Judas and Evil People
anecdote · Schelling ·
retold in 3 talks
Schelling's example that Judas had no choice but to betray Christ (it was his fate), yet remains fully responsible; similarly, evil people are responsible for their 'nature'.
≤2000talks it is told in, per year2026
As told 3
“it was forever decided determined in the very fate of Judas that he will betray Christ... nonetheless he is fully responsible for it”
“Judas is for me the greatest hero. He, through his betrayal, enables Christ to do what he came for.”
“The only authentic hero in the Bible is Judas... he is ready to do it so that Christ will be able to do his mission.”
What it carries
one story, many jobs: the ideas this anecdote is deployed to argue, one tally mark per use (an idea page shows the same relation from the other end, as its shelf of stories)
Its cast and sources
populated by
Neville Chamberlain2Zohran Mamdani2Judas Iscariot2Zohran Mamdani2Dante Alighieri2Don Giovanni1Lewis Mumford1Ptolemy1
alongside works
Every retelling 3
Schelling's example that Judas had no choice but to betray Christ (it was his fate), yet remains fully responsible; similarly, evil people are responsible for their 'nature'., illustrating choice of fundamental fantasy,subjectivity
Judas is the 'true hero' because he knowingly betrays Jesus to fulfill God's mission, paying the terrible price himself, making him an agent of the divine plan rather than a mere villain., illustrating Judas as true hero
Žižek argues Judas is the authentic hero of the Bible because he knowingly damns himself to enable Christ's mission, a form of heroism Protestants and Catholics misunderstand., illustrating logic of despair