, Papias: "Judas walked about in this world a sad example of impiety; for his body having swollen to such an extent that he could not pass where a chariot could pass easily, he was crushed by the chariot, so that his bowels gushed out."

The existence of conflicting accounts of the death of Judas caused problems for scholars who saw them as threatening the reliability of Scripture. This problem was one of the points causing C. S. Lewis, for example, to reject the view "that every statement in Scripture must be historical truth". Various attempts at harmonization have been suggested, such as that of Augustine that Judas hanged himself in the field and the fall burst his body open, or that the accounts of Acts and Matthew refer to two different transactions.

Modern scholars tend to reject these approaches stating that the Matthew account is a midrashic exposition that allows the author to present the event as a fulfillment of prophetic passages from the Old Testament. They argue that the author adds imaginative details such as the thirty pieces of silver, and the fact that Judas hangs himself, to an earlier tradition about Judas's death.

Matthew's reference to the death as fulfilment of a prophecy "spoken through Jeremiah the prophet" caused controversy, since it paraphrases a story from the Book of Zechariah which refers to the return of a payment of thirty pieces of silver. Some writers, such as Augustine, Jerome, and John Calvin concluded that this was an obvious error. Some modern writers suggest that the Gospel writer may have had a passage from Jeremiah in mind, such as chapters 18 and 19 , which refers to a potter's jar and a burial place, and chapter 32 which refers to a burial place and an earthenware jar.

Theology

Betrayal of Jesus

There are several explanations as to why Judas betrayed Jesus. A prevalent explanation is that Judas betrayed Jesus for 30 pieces of silver (). One of Judas's main weaknesses seemed to be money (). A possibility is that Judas expected Jesus to overthrow Roman rule of Israel. In this view, Judas is a disillusioned disciple betraying Jesus not so much because he loved money, but because he loved his country and thought Jesus had failed it. According to and , Satan entered into him and called him to do it.

The Gospels suggest that Jesus foresaw (, ) and allowed Judas's betrayal (). An explanation is that Jesus allowed the betrayal because it would allow God's plan to be fulfilled. In April 2006, a Coptic papyrus manuscript titled the Gospel of Judas from 200 AD was translated, suggesting that Jesus told Judas to betray him, although some scholars question the translation.

Origen knew of a tradition according to which the greater circle of disciples betrayed Jesus, but does not attribute this to Judas in particular, and Origen did not deem Judas to be thoroughly corrupt (Matt., tract. xxxv).

Judas is the subject of philosophical writings, including ''The Problem of Natural Evil'' by Bertrand Russell and "Three Versions of Judas", a short story by Jorge Luis Borges. They allege various problematic ideological contradictions with the discrepancy between Judas's actions and his eternal punishment. John S. Feinberg argues that if Jesus foresees Judas's betrayal, then the betrayal is not an act of free will, and therefore should not be punishable. Conversely, it is argued that just because the betrayal was foretold, it does not prevent Judas from exercising his own free will in this matter. Other scholars argue that Judas acted in obedience to God's will. The gospels suggest that Judas is apparently bound up with the fulfillment of God's purposes (, , , , , , ), yet ''woe is upon him'', and he would ''have been better unborn'' (). The difficulty inherent in the saying is its paradoxicality - if Judas had not been born, the Son of Man will apparently no longer go "''as it is written of him''". The consequence of this apologetic approach is that Judas's actions come to be seen as necessary and unavoidable, yet leading to condemnation.

Erasmus believed that Judas was free to change his intention, but Martin Luther argued in rebuttal that Judas's will was immutable. John Calvin states that Judas was predestined to damnation, but writes on the question of Judas's guilt: "''surely in Judas' betrayal, it will be no more right, because God himself willed that his son be delivered up and delivered him up to death, to ascribe the guilt of the crime to God than to transfer the credit for redemption to Judas.''"

It is speculated that Judas's damnation, which seems possible from the Gospels' text, may not stem from his betrayal of Christ, but from the despair which caused him to subsequently commit suicide. This position is not without its problems since Judas was already damned by Jesus even before he committed suicide (see ), but it does avoid the paradox of Judas's predestined act setting in motion both the salvation of all mankind and his own damnation. The damnation of Judas is not a universal conclusion, and some have argued that there is no indication that Judas was condemned with eternal punishment. Adam Clarke writes: "''he [Judas] committed a heinous act of sin...but he repented () and did what he could to undo his wicked act: he had committed the sin unto death, i.e. a sin that involves the death of the body; but who can say, (if mercy was offered to Christ's murderers? ()...) that the same mercy could not be extended to wretched Judas?...''"

