the gospel of thomas adult sunday school january-march 2008 nathan love

The Gospel of ThomasThe Gospel of Thomas

Adult Sunday SchoolJanuary-March 2008Nathan Love

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The Gospel of ThomasThe Gospel of ThomasThis class will explore over some ten weeks the Gospel of Thomas recently brought to light in the treasure trove of largely gnostic compositions stumbled upon by an Arab peasant, quite by accident, in 1945 in Egypt. The Gospel of Thomas (only one of a number of non-canonical gospels) contains the sayings of Jesus purportedly recorded by the disciple Thomas. We will explore the sayings themselves, make comparisons with the four gospels of the New Testament, all of which will allow us to enter into discussions concerning mystery religions then prevalent offering formulae for personal salvation through various rites and wisdom traditions, especially in communities in Alexandria, Egypt, where both Christian thinkers and Jewish philosophers of a neo-platonic mind set attempted to fill in the gaps, so to speak, of the four gospels whose authority and faithfulness church tradition has consistently upheld. The text of the Gospel of Thomas has become widely available in print (The Gospel According to Thomas, Harper-Collins, ed. James M. Robinson) and on the Internet: (http://www.gnosis.org/naghamm/gosthom.html). Two other books widely available and of particular interest are The Gnostic Gospels (1985) and Beyond Belief (2003), both by Elaine Pagels. The latter book offers an intriguing and plausible – but by no means convincing – theory that speaks to a dynamic relationship she believes exists between the Gospel of John and the Gospel of Thomas.

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Outline of ContentOutline of ContentHow many gospels are there, anyway?Alexander and Alexandria and the importance of GreekGreek in Palestine and EgyptWhat is Coptic?Papyri and codicesThe Nag Hammadi LibraryOther gospels in the Nag Hammadi Library The four gospels of the New Testament The synoptic gospels: Matthew, Mark and Luke The Gospel of JohnThe words of JesusQ (> Quelle) oral or written tradition of transmissionAs Jesus taught his disciples, Thomas, Mary, Judas….Thomas the disciple / apostle / ‘twin’Mystery religions and personal salvationGnosis and Neo-PlatonismThe Gospel Of ThomasThe five gospelsGnostic gospels Web siteInteractive quizzes

IIIIIIIVVVIVIIVIIIIXXXIXIIXIIIXIVXVXVIXVIIXVIIIXIXXX

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How many gospels are there, anyway?How many gospels are there, anyway?

Significant descriptions or portions of twelve ancient texts that meet the criteria necessary to be considered an early (indisputably written before the end of the second century) gospel have been preserved from antiquity. Six early gospels are attested by manuscripts from the second century or shortly thereafter: Matthew, Luke, John, Gospel of Thomas, Gospel of Peter, and an “Unknown Gospel” (P.Egerton 2). Six additional early gospels are attested by patristic citations from the same time period: Mark (Irenaeus), Secret Mark, Gospel of the Ebionites (Irenaeus), Gospel of the Nazareans (Eusebius), Gospel of the Hebrews (Clement), and Marcion’s gospel (Irenaeus).http://www.journalofbiblicalstudies.org/Issue4/Articles/dating_early_christian_gospels.htm

Gospel of Mary of Magdala, Infancy Gospel of James (The Protoevangelium of James), Infancy Gospel of Thomas, Gospel of Phillip

Answer: About 20 more or less complete ones.

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gospels

canonical

apocryphal

gnostic

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How many gospels are there, anyway?How many gospels are there, anyway?Turbaned midwives attend the infant Jesus in this oil painting of “The Nativity” (c. 1425) attributed to the Netherlandish artist Robert Campin. According to the Proto-Gospel of James, an early—but noncanonical—Christian text, Joseph summoned the women to assist at Jesus’ birth. One midwife, named Salome, questioned Mary’s virginity, the gospel continues. She swore, “Unless I put (forward) my finger and test her condition, I will not believe that a virgin has brought forth.” Fire consumed the incredulous midwife’s hand as she tested Mary until an angel instructed her to touch Jesus to be cured. In Campin’s painting, Salome displays her healed hand.

