In 1959, when the Gospel of Thomas was first published in English, many Christians were shocked to learn that any Gospels existed other than those of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.
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It was also the first time that most Christians had ever heard about the Gnostics - Christian communities in the second through fourth centuries whose scriptures and spiritual beliefs barely resemble what is now thought of as traditional Christianity.
But the Gospel of Judas, another piece of Gnostic scripture, was released in a very different era. It is a time when many Christians have been bombarded by competing claims about their faith and its history.
Gnosticism has become practically a household word, largely thanks to the novel "The Da Vinci Code," as well as to scholars of early Christianity like Elaine Pagels, who write for a popular audience.
The Gospel of Judas is only the latest crumbling parchment to surface in the sands of Egypt like an ancient time capsule. Even before its formal launch at a National Geographic Society news conference on Thursday, scholars have been part of a debate that will soon be echoing in churches, on the Internet and in Christian publishing.
The real debate is whether the text says anything historically legitimate about Jesus and Judas.
Some of the scholars on National Geographic's advisory committee said the text should prompt a reassessment of Judas. In it, Jesus speaks privately to Judas, telling him he will share with Judas alone "the mysteries of the kingdom." Jesus asks Judas to turn him over to the Roman authorities so that his body can be sacrificed.