Modern interpretations

Most Christians still consider Judas a traitor. Indeed the term ''Judas'' has entered many languages as a synonym for ''betrayer''.

Some scholars have embraced the alternative notion that Judas was merely the negotiator in a prearranged prisoner exchange (following the money-changer riot in the Temple) that gave Jesus to the Roman authorities by mutual agreement, and that Judas's later portrayal as "traitor" was a historical distortion.

In his book ''The Passover Plot'' the British theologian Hugh J. Schonfield argues that the crucifixion of Christ was a conscious re-enactment of Biblical prophecy and Judas acted with Jesus' full knowledge and consent in "betraying" his master to the authorities.

Theologian Aaron Saari contends in his work ''The Many Deaths of Judas Iscariot'' that Judas Iscariot was the literary invention of the Markan community. As Judas does not appear in the Epistles of Paul, nor in the Q Gospel, Saari argues that the language indicates a split between Pauline Christians, who saw no reason for the establishment of an organized Church, and the followers of Peter. Saari contends that the denigration of Judas in Matthew and Luke-Acts has a direct correlation to the elevation of Peter.

Further evidence of the absence of the Judas story in the earliest Christian documents on the basis of and . Here Jesus tells his disciples that they will “sit on the twelve thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.” No exception is made for Judas even though Jesus was aware of his impending act of betrayal. The answer may lie in the fact that the source of these verses could be the hypothetical Q document (QS 62). Q is thought to predate the gospels and would be one of the earliest Christian documents. Given that possibility, the betrayal story could have been invented by the writer of Mark. The book ''The Sins of the Scripture'', by John Shelby Spong, investigates the possibility that early Christians compiled the Judas story from three Old Testament Jewish betrayal stories. He writes, "...the act of betrayal by a member of the twelve disciples is not found in the earliest Christian writings. Judas is first placed into the Christian story by the Gospel of Mark (3:19), who wrote in the early years of the eighth decade of the Common Era." He points out that some of the Gospels, after the Crucifixion, refer to the number of Disciples as "Twelve", as if Judas were still among them. He compares the three conflicting descriptions of Judas's death - hanging, leaping into a pit, and disemboweling, with three Old Testament betrayals followed by similar suicides.

Spong's conclusion is that early Bible authors, after the First Jewish-Roman War, sought to distance themselves from Rome's enemies. They augmented the Gospels with a story of a disciple, personified in Judas as the Jewish state, who either betrayed or handed-over Jesus to his Roman crucifiers. Spong identifies this augmentation with the origin of modern Anti-Semitism.

Jewish scholar Hyam Maccoby, espousing a purely mythological view of Jesus, suggests that in the New Testament, the name "Judas" was constructed as an attack on the Judaeans or on the Judaean religious establishment held responsible for executing Christ. The English word "Jew" is derived from the Latin ''Iudaeus'', which, like the Greek Ιουδαίος (''Ioudaios''), could also mean "Judaean".

Role in apocrypha

Judas has been a figure of great interest to esoteric groups, such as many Gnostic sects. Irenaeus records the beliefs of one Gnostic sect, the Cainites, who believed that Judas was an instrument of the Sophia, Divine Wisdom, thus earning the hatred of the Demiurge. In the Hebrew Bible, the book of Zechariah, the one who casts thirty pieces of silver, as Judas does in the Gospels, is a servant of God. His betrayal of Jesus thus was a victory over the materialist world. The Cainites later split into two groups, disagreeing over the ultimate significance of Jesus in their cosmology.

Gospel of Judas

During the 1970s, a Coptic papyrus codex (book) was discovered near Beni Masah, Egypt which appeared to be a 3rd- or 4th-century-AD copy of a 2nd-century original, describing the story of Jesus's death from the viewpoint of Judas. At its conclusion, the text identifies itself as "the Gospel of Judas" (''Euangelion Ioudas'').

The discovery was given dramatic international exposure in April 2006 when the US ''National Geographic'' magazine (for its May edition) published a feature article entitled ''The Gospel of Judas'' with images of the fragile codex and analytical commentary by relevant experts and interested observers (but not a comprehensive translation). The article's introduction stated: "An ancient text lost for 1,700 years says Christ's betrayer was his truest disciple". The article points to some evidence that the original document was extant in the 2nd century: "Around A.D. 180, Irenaeus, Bishop of Lyon in what was then Roman Gaul, wrote a massive treatise called ''Against Heresies'' [in which he attacked] a 'fictitious history,' which 'they style the Gospel of Judas.'"

