Dear Clement:

We must remember that the Bible is infallible only in its religious message. It is not a book of science or history, although it contains both. In this instance about Judas the fact is that the Apostles did not really do not know for sure what happened. The story Matthew heard was that he hung himself so that is what he reported in Matthew 27:3-5 (not verses 9-10).  St. Luke, who probably wrote the book of Acts heard a differing story and reported that story.

In both stories two things are fundamentally the same: 1) a field was purchased and called the Field of Blood. In Matthew the field was purchased by the priests; in Acts the field was purchased by Judas himself. 2) he dies in both accounts.

We do not know more than that because the Apostles did not know more than that apparently.

As for Judas being condemned from the beginning, you do not give a citation for that. Matthew and Mark report that Jesus said that it would have been better had his betrayer not been born. That is not the same thing as saying he was condemned from the beginning.

Matthew reports Jesus saying (Matt 26:24), "The Son of man goes as it is written of him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! It would have been better for that man if he had not been born."

Mark reports (Mark 14:21) "For the Son of man goes as it is written of him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! It would have been better for that man if he had not been born."

This phrase "better for that man if he had not been born" is actually Jesus giving Judas a chance to repent before he does the deed.  Jesus did not denounce Judas publicly so as to make it easier for Judas to repent. Of course, we know that he did not and did, in fact, betray Jesus.

Jesus knows in advance that he is to be killed. He knows in advance that Judas will betray him (hence the attempt of Jesus to give Judas a chance to repent).

God knowing things in advance does not mean that we do not make choices. God has given us free will because He loves us and want us to love Him. Love cannot be forced; it must be chosen. The gift of Free Will, however, also runs the risk of us choosing to reject God. This choice is free for us to make. The fact that God knows what choice we will make does not mean that we did not have the choice.

John Calvin could not understand this and thus developed his elaborate scheme of pre-destination in which some people are on the list for heaven, and some are on the list to hell, and there is nothing one can do about it. This is nonsense.

Our first Pope, Peter, said, (2 Peter 3:9) "The Lord is not slow about his promise as some count slowness, but is forbearing toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance."  And there are other passages that relate to this fact, such as Isaiah 1:18, Ezekiel 33:11, John 3:16-18, John 6:37-40, Acts 17:22-34, 1 Thessalonians 5:9-10, and 1 Timothy 3:3-8.

Like all the rebels against the Church back then, and now, when they depart from the Teaching Magisterium appointed by God Himself, they end end up with error.

One small illustration about how it is possible to know a person will do something in advance yet that person still freely chooses to do the act is the case of a happily married couple, married for fifty years. They know each other so well that they can easily predict what the other will do in a given situation. This knowledge does not "determine" or "force" the other person to act in a certain way; the person freely choose. Rather, the wife, for example, simply knows her husband so well that his actions in a given situation can be accurately predicted by her. She did not force him to act in that way, or determine that he would act in a certain way. She simply knows him so well that she can know (that is, accurately predict) what her husband will do.

This analogy is very limited, but shows how it is possible to know in advance how someone will act without violating that person's free will.

With God, it is not only that He knows us perfectly, but that God is in the eternal present. For God there is no time. For Him all the past, all the present, and all the future is the eternal present. He see it all at the same time. Thus, He knows what we ill do, but that does not determine our actions. We still make the choices we make.

As to the question that since God knows in advance how each of us will choose, why does He create us at all when He knows that some of us will reject him?

Why do we humans have children when we know that the possibility exists that our children will reject us?

The answer is love. Love, by its nature, wishes to be shared. Love is not a island. Love is a community, a family. Even God is a family -- God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

God created us so that we may love Him and share in his glory. It is the old Baltimore Catechism question and answer. Why did God make us? God made me to know Him, to love Him, and to serve Him in this world, and to be happy with Him for ever in heaven.

But, for us to love God we must have the choice to do so or not. Thus, God gave us the gift choice knowing that some will abuse that gift and reject Him.

God knew Judas would betray Jesus, but He did not force him to make that choice. Judas did not have to betray Jesus. Jesus gave him the chance to repent at the Last Supper. Judas made his free will choice.

All this may be hard to understand, despite reasoned explanations and imperfect analogies. Ultimately it is a mystery how God can know everything and yet not intrude on our free will. As with all mysteries we must accept it as part of our faith.

God Bless,
Bro. Ignatius Mary