Truth, Judas, and the American Way

"Human fallibility being what it is, victory and truth do not always go together. Therefore, if you have to always win, you can't always be true.- "Rebbe Nachman of Breslov
Recently there has been a big brouhaha about what appears to be an ancient document ascribed to Judas Iscariot and fondly known as the Gospel of Judas. Now basically I don't have a dog in this fight. But in the past week both I and my son have gotten into sometimes heated discussions with others about whether or not this is even important. For me, from an historical viewpoint, it is important. Anything that might give us a clearer picture of where we come from is of value. Was this truly written by Judas? I don't know. But then I don't know who wrote ANY of the scriptures. Certainly I believe the Bible ("Old Testament") are words inspired by G-d. But these stories and words have been passed down orally for thousands of years before being set down. Even then, they were painstakingly copied by others for more generations, in different languages, or dialects of the same language, by people of different educational ability. In the end it is Faith that carries us through.
I do believe there is a good chance this was written by Judas or by someone close enough to know his side of the story. Being a Jew it doesn't really change much of anything for me.
Sometimes it seems we have gotten so far away from G-d in our concern for proving we are right in our beliefs and everyone must accept these beliefs. Part of what I believe is that we owe others the respect of accepting their beliefs, whether they are in agreement with our own or not. How can I say, don't accept Christ when someone else could just as easily say to me don't accept G-d? By the same token I shouldn't be forced to accept or pray to the god of another just because the majority thinks it is the road to follow.
In the end faith and belief is a very personal thing between a person and G-d (or Jesus or Allah) and no person has the right to dictate, persuade, or coerce another into accepting something different. It isn't about proving you are right and someone else is wrong. It is about behaving in a righteous manner and presenting an example for others to model. I don't try to force Judaism down anyone's throat, don't try to force Jesus down mine.
There goes my vent for today.