Before the magazine's edition was circulated, other news media gave exposure to the story, abridging and selectively reporting it.

In December 2007, a ''New York Times'' op-ed article by April DeConick asserted that the ''National Geographic'''s translation is badly flawed: For example, in one instance the ''National Geographic'' transcription refers to Judas as a "daimon", which the society’s experts have translated as "spirit". However, the universally accepted word for "spirit" is "pneuma" — in Gnostic literature "daimon" is always taken to mean "demon". The National Geographic Society responded that "Virtually all issues April D. DeConick raises about translation choices are addressed in footnotes in both the popular and critical editions". In a later review of the issues and relevant publications, critic Joan Acocella questioned whether ulterior intentions had not begun to supersede historical analysis, e.g., whether publication of ''The Gospel of Judas'' could be an attempt to roll back ancient anti-semitic imputations. She concluded that the ongoing clash between scriptural fundamentalism and attempts at revision were childish because of the unreliability of the sources. Therefore, she argued, "People interpret, and cheat. The answer is not to fix the Bible but to fix ourselves." Other scholars such as Louis Painchaud (Laval University, Quebec City) and André Gagné (Concordia University, Montreal) have also questioned the initial translation and interpretation of the ''Gospel of Judas'' by the National Geographic team of experts.

Gospel of Barnabas

According to medieval copies (the earliest copies from the 15th century) of the ''Gospel of Barnabas'' it was Judas, not Jesus, who was crucified on the cross. This work states that Judas's appearance was transformed to that of Jesus', when the former, out of betrayal, led the Roman soldiers to arrest Jesus who by then was ascended to the heavens. This transformation of appearance was so identical that the masses, followers of Christ, and even the Mother of Jesus, Mary, initially thought that the one arrested and crucified was Jesus himself. The gospel then mentions that after three days since burial, Judas's body was stolen from his grave, and then the rumors spread of Jesus being risen from the dead. When Jesus was informed in the third heaven about what happened, he prayed to God to be sent back to the earth, and descended and gathered his mother, disciples, and followers, and told them the truth of what happened. He then ascended back to the heavens, and will come back at the end of times as a just king.

Representations and symbolism

The term ''Judas'' has entered many languages as a synonym for ''betrayer'', and Judas has become the archetype of the traitor in Western art and literature. Judas is given some role in virtually all literature telling the Passion story, and appears in a number of modern novels and movies.

In the Eastern Orthodox hymns of Holy Wednesday (the Wednesday before Pascha), Judas is contrasted with the woman who anointed Jesus with expensive perfume and washed his feet with her tears. According to the Gospel of John, Judas protested at this apparent extravagance, suggesting that the money spent on it should have been given to the poor. After this, Judas went to the chief priests and offered to betray Jesus for money. The hymns of Holy Wednesday contrast these two figures, encouraging believers to avoid the example of the fallen disciple and instead to imitate Mary's example of repentance. Also, Wednesday is observed as a day of fasting from meat, dairy products, and olive oil throughout the year in memory of the betrayal of Judas. The prayers of preparation for receiving the Eucharist also make mention of Judas's betrayal: "I will not reveal your mysteries to your enemies, neither like Judas will I betray you with a kiss, but like the thief on the cross I will confess you."

Judas Iscariot is often represented with red hair in Spanish culture and by William Shakespeare. The practice is comparable to the Renaissance portrayal of Jews with red hair, which was then regarded as a negative trait and which may have been used to correlate Judas Iscariot with contemporary Jews.

Art and literature

Judas has become the archetype of the betrayer in Western culture, with some role in virtually all literature telling the Passion story.

In Dante's ''Inferno'', he is condemned to the lowest circle of Hell, the Ninth Circle for Traitors, also known as Cocytus, where he is one of three sinners deemed evil enough that they are doomed to be chewed for eternity in the mouths of the triple-headed Satan (The others are Brutus and Cassius, who conspired against and assassinated Julius Caesar). He, however, is in the middle mouth, and Satan is also tearing at his back.

Judas is the subject of one of the oldest surviving English ballads, dating from the 13th century, Judas, in which the blame for the betrayal of Christ is placed on his sister.

In art, one of the most famous and most intriguing depictions of Judas Iscariot and his kiss of betrayal of Jesus is The Taking of Christ by Italian Baroque artist, Caravaggio, done in 1602 and now in the National Gallery of Ireland in Dublin.

