NEWS

Gateway to Knowledge

Computer entrepreneur Ted Waitt goes from Switzerland to his pocketbook to bring the Gospel of Judas into the public domain

In April, the National Geographic Society announced that San Diego resident Ted Waitt had donated more than $1 million to fund the restoration and preservation of the Gospel of Judas manuscript. Waitt, 43, is the founder and former CEO of Gateway Inc., the computer maker. The La Jolla-based Waitt Family Foundation and Waitt Institute for Discovery are nonprofit organizations “dedicated to the improvement of mankind's knowledge through historical and scientific exploration.” The San Diego Union-Tribune's Diane Bell asked Waitt about his role in the Judas codex in an interview that was conducted via e-mail.

How and when did you first learn of the existence of the Judas codex and what was your role?

Computer magnate Ted Waitt, at his La Jolla office, said he was "blown away" by the concept of the Gospel of Judas. NELVIN C. CEPEDA / Union-Tribune

I first heard of the Gospel of Judas in 2004 in discussing various ideas for my institute with people from National Geographic. The whole concept blew me away. I'm on the council of advisers there and have backed large projects before like their Genographic Project (using DNA to trace early human migration). We were discussing other projects I could potentially fund, and that's when I first heard of the Gospel of Judas. Next thing I knew, I was on a plane to Switzerland to see if it was real.

Did you ever see the document and, if so, when? Who had it at the time, and was there any intrigue involved?

The first time I saw the document was in early 2005 in what I could best describe as a “Swiss Howard Johnson” or a “Swiss truck stop.” We were upstairs of a gas station restaurant, and there were some very “dodgy” people there. I think one of them was probably packing a gun.

The codex was in very bad shape, and being stored in disposable Tupperware-type containers. The purported owners had a hard time answering questions of the document's history, and where the document had been. They dodged questions as to who really owned it, where it came from, etc.

There was one good person there who I was very impressed with and trusted completely, and that was Dr. Rodolphe Kasser. He was the restorer and translator of the codex. The document looked so bad it had to be old. You just can't fake that. He had been translating the document, and he read us excerpts and its contents were startling. I believed it to be authentic at that point, but wasn't going to support further conservation or publication until we authenticated it scientifically.

I believed the document to be basically for sale at that point, although that was never stated directly, and most of my questions as to the provenance of the codex were never answered directly. We set out with National Geographic to rescue the documents, and share them with the world.

Did you or your Institute of Discovery actually “buy” the manuscript or pay for a portion of it? If you can't divulge the price, can you say what it had been offered for sale for on the antiquities market by previous owners? I know you've said it will be donated to the Coptic Museum in Cairo, but who owns it now?

No, we were never interested in owning or purchasing the codex. I feel important artifacts like this should be part of the public domain. We provided a grant to National Geographic to secure the publishing rights to the documents. Our interests were first of all making sure it was authentic, so our grant was contingent on the carbon dating and other scientific tests to ensure this. Second of all, we wanted to make sure that a variety of biblical scholars had access to it to complete the proper restoration, translate and interpret the codex. And finally, we wouldn't do anything with it unless we were assured it would be returned to Egypt.

The document was and still is “owned” by a Geneva-based nonprofit headed by Mario Roberty. As far as I know, that foundation is just a vehicle for Mario Roberty and Frieda Tchacos, another previous owner, to make money. That bothers some, but it was a small price to pay to be able to share the contents with the world.

I feel our grant allowed the document to be wrested from their control, translated and interpreted properly, published widely and appropriately, and then guaranteed to be returned to Egypt where it belongs. If it wasn't for us, who knows what might have become of it.

What is your personal interest in learning what the documents actually said? Did you have a fairly good idea going into the expensive process of restoration and authentication, or were the contents a total mystery until the translation was initiated?

The codex containing the Gospel of Judas was torn and crumbling before conservation efforts began. Carbon dating and other scientific tests were conducted to authenticate it.
I find the contents of the codex fascinating, as well as the rest of the Gnostic gospels. Gnosis means knowledge, and the Gnostics thought that knowledge was the key to salvation. I knew the “punch line” of the Gospel of Judas before we made our grant (how, according to the codex, Judas was asked by Jesus to betray him), but that was about it. I didn't know the entire contents.

There are many things in the document and in the entire codex that are as interesting or even more interesting than the portrayal of Judas' betrayal of Jesus. I'll leave the contents and the interpretation of those passages to the biblical scholars, or to anyone who wishes to read the entire translation. It's available on National Geographic's Web site, or in the books that have been recently published.

The first time I read it was approximately three or four months before it was published, and I was blown away.

Were you or your institute involved in the initial authentication efforts of dating the papyrus, ink and writing style? (I assume this was done before restoration took place.)

The restoration of the document took place for several years, long before it was scientifically authenticated. Our grant to National Geographic that allowed them to publish the contexts of the codex was contingent on scientific proof that it was authentic.

National Geographic commissioned the carbon dating, papyrus, ink and handwriting analysis, etc., in order to receive our grant as well as to ensure them, obviously, that the codex was authentic. We got the results immediately. Once we got the results, we were very excited, and made the grant that started the chain of events toward publication.

Obviously great pains were taken to release this story at Easter time; was it difficult to keep this tremendous find a secret? How long ago was the translation actually completed?

