“Despite, or perhaps because of, the lack of historical fact about his motivations, Judas remains a fascination. ‘Certain traditions form around certain figures that appear in the Gospels,'” says Adam Becker, assistant professor of religious studies at New York University. “‘Those figures are tools for having conversations about certain issues. Later Christian conversations about him, which this play is an example of, use him as a tool to help us think. Judas is a tool for discussions of betrayal, free will, and providence.'” —Benedicta Cipolla talks to Revealer contributor Adam Becker — and other scholars — about Stephen Adly Guirgis’ play The Last Days of Judas Iscariot, directed by Philip Seymour Hoffman at the Public Theater, right across the street from The Revealer. In PBS’ Religion & Ethics Newsweekly.