Edward Elgar's oratorio, ''The Apostles'', depicts Judas as wanting to force Jesus to declare his divinity and establish the kingdom on earth. Eventually he succumbs to the sin of despair.

In Mikhail Bulgakov's novel ''The Master and Margarita'', Judas is paid by the high priest of Judaea to testify against Jesus, who had been inciting trouble among the people of Jerusalem. After authorizing the crucifixion, Pilate suffers an agony of regret and turns his anger on Judas, ordering him assassinated. The story-within-a-story appears as a counter-revolutionary novel in the context of Moscow in the 1920s-1930s.

Michael Moorcock's novel ''Behold the Man'' offers an alternative, sympathetic portrayal of Judas. In the book, Karl Glogauer, the time traveler from the 20th Century who takes on the role of Christ, asks a reluctant Judas to betray him in order to fulfil the biblical account of the crucifixion.

In C. K. Stead's novel ''My Name Was Judas,'' Judas, who was then known as Idas of Sidon, recounts the story of Jesus and recalled by him some forty years later. Judas recalls his childhood friendship with Jesus, their schooldays, their families, their journeys with the disciples and their dealings with the powers of Rome and the Temple.

''Tres versiones de Judas'' (English title: '"Three Versions of Judas"') is a short story by Argentine writer and poet Jorge Luis Borges. It was included in Borges' anthology, ''Ficciones'', published in 1944. It is written in form of a scholarly article and appears on the surface to be a well researched critical analysis.

In Martin Scorsese's film ''The Last Temptation of Christ,'' based on the novel by Nikos Kazantzakis, Judas Iscariot's only motivation in betraying Jesus to the Romans was to help him, as Jesus' closest friend, through doing what no other disciple could bring himself to do. It shows Judas obeying Jesus' covert request to help him fulfill his destiny to die on the cross, making Judas the catalyst for the event later interpreted as bringing about humanity's salvation. This view of Judas Iscariot is reflected in the recently discovered ''Gospel of Judas''.

In the film '' King of Kings'', Judas's betrayal of Jesus is similar to ''The Last Temptation'', but is at least slightly different. In this version, Judas decides to betray Jesus in order to use him as a weapon against the Romans, given his supernatural powers. However, he hangs himself once he realizes that his plan cannot be fulfilled, as Jesus was already expecting his own death on the cross.

In Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical ''Jesus Christ Superstar'', Judas is portrayed as a tragic hero who believed that Jesus was not the son of God, but rather just a man. Since he feared that if Jesus' following grew too large then the Romans would attack and kill the Jews, he betrayed Jesus to Caiaphas and Annas to prevent a bloodbath.

In ''The Last Days of Judas Iscariot'', a critically acclaimed play by Stephen Adly Guirgis, Judas is given a trial in Purgatory.

The Leon Rosselson song "Stand Up for Judas" presents Judas in a positive light, as a revolutionary who wanted justice in this world, not the next. Jesus, on the other hand, is presented as a "conjurer", working miracles and promising happiness in the next world, thus encouraging people to accept their lot in this world. The chorus of the song is "So stand up, stand up for Judas and the cause that Judas served/It was Jesus who betrayed the poor with his word."

In ''Trial of Christ in Seven Stages'' (1909) by John Brayshaw Kaye, the author did not accept the idea that Judas intended to betray Christ, and the poem is a defence of Judas, in which he adds his own vision to the biblical account of the story of the trial before the Sanhedrim and Caiaphas.

In Dracula 2000, it is suggested that the legendary vampire is actually Judas Iscariot, who, after his betrayal of Christ, hung himself to embrace death but was cursed for his actions. This plot also explains some of the vampiric concepts and uses of: crosses (from the crucifixion of Christ), silver (from the pieces of silver that he was paid with for his betrayal), and sunlight (as Judas hanged himself during the day).

In the short story The Way of Cross and Dragon by George R.R. Martin, a cult in the distant future has risen up and made a saint of Judas Iscariot, including the belief that Judas was a tamer of dragons and rule of a kingdom. The story's protagonist, a Knight Inquisitor of a future Church, is sent to overthrow the cult and dispel the heresy.

The American recording artist Lady Gaga explained that her song ''Judas'' (2011) is a metaphor and an analogy about forgiveness and betrayal and things that haunt you in your life. The song was taken from her second studio album ''Born This Way'' (2011). The song was released worldwide on April 15, 2011.

