Is this sacreligous...?(yes I know this is spelled wrong0.o)

Judas is a very common name in the Jewish culture of the new testament times.
this is from Wikipedia and lists quite a few folks with the name.

Dave Z

Judas
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Judas (Greek: Ιούδας) is the anglicized Greek rendering of the Hebrew name Yehudah (Hebrew: יְהוּדָה), also rendered in English as Judah. Judas may refer to:

A name in the New Testament referring to one or more significant individuals, some of whom may be the same:
Judas Iscariot, the disciple of Jesus Christ who betrayed him
Judas Thomas Didymus, commonly referred to as Saint Thomas and Doubting Thomas
Judas Thaddaeus, son of James, one of the twelve apostles
Saint Jude, a brother, step-brother, or half-brother, to Jesus
Judas the Zealot, whose identity is not completely clear, probably either of:
Saint Jude, who some traditions think is Judas Thomas Didymus
Simon the Zealot, the apostle named Simon that was not Simon Peter
Judas Barsabbas, an emissary of the Church of Jerusalem to the Church at Antioch.
the Gospel of Judas, a recently discovered ancient Gnostic Gospel
Judah (Biblical figure), a son of the patriarch Jacob and ancestor of the royal line of biblical Israel
Judas Maccabeus, Jewish revolt leader
Judas of Galilee, also Judas of Gamala, Jewish revolt leader
Judas Cyriacus, man said to have assisted Helena of Constantinople find the True Cross

It will likely depend on the audience you are reaching out to. If you are reaching out to a Christian audience then Judas for a 'good' character probably isn't a wise choice. You might as well call him Hitler or Stalin or even Lucifer. Judas just doesn't have a good connotation among the Christian community, no matter how common a name it is. If you are writing the story just for yourself name him whatever you like.

I think it's a really good idea. By giving the character such an unsympathetic name, you're avoiding placing a signpost over the character's head saying "good guy" - which will make people think a lot more about what the character does. If you want readers to think about what's good and bad, you want to do everything possible to avoid making the answer obvious - even down to the way you name the characters.

It's the same principle as the story of the Good Samaritan.

Actually Judas Thaddeus is VERY highly regarded in the bible. Yes, it's true that he betrayed Jesus, but if we think about it, if he hadn't, or moreover, if God did not want him to, things would have turned out WAY different, lol.

St. Judas Thaddeus (happens to be my patron) is the patron saint of Lost causes. And remember, Jesus wouldn't have held him in confidence for a moment if he was truely evil. The old man that haunted him with questions of temptation was given the reply of "get back Satan!"

i know that whole post was really crazy and broken in mental ways... its late, not really, but im tired and ive had a long day... ima go to bed... hope that made sense...

Actually also, there is a (fairly small) Christian sect that -does- say Judas is an ok kid. (Is ali_oop a member? Who knows?)

Another unofficial (not recognized as 'true scripture' by the same bigwigs that came up with the Nicean or Apostle's Creed) book of the Bible was recently found, the Book of Judas, which basically says that Jesus chose Judas to fake-betray Him in order to speed up the process of Crucifixion and eventual Ressurrection, two events that Christians wouldn't be Christians without recognizing. (Those who object can argue with me later.) So, if Judas's betrayal is evil, it's a neccessary evil; if Judas is still an Apostle in your heart and mind (or your Hypothetical Christian heart and mind), then why not honor his agreement with the Christ and let your character share his name.

Controversy in religious literature of any nature is inevitable, so we as daring novelists should press on through wind and hail of criticism and do what we think is right, so long as it does not bring physical suffering to others. (I just realized I'll be having to deal with a controversial religious statute by having a Wise Man/King named Muhammad in my novel. I'm not portraying him in a bad light, so my conscience is clear as the summer sky.)