How did Judas die? (Not for the faint hearted) :)

The death of Judas Iscariot has often been cited as Bible critics as an apparent "contradiction". The verses which pertaining to his death seem to describe two different methods as to how he met his end. Let us examine the verses:

Matthew 27:5 (NKJV) Then he threw down the pieces of silver in the temple and departed, and went and hanged himself.

Acts 1:18 (NKJV) Now this man (refers to Judas) purchased a field with the wages of iniquity; and falling headlong, he burst open in the middle and all his entrails gushed out.

Ok, so now we are confronted with two different scenarios. According to Matthew, Judas hung himself. Meanwhile, Luke (purported author of Acts) wrote that Judas fell down and his guts spilled out. So how can we reconcile this difference? Well, the explanations that apologists generally forward is that both events are accurate and actually describe two perspectives of the same event.

The two explanations often quoted are:
1. Judas hung himself on a tree, but the noose snapped and he fell down and his body burst upon impact.
2. Judas hung himself on a tree successfully. :) In Middle Eastern nations, the temperature tends to be relatively high. And with high temperatures the decomposition process progresses rapidly. That is why nowadays Middle Eastern societies practice burying bodies on the same day when death occurs. Decomposition produces a lot of gaseous by-products and this accumulates in body cavities. When the rope gave way eventually, it wouldn't require much impact for the body to burst open. Find it hard to believe? Take a look here.

There are various other explanations, but these two are the most common ones used to counter critics. The bible is simply providing different details to give us a better perspective of the whole situation.

God bless. :)