The Gnostics: The Gospel of Thomas

There are two gospels, neither of which is canonical (included in the New Testament), called the Gospel of Thomas, two among many gospels not included in the canon of the New Testament. One, which has been known for centuries, is called the "Infancy Gospel of Thomas," (more) because it claims to tell stories about the childhood of Jesus.

The other Gospel of Thomas (more), in Coptic, discovered only in 1945, is one of the Gnostic texts found at Nag Hammadi, Egypt (more). Both books are examples of pseudepigrapha (more), literally, "falsely written," or attributed to authors who, it is believed, did not write them.

The Infancy Gospel of Thomas

The Infancy Gospel collects various legendary stories of the childhood of Jesus, in which he is literally a "holy terror," killing people (sometimes bringing them back to life), and showing off miraculous talents, such as making clay birds fly away, an action that got him in trouble because he performed it on the Sabbath. You can find a page referring you to various texts as well as commentaries on the Infancy Gospel here. Please note that the Infancy Gospel is not a Gnostic text.

The Gnostic Gospel of Thomas

The other Gospel of Thomas, the best known and most controversial of the Nag Hammadi texts, has no story, no narrative at all. It is a collection of 114 sayings (logia, literally, words) attributed to Jesus (translations here), some found in the canonical gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John). A list of the sayings that parallel sayings in the canonical gospels can be found here.

Reading these verses is a fascinating experience, regardless of what you think about when they were written and whether they carry any authority. They open up a strange world to us. I had a friend who told me that she knew these verses obviously had nothing to do with Jesus because they are so strange. There is a problem with that opinion, however. It is hard to grow up in the United States with absolutely no exposure to Christian teachings. Most of us have grown up hearing teachings from the New Testament, which, if we were hearing them for the first time, would sound odd to us. Compare, "But many that are first shall be last; and the last first," (Matthew 10:31) and "Whoever has come to understand the world has found a corpse, and whoever has found a corpse is superior to the world." (Thomas, 56)

This is a difficult article for me to write, because I do not really want to say much about the Gospel of Thomas. I would rather use this article simply to call the Gospel of Thomas to your attention, to invite you to read it, and to draw your own conclusions. In addition to the previous links, I would also encourage you to look at the following.

Resources

An extensive collection of materials, translations and commentaries, can be found here, at the Gnostic Society Library / Gospel of Thomas Collection. At The Gospel of Thomas at Early Christian Writings (here), you can find links to even more translations and a wide range of commentaries. From The Gospel of Thomas Homepage here, you can find resources that give the Gospel of Thomas a context with other non-canonical writings.

There are, of course, articles expressing the mainstream Christian opposition to the Gospel of Thomas. A well-written one from Christianity Today sums up Protestant objections here, while Catholic concerns about the book are voiced in a forum here. According to the 1999 film Stigmata (more), by the way, the Roman Catholic Church has tried to suppress the Gospel of Thomas; you can find a response to the film here

The Gospel of Thomas, verse 3

Jesus said, "If those who lead you say to you, 'See, the kingdom is in the sky,' then the birds of the sky will precede you. If they say to you, 'It is in the sea,' then the fish will precede you. Rather, the kingdom is inside of you, and it is outside of you. When you come to know yourselves, then you will become known, and you will realize that it is you who are the sons of the living father. But if you will not know yourselves, you dwell in poverty and it is you who are that poverty."

My audiobook of the Gnostic Gospel of Thomas

The Gospel of Thomas: Audiobook: Part I
The Gospel of Thomas: Audiobook: Part II
The Gospel of Thomas: Audiobook: Part III

You can find all my articles on the Gnostics and Gnosticism, as well as many more resources in "Gnostics and Gnosticism: A Guide for Teachers and Students" (here). My index to my articles on "Christianity on the Fringes" is here.