See also

Gospel of Judas

References

External links

The Prophecy of Judas in Psalm 41 Video

Judas Iscariot: Catholic Encyclopedia article published 1910

Jewish Encyclopedia: Judas Iscariot

"Death and Retribution: Medieval Visions of the End of Judas the Traitor" - 1997 lecture by Dr Otfried Lieberknecht

Gospel Truth

Category:Ancient people who committed suicide Category:Christianity and antisemitism Category:Twelve Apostles Category:Religious people who committed suicide Category:1st-century deaths Category:Suicides by hanging Category:Biblical apostles

ar:يهوذا الإسخريوطي an:Chudas Escariot arc:ܝܗܘܕܐ ܣܟܪܝܘܛܐ bo:ཡུ་དཱ་དབྱི་སི་ཀར། br:Judaz Iskariot bg:Юда Искариотски ca:Judes Iscariot cs:Jidáš Iškariotský da:Judas Iskariot de:Judas Ischariot et:Juudas Iskariot el:Ιούδας Ισκαριώτης es:Judas Iscariote eo:Judaso Iskarioto eu:Juda Iskariote fa:یهودا اسخریوطی fr:Judas Iscariote gl:Xudas Iscariote ko:이스가리옷 유다 hy:Հուդա Իսկարիովտացի hi:जूडस इस्कैरियट hr:Juda Iškariotski ilo:Judas Iscariote id:Yudas Iskariot it:Giuda Iscariota he:יהודה איש קריות jv:Yudas Iskariot ka:იუდა ისკარიოტელი sw:Yuda Iskarioti la:Iudas Iscariot lt:Judas Iskariotas hu:Iskarióti Júdás ml:യൂദാസ് സ്കറിയോത്ത ms:Judas Iscariot nl:Judas Iskariot ja:イスカリオテのユダ no:Judas Iskariot nn:Judas Iskariot oc:Judàs Escariòt pl:Judasz Iskariota pt:Judas Iscariotes ro:Iuda Iscarioteanul ru:Иуда Искариот simple:Judas Iscariot sk:Judáš Iškariotský sl:Juda Iškarijot sr:Јуда Искариотски sh:Juda Iskariotski fi:Juudas Iskariot sv:Judas Iskariot tl:Hudas Iskariote te:జుడాస్ ఇస్కారియట్ th:ยูดาส อิสคาริโอท tr:Yehuda (havari) uk:Юда Іскаріот vi:Giuđa Ítcariốt wa:Djuda Iscariote zh:加略人猶大

The Lamb of God and the Beast from the Abyss () is a 1996 book of collected papers from the second theological-philosophical symposium held during the Days of Saints Cyril and Methodius, containing contributions of twenty scholars and clerics, particularly from Montenegro, including Dr Radovan Karadžić. It "seeks primarily to justify the war in Bosnia and provide for a general ‘philosophical’ opposition to the anti-war literature published in Yugoslavia". It was edited by Rados M. Mladenovic & Hierodeacon Jovan and published by Svetigora, the publishing house of the Metropolitanate of Montenegro and the Littoral.

Background

The second theological-philosophical symposium of the Serbian Orthodox Church was organized in 1996 by Amfilohije Radović Metropolitan of the Metropolitanate of Montenegro and the Littoral and Archbishop of Cetinje shortly after end of the wars in Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. According to the publisher, "the writers of this book are sure that tragic defeat during these two wars is in reality a great victory which can have cosmic proportions" .

Writers

The book is a collection of 15 essays by, among others: Radovan Karadžić - leader of the Bosnian Serbs and indicted for war crimes by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY)., Amfilohije Radović - a senior member of the Serbian Orthodox Church and a former supporter of Karadžić Milovan Milutinović - former chief spokesman for the Bosnian Serb army

Milutin Mićović

Dr. Jovan Babić

Content

The first section, titled 'And Holy and War' has two essays. In the first, Amfilohije Radović writes about how it is possible that Holy Peter who "was rightfully compared with Moses and Joshua" fought in three wars during his rule. The second part of the first section discusses the work of Velja Stanišić who created a poster for the "Bicentennial Anniversary of the Victory won by St Peter of Cetinje".

