http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/08/opinion/08pagels.html
An interesting quote from a NYTimes op-ed on the recently revealed Gospel of Judas:
Many of these secret writings, however, were still read and revered by Christians 200 years later when Bishop Athanasius of Alexandria, an admirer of Irenaeus, wrote an Easter letter to Christians in Egypt. He ordered them to reject what he called those “secret, illegitimate books” and keep only 27 approved ones. The 27 he named constitute the earliest known list of the New Testament canon, which Athanasius intended above all to be a guideline for books to be read publicly in church. The New Testament Gospels, which contain much that Jesus taught in public, were the most obvious books to put on that list. The secret books, which contained paradox and mystery akin to the mystical teachings of kabbalah, were not considered suitable for beginners.
It annoys me to see Creationists denying the truths of science to bask in the glow of a text they proclaim as The Truth, as delivered directly from God. It annoys me even more that they don’t question that The Truth may have been corrupted by 2000 years of editorialising and biased editing by the ancient scribes and other historical figures who’ve had their fingers in the Biblical pie.
To get my own back on the Creationists, I quote from one of their least favourite works (call it the Gospel of Weasley)
Never trust anything that can think for itself, if you can’t see where it keeps its brain.