INTRODUCTION TO THE GOSPEL OF THOMAS

In 1945, some books that had been transcribed in the late fourth century were found in a cave.  Many of them had Gnostic Christian themes and were originally written up to 300 years prior to that time.  We know this because several of the Gnostic books were referred to in books by other second-century authors.  So although scholars knew that the books must have existed, the actual texts were lost to history.  That is until 1945 when copies of the ancient books were discovered at Nag Hammadi in Egypt.

One of these was the Gospel of Thomas.  It was likely written around the same time as the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.  In 393, church leaders got together and decided what books would be part of the official Bible.  The Gospel of Thomas was not included – probably because in it Jesus says that God is everywhere, even within us, and we can access and relate to God directly.

By this time Christian church leaders had already begun to claim a special ability to communicate with and understand the teachings of God/Jesus.  The idea that a person didn’t need to rely on church leaders to understand Christianity threatened their status and was considered heresy.  To defend their hold over Christianity, church leaders attempted to destroy any writings that contradicted their views (sometimes the heretics were destroyed along with the books).  That’s very likely why the Gospel of Thomas was among the texts hidden away, not to be found for over 1500 years.

The Gospel of Thomas is a favorite of modern Gnostic Christians.  It only includes sayings of Jesus, about half of which are also written in the biblical gospels.  Stories of Jesus’ heroism are not included.  Also not included are the attempts to show that Jesus was the messiah predicted by the Old Testament. 

The Gospel of Thomas begins with Jesus saying, "Whoever discovers the interpretation of these sayings will not taste death."  Notice that the interpretations are to be discovered, not learned.  This is an essential difference between Gnostic Christianity and mainstream Christianity. 

In mainstream Christianity, the person is taught about God and Jesus.  Then the person is instructed to have faith that what they've been told is true.  ("There's a gold coin buried in the sand on the beach.  It's round, shiny, and beautiful.  Have faith that it is there, and when you die, salvation will be yours.")

For Gnostics, it's not a matter of learning and believing, it's a matter of knowing.  You're only taught that there are answers to be found and maybe a few strategies to help you find them.  ("There's a gold coin buried on the beach.  It's near that rock.  Here's a shovel.  Find the coin, hold it in your hand, and salvation will be yours.")

My next blog will present some of the sayings included in the Gospel of Thomas.