The first part of the second section, "War as experience" was written by Radovan Karadžić. In it, he asks "Was this a true War". In his essay, Karadžić argues that the Bosnian Serbs have been a hundred times victims whose enemies have killed all that is Serbian. Milovan Milutinović writes in his essay about war without a united program of Serbs west and east of the river Drina. In his words, the creation of Republika Srpska and Krajina by Serbian patriotic forces west of the Drina was necessary due to the extremist moves by Slovenian and Croatian secessionists; the Muslim-Croat coalition which wanted to become masters of the Serbs; strong anti-Serbian propaganda in the global media and others. He is satisfied with the organization of Serbian defensive forces west of the Drina, but not in the east. Milutinović ends his essay with the 1996 words of ICTY indictee Ratko Mladić: "We have been without a united Serbian national program, aim or strategy". Subsequently, Tihomir Burzanović discusses Ustaše crimes in 1942 and modern crimes against the Serbs of Bosnia. Regarding events during the Yugoslav Wars, he writes about the alleged crimes of Naser Orić, commander of Bosnian Muslim forces in Srebrenica from 1992, while the city was under siege from Bosnian Serb forces, whose ICTY conviction was overturned on appeal and similar crimes of Croatian and Bosniak forces. In his essay, the writer does not speak about Croats or Bosniaks, but about Ustaše and muslims. The final essay of this section, by Mladen Šukalo, is about the alleged 'double standards' used by the international media.

The third section is called War as a lie and discusses the "lies and deception the protectors of the secessionist republics which have succeeded in isolating the Serbian people from the rest of the world". The first essay, written by Serbian Orthodox priest Atanasije Jevtić is speaking about is speaking how Serbs have fought always only defensive wars and that Croatian Dalmacija and Dubrovnik are in reality Bosnia and Herzegovina coasts and after that he is attacking dictator and traitor Slobodan Milošević which has given Krajina to Croatia and parts of Republika Srpska to Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Last of his comments is about Western powers which have destroyed Yugoslavia in similar way like UK which has earlier destroyed Cyprus. In second essay of this section Mirko Zurovac of Belgrade university is speaking how western powers have destroyed Yugoslavia and then together with UNPROFOR helped Croatian and Muslim (Bosniaks) military forces. Author of this text is writing short history of events so that reader can better understand that Serbs are victims of genocidal war supported by NATO. 3rd essay is speaking about Microsoft Encarta 1996 which is in writer words biased against Serbs. Last essay in this section is speaking why this war is worst of all wars. In writer thinking this is not because number of victims, but because of number of lies which are created in world lies factory (Hollywood) to be used against Orthodox world. Roots of this hate in author words it is possible to find in Roling Stones song "Sympathy for the Devil"

4th section called Ethics, right and war is speaking about courts for war crimes. In first essay Dr. Jovan Babić from Philosophical faculty in Belgrade is speaking about moral legality of courts (ICTY ?) which will give penalty for defenders of status quo ante (Serbs) and rewards for seccesionists (Bosnia and Hercegovina, Croatia) and for other examples he is using US war crimes in Vietnam and soldiers like James Duffy which will never see court for war crimes. Second essay is speaking about morale which is betrayed, abandoned during war. In last essay of this section Mr. Petar Bojanić is using like example correspondence between Norberto Bobbio and Carl Schmitt for statement that price for defeat is never small.

5th section called Soul and War it is written by Bosko V. Popovic and Dr. Jovan Mirić from Philosophical faculty in Belgrade. First essay called Psychological interpretation of War is speaking about psychology of war and human nature. In essay Popovic is speaking about James's study "Moral Equivalents of War", Pitirim Sorokin , Zontanon Colon and other scholars. On other side Mirić in his essay called The Wars in the Kingdom oon Earth psychological interpretation of the answer given to the question of causes of war and for that he is using old Serbian folkloric poetry

6th section called People and War is having 3 essays. First called Serbs and War is speaking about stereotype that Serbs are war loving nation and how they have been trapped by Yugoslav idea in 1918 and 1945, but they have refused te be trapped in 1991. Second called Nationalism and War three types of concept concerning the determination of the national: the Romanic, Germanic and Slavic. Last essay in this section called Eastern Ortodoxy and War is speaking present historical and spiritual-political situation of Orthodoxy. Matej Arsenijevic is saying that it is not accident that first intervention of NATO has been against Ortodox Serbs. In his words Serbs question is in center of battle for Euro-Asian history and in center of Geopolitical games.

