Rather than comment at length on the recent furor over the “Gospel of Judas,” I thought I would provide two links that I found helpful: by Mark Roberts and Ben Witherington.
When the Da Vinci Code craze hit a few years ago, something puzzled me that puzzles me still today: Why are so many so eager to read books from works entitled The Other Bible or extra-canonical gospels (such as The Gospel of Mary Magadalene), rather than dwelling deeply, passionately and patiently with the canonical gospels? There is enough in the Gospel of John to occupy even the most brilliant mind for a lifetime.
If the Gospel of John has enough to occupy even the most brillant minds, why then are there 4 canonical gospels? Why isn’t there ONE definitive gospel in the NT?
I think for many people, though they feel a strong connection to Jesus, they do not feel as strong a connection to modern Christianity. By exploring non-canonical gospels, one can see approaches that others have taken to understand God.
In a way, it is similar to the study of the historical Jesus. Some scholars/theologians have denied the validity or usefulness of studying Jesus as a historical figure, especially when extra-Biblical resources are called upon. They say that the best (or only) way to understand Jesus is by faith in what is revealed to us in the Bible. But why not explore every possible bit of information that is available to us?