Musée des Beaux-Arts, Dijon/Erich Lessinghttp://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/best/bswbBestSubPage.asp?PubID=BSBR&Volume=13&Issue=3&ArticleID=7

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The earliest written source we have for the ox and the donkey is the Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew, which scholars date to about the year 800, yet these animals were carved in stone on a fourth-century Roman sarcophagus lid, now part of the pulpit of the Church of St. Ambrose in Milan.http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1141/is_38_42/ai_n16740774Isaiah 1:3 “The ox knows its owner, and the donkey its master’s crib; but Israeldoes not know, my people do not understand.”

Another representation of the Nativity in a large-scale Byzantine fresco (c. 1175) in the Church of Karanlik Kilise in Turkey is interesting not only for its two midwives, but for locating the birth of Jesus in a cave and including an ox and a donkey. The nativity site, not pinpointed by the evangelists, is most often a stable in Western art, but in Eastern art, it is usually a cave. Nor are the familiar animal creche figures, so ubiquitous today, found in the canonical gospels.

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Alexander and Alexandria and the Alexander and Alexandria and the importance of Greekimportance of Greek

Alexander the Great (356-323 BC), the king of Macedonia that conquered the Persian empire and annexed it to Macedonia, is considered one of the greatest military geniuses of all times. Here he is depicted in a mosaic preserved in Pompeii. He is the first king to be called "the Great." For Judaism and Christianity the implications are profound and extensive, positive and negative.

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Alexander and Alexandria and the importance of GreekAlexander and Alexandria and the importance of Greek

From: Atlas of the Bible Lands Editor: Harry Thomas Frank

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Alexander and Alexandria and the importance of GreekAlexander and Alexandria and the importance of Greek

Josephus the Jewish historian wrote about the warning signs that were on the barrier that separated the court of the gentiles from the other courts in the Temple. Not until recent times did archaeologists actually discover one. Its seven-line inscription read as follows:

NO FOREIGNER IS TO GO BEYOND THE BALUSTRADE

AND THE PLAZA OF THE TEMPLE ZONE WHOEVER IS CAUGHT DOING SO WILL HAVE HIMSELF TO BLAME

FOR HIS DEATH WHICH WILL FOLLOW

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Greek in Palestine and EgyptGreek in Palestine and EgyptBy the middle of the first century, there are probably more Jews living outside of the homeland, than actually live back in Judah proper. This is what is called the Diaspora, that is, the dispersion of Jewish population throughout the Empire. There are major Jewish communities in most of the large cities of the Empire, all the way from the Persian Gulf on the east to Spain on the west. It's an extensive diffusion of the Jewish population throughout the Roman.

The Greek word ‘diaspora’ means a scattering. And indeed there was a scattering of Jews throughout the known Greek and Roman world from the third century B.C. and on down. There were large Jewish communities in Egypt, especially in Alexandria, but even throughout the countryside, up the Nile Valley.

Alexandria is an ancient metropolis with a fabled library that Paul may have consulted at one point in his ministry. It is a center of learning and scholarship.

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Greek in Palestine and EgyptGreek in Palestine and Egypt

The language that unites the far-flung Roman Empire is Greek. The Jews of Alexandria need the scriptures translated into Greek (the Septuagint, LXX, i.e., 70 elder translators). The earliest extant copies of NT writings are in Greek or a colloquial Greek dialect (koine).

It has been pointed out that Jesus was aware of Greek (‘hypocrite’, Greek for ‘actor’).

Egypt is prominent in the NT (as well as the OT). Jesus spends part of his infancy there (Matthew). The Egyptian miracle worker seems to move with ease in Palestine until his disappearance just outside Jerusalem.

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What is Coptic?What is Coptic?

Language.When the Egyptian language is written with the Greek alphabet (plus a few letters for sounds Greeks did not make), it is called Coptic.Art.Visual arts associated with the Greek- and Egyptian-speaking Christian peoples of Egypt from about the 3rd to the 12th century AD. It is essentially reflected in the stone reliefs, wood carvings, and wall paintings of the monasteries of Egypt.

