I don't think that the real question, at least for me, is
whether or not noir is "Christian" or contains transcendence.
To me the importance of this Judas find is in story. It is
difficult to find a noir story that does not have within it
an element of betrayal. Certainly The Maltese Falcon is a
tale of betrayal on several levels. It could be viewed as a
struggle to sustain integrity within a world dominated by
betrayal. The traditional and orthodox Christian Judas story
is one of the betrayer. This new gospel gives this story an
interesting twist. Judas emerges as a more nuanced character.
It so much reminds me of the mystery or thriller where we are
given to believe one thing only in the end to discover that
good is bad and bad is good. Certainly there is this twist in
The Maltese Falcon. I believe this makes for good story
telling. And it is good story telling because in a
fundamental sense it is true. That is that character is
complex and all people betray sooner or later in big and/ or
small ways. One can even say, as the Gospel of Judas asserts,
people can betray in the interest of the good. Or for that
matter act in a noble manner with bad results.
In sum this story has been around for 2,000 years and now it
seems to be getting better, more interesting.
Tim Wohlforth
tim@timwohlforth.com www.timwohlforth.com
RARA-AVIS home page: http://www.miskatonic.org/rara-avis/
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