References

External links

Jagnje Božije i Zvijer iz bezdana on Rastko.org

English language summary on Rastko.org

Category:Serbian books Category:Serbian Orthodox Church Category:1996 books

sr:Jagnje Božije i Zvijer iz bezdana sh:Jagnje Božije i Zvijer iz bezdana

Coordinates	34°03′″N118°15′″N
name	Vic Chesnutt
background	solo_singer
birth name	James Victor Chesnutt
birth date	November 12, 1964
birth place	Jacksonville, Florida, USA
death date	December 25, 2009
death place	Athens, Georgia, USA
origin	Athens, Georgia
instrument	VocalAcoustic guitar
genre	Folk rock, Alt-Country
occupation	Singer-songwriter
years active	1985–2009
label	Constellation, Texas Hotel, Capitol, PolyGram, Backburner, New West, Orange Twin
associated acts	brute.Elf PowerSilver Mt. ZionSparklehorseDanger MouseThe Undertow Orchestra
website	vicchesnutt.com }}

James Victor "Vic" Chesnutt (November 12, 1964 – December 25, 2009) was an American singer-songwriter from Athens, Georgia. His first album, ''Little'', was released in 1990, but his breakthrough to commercial success didn't come until 1996 with the release of ''Sweet Relief II: Gravity of the Situation'', a tribute album of mainstream artists covering his songs.

Chesnutt released seventeen albums during his career, including two produced by Michael Stipe, and a 1996 release on Capitol Records. His musical style has been described by Bryan Carroll of allmusic.com as a "skewed, refracted version of Americana that is haunting, funny, poignant, and occasionally mystical, usually all at once".

Injuries from a 1983 car accident left him partially paralyzed; he used a wheelchair and had limited use of his hands.

Personal life

An adoptee, Chesnutt was raised in Zebulon, Georgia, where he first started writing songs at the age of five. At 18, a car accident left him partially paralyzed; in a December 1, 2009 interview with Terry Gross on her NPR show ''Fresh Air'', he said he was "a quadriplegic from [his] neck down", and although he had feeling and some movement in his body, he could not walk "functionally" and that, although he realized shortly afterward that he could still play guitar, he could only play simple chords. After his recovery he left Zebulon and moved to Nashville, Tennessee; the poetry he read there (by Stevie Smith, Walt Whitman, Wallace Stevens, W. H. Auden, Stephen Crane, and Emily Dickinson) served to inspire and influence him.

When he was 13, Chesnutt declared that he was an atheist, a position that he maintained for the rest of his life.

On December 25, 2009, Chesnutt died from an overdose of muscle relaxants that had left him in a coma in an Athens hospital. In the 2009 interview with Terry Gross, while discussing the song "Flirted with You All My Life", he said, "You know, I've attempted suicide three or four times. It didn't take."

Early career and films

Around 1985, Chesnutt moved to Athens and joined the band, La-Di-Das, with future member of the Dashboard Saviors Todd McBride. After leaving that group he began performing solo on a regular basis at the 40 Watt Club; it was there that he was spotted by Michael Stipe of R.E.M.; Stipe produced Chesnutt's first two albums, ''Little'' (1990) and ''West of Rome'' (1991).

In 1993, Chesnutt was the subject of filmmaker Peter Sillen's independently produced documentary, ''Speed Racer: Welcome to the World of Vic Chesnutt'', which was shown on PBS. Chesnutt also had a small role as "Terence" in the 1996 Billy Bob Thornton movie ''Sling Blade'', which he later described self-mockingly as a poor performance.

In 1996, Chesnutt was exposed to a wider audience with the release of the tribute album ''Sweet Relief II: Gravity of the Situation'', the proceeds from which went to the Sweet Relief Fund. The album consisted of Chesnutt covers by famous musicians including Cracker, Garbage, The Smashing Pumpkins (with Red Red Meat), Madonna, R.E.M., Soul Asylum, and Live.

Collaborations

He recorded with many other groups and artists. He made two albums with fellow Athens group Widespread Panic, under the name of brute. Chesnutt wrote "Aunt Avis" and co-wrote "Blight", "Protein-Drink/Sewing-Machine", which are often performed live by Widespead Panic. "Aunt Avis" appeared on WSP's album ''Bombs & Butterflies'', and Chesnutt made a guest appearance as well. The 1997 video for "Aunt Avis" was directed by Billy Bob Thornton and featured Chesnutt.

Chesnutt's 1998 album ''The Salesman and Bernadette'' was recorded with alt-country group Lambchop as the backing band. The album ''Merriment'' was a collaborative effort between Chesnutt and Kelly and Nikki Keneipp, with Chesnutt writing and singing the songs, and the Keneipps playing the music.

