The Gospel of Thomas

The Gospel of Thomas is one of my favorites, I find is very charged with multiple meanings, and love to read and ponder it. AFAIK:
- it was compiled in 50-100 AD, or at least the material it contains is from there, so it has teh same age as the Synoptic gospels; supposedly was written in Greek and translated in Coptic
- it was known well in ancient times - it was referenced by Hippolytus in 3rd century, and fragments of it were found in the Oxyrhynchus Gospels, probably dating before 200 AD
- about half of the sayings in it as known from the Matthew, Mark and Luke, but not any of those in John

Here is a link to the text of it, from the SacredTexts website, with references to the Synoptic gospels, so one can follow a saying and it's variations in more than one place http://www.sacred-texts.com/chr/thomas.htm

For me the saying in Thomas as more raw than the versions in the NT gospels, and convey many meanings that can be talked about on many levels; I'll illustrate this with one saying, #22 in Thomas, and it's 2 parallels in Matthew and Luke:
Thomas 22:
"...22) Jesus saw infants being suckled. He said to His disciples, "These infants being suckled are like those who enter the Kingdom." They said to Him, "Shall we then, as children, enter the Kingdom?" Jesus said to them, "When you make the two one, and when you make the inside like the outside and the outside like the inside, and the above like the below, and when you make the male and the female one and the same, so that the male not be male nor the female female; and when you fashion eyes in the place of an eye, and a hand in place of a hand, and a foot in place of a foot, and a likeness in place of a likeness; then will you enter [the Kingdom]."..."

Matthew 18:1-6:
"...1^a At that time the disciples^* approached Jesus and said, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” 2He called a child over, placed it in their midst, 3^b and said, “Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children,^* you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. 4^c Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5^* And whoever receives one child such as this in my name receives me...."

Luke 18:17:
"...¹⁷Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child shall in no wise enter therein...."

The difference for me is profound - it's not only a call for innocence and obedience, as in Matthew and Luke, Thomas calls for achieving one's wholeness, achieving one's full capacity, of male and female beginning /like the Jung's anima - being female in males, and male in females/, one whole and undivided nature, to be able to enter a higher sphere; it's a call for self-perfection and spirituality, not a call for slavish obedience and innocence bordering on ignorance, as in the more tame version in the NT gospels. I've been feeling for a long time that something is absent from the NT gospels, that they promise more than they give, and I find this missing part in Thomas. So, I came to a conclusion that the Gospel of Thomas deserves to be given the same attention as the Synoptic gospels, not with orientation toward Jesus's life, but toward his teachings.
What say you?

Originally posted by Don Quixote The Gospel of Thomas is one of my favorites, I find is very charged with multiple meanings, and love to read and ponder it. AFAIK:- it was compiled in 50-100 AD, or at least the material it contains is from there, so it has teh same age as the Synoptic gospels; supposedly was written in Greek and translated in Coptic- it was known well in ancient times - it was referenced by Hippolytus in 3rd century, and fragments of it were found in the Oxyrhynchus Gospels, probably dating before 200 AD- about half of the sayings in it as known from the Matthew, Mark and Luke, but not any of those in JohnHere is a link to the text of it, from the SacredTexts website, with references to the Synoptic gospels, so one can follow a saying and it's variations in more than one place http://www.sacred-texts.com/chr/thomas.htmFor me the saying in Thomas as more raw than the versions in the NT gospels, and convey many meanings that can be talked about on many levels; I'll illustrate this with one saying, #22 in Thomas, and it's 2 parallels in Matthew and Luke:Thomas 22:"...22) Jesus saw infants being suckled. He said to His disciples, "These infants being suckled are like those who enter the Kingdom."      They said to Him, "Shall we then, as children, enter the Kingdom?"      Jesus said to them, "When you make the two one, and when you make the inside like the outside and the outside like the inside, and the above like the below, and when you make the male and the female one and the same, so that the male not be male nor the female female; and when you fashion eyes in the place of an eye, and a hand in place of a hand, and a foot in place of a foot, and a likeness in place of a likeness; then will you enter [the Kingdom]."..."Matthew 18:1-6:"...<a name="48018001"><span ="bcv">1</span></a>a At that time the disciples* approached Jesus and said, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” <a name="48018002"><span ="bcv">2</span>He called a child over, placed it in their midst, </a><a name="48018003"><span ="bcv">3</span></a>b and said, “Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children,* you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. <a name="48018004"><span ="bcv">4</span></a>c Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. <a name="48018005"><span ="bcv">5</span></a>* And whoever receives one child such as this in my name receives me...."Luke 18:17:"...<sup ="versenum" id="en-KJV-25706">17Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child shall in no wise enter therein...."The difference for me is profound - it's not only a call for innocence and obedience, as in Matthew and Luke, Thomas calls for achieving one's wholeness, achieving one's full capacity, of male and female beginning /like the Jung's anima - being female in males, and male in females/, one whole and undivided nature, to be able to enter a higher sphere; it's a call for self-perfection and spirituality, not a call for slavish obedience and innocence bordering on ignorance, as in the more tame version in the NT gospels. I've been feeling for a long time that something is absent from the NT gospels, that they promise more than they give, and I find this missing part in Thomas.<span style="font-family: monospace;"> So, </span>I came to a conclusion that the Gospel of Thomas deserves to be given the same attention as the Synoptic gospels, not with orientation toward Jesus's life, but toward his teachings.What say you?

Jesus' teachings, that the churches never mention, are what is important to his ministry.

Matthew 6:22 The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.

John 14:23 Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.

Luke 17:21 Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.

Romans 8:29 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren

Careful on how you read Gnostic Gospels. We Gnostic Christians do not read them literally nor advise that no scriptures be read literally. We are to be perpetual seekers of God and ideal rules and laws and not idol worship the ones we have found.

This is Jesus' real message to us.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=alRNbesfXXw&feature=player_embedded

This is how to confirm that for yourself.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FdSVl_HOo8Y

Regards
DL