This text sees Judas dying as a martyr—because the other disciples hate him so much that they kill him!  But the Gospel of Judas challenges the idea that God wants people to  die as martyrs—just as it challenges the idea that God wanted Jesus to die. Whoever wrote this gospel—and the author is anonymous—is challenging church leaders who teach this.    It’s as if an imam were to challenge the radical imams who encourage "martyrdom operations" and accuse them of complicity in murder—the Gospel of Judas shows "the twelve disciples" —stand-ins for church leaders—offering human sacrifice on the altar—and doing this in the name of Jesus!

Conservative Christians hate gospels like this—usually call them fakes and the people who publish them (like us) anti Christian.  There was a great deal of censorship in the early Christian movement—especially after the emperor became a Christian, and made it the religion of the empire—and voices like those of this author were silenced and denounced as "heretics" and "liars." The story of Jesus was simplified and cleaned up—made "orthodox."  (Elaine Pagels on the The Gospel of Judas, from The Edge)

It is a duty of Epicureans to try to sort out spin and misinformation , wherever possible, and search for the truth.  This is no mean aspiration, but we should face up to the truth, however unpalatable.   People like Elaine Pagels should be honored as honest and courageous human beings.