With the creation of Alexandria in 332 BC, Hellenization came to Egypt, together with first the art of the Greeks, and then that of the Romans, which began to overlay that of the more ancient Egyptian styles. It was in this setting that Christianity arrived in Egypt and it was here that the rich flavor of Coptic (Egyptian Christian) art evolved. (http://touregypt.net/featurestories/copticpainting.htm)

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What is Coptic?What is Coptic?Christ and Saint Mina. 6th-century icon from Bawit, Egypt, now in the Louvre.

http://www.answers.com/topic/menas-jpg

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Papyri and codicesPapyri and codices

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Papyri and codicesPapyri and codices

The twelve codices are essentially twelve books. The roll was the usual form of a book up until the first century C.E., when it began to be replaced by a more economical format that permitted writing on both sides, namely the modern book with individual leaves or a ‘codex’, the Latin word for a set of wooden waxed tablets tied together as a scratch pad, which was the ancestor of the book with papyrus, parchment,or paper leaves. Whereas literary works continued to be written in the more prestigious form of the scroll, Christians (but not Jews) soon came to prefer the more economical codex.

In Egypt the most common writing material was papyrus. The triangular stalk of the papyrus plant is filled with fibrous pith that can be cut or peeled off in long thin strips. These strips are laid side by side and then dried, and polished it becomes a flexible, smooth, and durable writing surface.

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The Nag Hammadi LibraryThe Nag Hammadi Library

The Nag Hammadi Library, a collection of fourth-century papyrus manuscripts contained in twelve codices plus eight leaves of a thirteenth codex, was discovered in upper Egypt in 1945. There are 52 separate tractates. Due to duplications there are 45 separate titles. This immensely important discovery includes a large number of primary gnostic scriptures -- texts once thought to have been entirely destroyed during the early Christian struggle to define "orthodoxy" -- scriptures such as the Gospel of Thomas, the Gospel of Philip, and the Gospel of Truth.

The discovery and translation of the Nag Hammadi library, completed in the 1970's, has provided impetus to a major re-evaluation of early Christian history and the nature of gnosticism.

http://www.gnosis.org/naghamm/nhlalpha.html

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It was on a December day in the year of 1945, near the town of Nag Hammadi in Upper Egypt, that the course of gnostic studies was radically renewed and forever changed. An Arab peasant, digging around a boulder in search of fertilizer for his fields, happened upon an old, rather large red earthenware jar. Hoping to have found a buried treasure, and with due hesitation and apprehension about the jinn who might attend such a hoard, he smashed the jar open. Inside he discovered no treasure and no genie, but instead books: more than a dozen old codices bound in golden brown leather. Little did he realize that he had found an extraordinary collection of ancient texts, manuscripts hidden a millennium and a half before -- probably by monks from the nearby monastery of St. Pachomius seeking to preserve them from a destruction ordered by the church as part of its violent expunging of heterodoxy and heresy.

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Nag Hammadi Texts - Codex IVBoth the codex and the pages in it were created in circa 400 A.D.

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The focus that brought the collection together is an estrangement from the mass of humanity, an affinity to an ideal order that completely transcends life as we know it, and a life-style radically other than common practice. This life-style involved giving up all the goods that people usually desire and longing for an ultimate liberation. It is not an aggressive revolution that is intended, but rather a withdrawal from involvement in the contamination that destroys clarity of vision.

The texts were translated one by one from Greek into Coptic, and not always by translators capable of grasping the profundity or sublimity of what they sought to translate. The translator of a brief section of Plato’s Republic clearly did not understand the text, though it obviously seemed edifying and worth translating.

Those who collected this library were Christians, and many of the essays were originally composed by Christian authors.