I wouldn't say great pains were taken to release it at Easter time. The release was actually moved up due to leaks and claims by other somewhat potentially jealous scholars who didn't have access to the actual codex. The original release was timed for after Easter.

One only need to peruse the Internet to find a history of the document, and all sorts of radical claims as to the path it traveled. You can also check out the National Geographic book and documentary released during the launch chronicling the history of the document.

The full translation was available to us and a handful of scholars months before the release, but even up to the last minute the scholars were debating the meaning of specific words in it. The codex was remarkably difficult to translate due to the poor condition of the papyrus and many missing pieces. The scholars would always like more time to perfect their translations, and my sense is now that the document has been released to the world, the debate can now really begin as to its significance and meaning.

There are only a handful of Coptic scholars (the language the codex is written in) in the world, and many of the top experts had a hand in the translation. But most scholars I've talked to would still like more time to analyze it. You might see other interpretations coming out from (other) experts.

One biblical scholar noted that it took him three readings before he really started to see the similarities with the New Testament gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Also, now there is hope that other missing pages or fragments of the codex are going to come forward that will help fill in some blanks, and that will add even more to our knowledge of the early history of Christianity.

What is your personal opinion about the importance of this discovery? Do you personally believe it is authentic?

It's absolutely authentic, and extremely significant. I believe its greatest significance lies in getting more people to understand the early evolution of Christianity.

It's significant to help people understand how there was substantial diversity in thought before various individual early Christian leaders decided to focus or give credence to just certain elements and views of Jesus' teachings.

It's also significant to note that the early Christians were more spiritual than religious, and followed Jesus' teachings without the need of a hierarchical church. In these days of religious extremism causing great conflict in our world, it might help people to understand the diversity of the origins of their religions. It's also significant in potentially bringing people of different faiths closer together.

Are you a religious man?

I'd view myself as more spiritual than religious, but I did take my kids to church on Easter.

Do you feel the responses in the media from religious leaders, etc., were right on target? How would you characterize them?

Well, it depends on which comments you are talking about. A Vatican scholar called the text “religious fantasy.” And the Rev. Robert Schuller said “why would anyone ever need more than Matthew, Mark, Luke and John?” Well, like all the gospels, these were stories. Stories according to someone, and from someone's perspective.

The term gospel stands for good news. And they are accounts of stories people told for years before anyone wrote them down. The authorship of every gospel is in question as to who actually wrote them. There are even differences in how the accepted New Testament gospels portray Judas' betrayal of Jesus. For instance, John is much harsher on Judas and his intentions and motivations versus the other gospels. So, it's not surprising that these other gospels differ from the four originally chosen by Bishop Irenaeus in 180 A.D. as the true gospels.

Imagine this. Let's say you died about 2,000 years ago, and your friends told their stories about you to their children and friends for approximately 100 years after you died. And then someone decides to write these stories down. And then they get translated from one language into another. And there's as many as 30 different versions written down. And someone picks just four as the only ones anyone should see, renounces the others, and all this happens approximately 150 years after you die.

Would you expect them to all be the same? Would you be happy with just those four that some person who didn't know you selected? Maybe, maybe not. But what about the other 26 versions of events? Maybe they were true, maybe not. Maybe they had other things in them that actually happened or that were important to you. No one really knows for sure. But odds are, there's something in the 26 that you might have supported, and maybe something from the four that you might not have. The key is in understanding the general tone and intentions of your life in all of them, and making some important observations from that.

So, religious organizations will have their point of view, and I can respect that. I hope that people reading and understanding the impact of these types of gospels use them to learn and restore their faith and embrace more diversity of thought, rather than debating the historical facts that no one will ever be able to prove. The real significance lies in Jesus' teachings and in his messages, more so than the specific facts of some of the stories told to demonstrate his teachings.

In my opinion, if someone considers themself a good “Christian,” they should read these gospels and make up their own mind as to the significance of these ancient documents. They can decide for themselves what Jesus meant to say, and what he wanted his message to be remembered as.

What do you think lies ahead for the Gospel of Judas? In your mind, should it be addended to the Bible?

No, I don't think it will be added to the conventional bible, at least not any time soon. But, if you're really interested, you can buy a Gnostic bible with all the other gospels that didn't make the cut. The major find at Nag Hammadi, Egypt, decades ago was never added and never will be, and that contains the Gospel of Thomas, the Gospel of Truth, and the Gospel of Mary Magdalene, among many others.

But, I do hope this one will bring attention to diversity of thought in early Christianity, and that people will read them and make up their own mind. I think the debate is just starting, and the historians, scholars and the general public can now read them, discuss them, and decide what they think. There are some scholars that think of these Gnostic gospels as even more advanced teachings of Christ. They are not the easiest things to understand, and they are open to multiple interpretations. So different people might think different things from reading the same thing, but in the end, diversity is good. Knowledge is good.

What other similarly intriguing topic is your Institute for Discovery involved in or about to embark on?

I'm working on looking for things at the bottom of the ocean. Interesting stuff. Not as deep as Gnostic gospels, but potentially significant nonetheless.

This article about Ted Waitt and the Waitt Institute for Discovery was reprinted from San Diego Union-Tribune, July 2, 2006