The 2005 album ''Ghetto Bells'' featured famed guitarist Bill Frisell, whom Chesnutt met in 2004 at the Century of Song concert series at the German festival RuhrTriennale. ''Ghetto Bells'' also featured lyricist and composer Van Dyke Parks on accordion and keyboards. Chesnutt's wife, Tina, would frequently play bass on his albums, including ''Ghetto Bells''. His niece, and fellow songwriter, Liz Durrett also appeared on the album.

In the winter of 2006, he recorded ''North Star Deserter'' at the Hotel2Tango in Montreal. It was released on September 11, 2007 by Constellation Records. The record included contributions from Constellation artists Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra & Tra-La-La Band, members of Godspeed You! Black Emperor, as well as Fugazi's Guy Picciotto. The album was produced by documentary filmmaker Jem Cohen.

In 2008, Athens, Georgia based Elephant 6 collective recording artists Elf Power collaborated with Chesnutt on the album ''Dark Developments'', released as Vic Chesnutt, Elf Power, and the Amorphous Strums. The "amorphous strums" refers to Curtiss Pernice and Sam Mixon, who also played on the album.

In 2009, Chesnutt worked with many of the same contributors to the album ''North Star Deserter'' to release the album "At the Cut" in September. Also, Like with North Star Deserter the album was recorded in Montreal and released on Constellation Records. Later in 2009, Vic recorded the album titled "Skitter on Take-off" which was inspired by the two albums recorded in Montreal and was released on Vapour.

In 2009, he sang on the track "Grim Augury" on from the album ''Dark Night of the Soul'' by Danger Mouse of Gnarls Barkley, Sparklehorse, and director David Lynch.

Label history

Chesnutt's first four albums were released on the independent Texas Hotel label. He then recorded ''About to Choke'' (1996) for Capitol Records. ''The Salesman and Bernadette'' (1998) was on PolyGram; ''Merriment'' (2000) was on the Backburner Records label; spinART was the label for the self-performed and recorded ''Left to His Own Devices'' (2001). Chesnutt then found a home at the New West Records label, which released two of his albums. In 2004, New West also re-released the early Texas Hotel recordings, including expanded liner notes and extra tracks.

Compilations

Chesnutt was also a supporter of medical marijuana, which he said helped with his medical problems. He contributed the track "Weed to the Rescue" to the 1998 ''Hempilation II'' charity album, with proceeds going to NORML, an American organization dedicated to marijuana legalization.

He also appeared as a guest musician on Cowboy Junkies' 2007 album ''Trinity Revisited'', a 20^th anniversary edition of their classic album ''The Trinity Session''. In 2011 Cowboy Junkies released ''Demons'', an album of eleven Chesnutt covers.

Quotations

''"Other people write about the bling and the booty. I write about the pus and the gnats. To me, that's beautiful."''

Discography

1990 ''Little''

1991 ''West of Rome''

1993 ''Drunk''

1995 ''Is the Actor Happy?''

1996 ''About to Choke''

1998 ''The Salesman and Bernadette''

2000 ''Merriment''

2001 ''Left to his Own Devices''

2003 ''Silver Lake''

2005 ''Ghetto Bells''

2005 ''Extra Credit EP''

2007 ''North Star Deserter''

2008 ''Dark Developments'' (with Elf Power and The Amorphous Strums)

2009 ''Mitte Ende August OST

2009 ''At the Cut''

2009 ''Skitter on Take-Off''

With brute.

1995 ''Nine High a Pallet''

2002 ''Co-Balt''

See also

The Undertow Orchestra

References

External links

Daily Telegraph obituary

Vic Chesnutt collection at the Internet Archive's live music archive

Category:1964 births Category:2009 deaths Category:American atheists Category:American folk singers Category:American male singers Category:American rock singers Category:American singer-songwriters Category:Drug-related deaths in Georgia (U.S. state) Category:Musicians from Florida Category:Musicians who committed suicide Category:People from Athens, Georgia Category:People from Jacksonville, Florida Category:People with quadriplegia Category:Songwriters from Florida Category:English-language singers Category:Live Music Archive artists Category:Folk rock musicians Category:American alternative country musicians Category:Musicians from Georgia (U.S. state) Category:Capitol Records artists Category:New West Records artists Category:Constellation Records artists Category:American film actors Category:American folk guitarists Category:American rock guitarists be-x-old:Вік Чэснат br:Vic Chesnutt da:Vic Chesnutt de:Vic Chesnutt es:Vic Chesnutt fr:Vic Chesnutt it:Vic Chesnutt nl:Vic Chesnutt pl:Vic Chesnutt pt:Vic Chesnutt fi:Vic Chesnutt sv:Vic Chesnutt