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Other gospels in the Nag Hammadi LibraryOther gospels in the Nag Hammadi Library

The Apocryphon of James – very brief containing some words of the Lord, The Gospel of Truth – not really a ‘gospel’ except in the sense of good news, more a homily, The Gospel of Philip – not a gospel in NT sense, just an occasional word or deed of Jesus, talks about Mary, mother of Jesus and Mary Magdalene, “the one who was called his companion,” The Book of Thomas the Contender – a revelation dialogue between the resurrected Jesus and his twin brother Judas Thomas, ostensibly recorded by Mathaias (the apostle Matthew?) at a time just before Jesus’ ascention, The Gospel of the Egyptians – is not that cited in Patristic literature, but is rather about the life of Seth (third son of Adam and Eve) as father of the gnostic race, The Gospel of Mary – contains dialogue between the risen Savior and the disciples, followed by the Savior’s special revelation to Mary Magdalene It first came to light in 1896 in Cairo.

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The four gospels of the New TestamentThe four gospels of the New Testament

Mark written 65-75, Crucified ChristMatthew written 80-90, Teaching ChristLuke written 80-100, Universal ChristJohn written 90-100, Eternal Christ becomes flesh

The four gospels are anonymous, but attributed from earliest tradition to apostles. The dates of composition remain uncertain, and, in some cases, controversial.

They were likely preceded by vibrant oral traditions about what Jesus said and did with the Passion narrative at their core. These traditions were circulated in various communities where they were given context and meaning for worship and resolution of problems and questions arising in communities of followers.

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The four gospels of the New Testament – canonThe four gospels of the New Testament – canon

The four gospels are canonical; the Gospel of Thomas is apocryphal. The terms canonical and apocryphal have specific meanings in traditional Christianity. Canonical writings are those that are exclusively to be used "in the church" as its official writings.1. Their most common use is in the liturgy: The compositions of the Old and New Testaments are read aloud and preached on, for the formation of a certain community identity.2. These are also the compositions used in public debates over doctrine and morals in the public community (see councils).Apocryphal writings are available for individual reading. Some, but by no means all, were condemned as heretical; some were extremely popular, but at the level of personal edification.

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What about canon? For this discussion I am indebted to Dr. Luke Timothy Johnson, Professor of New Testament and Christian Origins, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia.

The historical process of identifying sacred texts as canon involved several discrete stages, but at no stage was there a conspiracy. Community traditions were used in the composition of the earliest letters and Gospels. By the end of the first century, we can detect in Christian writers the process of collecting writings that are regarded as authoritative. The stage of selection is demanded by the crisis of self-definition in Christianity's second century, a crisis that involved both books and ideologies. On one side was the challenge of contraction: In different ways, Tatian and Marcion saw the traditional Gospels as too many. On the other side was the challenge of expansion: Some new compositions claimed revelational authority but also challenged traditional collection.

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These challenges made it necessary for the first time to "name one's sources" in conversations and controversies.

The response of late-2nd -century teachers, such as Tertullian and Irenaeus, was to refute the teachings of the "heretics" but also to establish an "orthodox" strategy of self-definition.1. A set number of compositions exists that accurately if not adequately "measure" Christian existence: the canon of the Old and New Testaments.2. These compositions are to be read within the "measure" of the rule of faith: the creed.3. The authoritative interpretation of these compositions and creed; is invested in a public teaching office: the bishops who are the apostolic successors.

The consequence is that Christianity is defined in public and institutional terms; these positions are subsequently ratified in the 4th century.

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The synoptic gospels: Matthew, Mark and Luke The synoptic gospels: Matthew, Mark and Luke

The synoptic gospels (from Greek, συν, syn, ‘together’, and όπσις, opsis, ‘seeing’) share similarities that distinguish them from the fourth canonical gospel, John.

The synoptic gospels share the same sayings of Jesus as well as the same sequence of events.

On the other hand, each of the three synoptic gospels offers unique witnesses to both Jesus’ words and deeds. At times, they seem to disagree on matters that have puzzled many over the ages.

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How is it that three accounts, seemingly so consistent in their treatment of words and deeds of Jesus, can often disagree?

This has become known as the synoptic problem.

Attempts to explain the interrelationships of the synoptic gospels are numerous, varied, and date back to the fourth century after Christ.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synoptic_Problem

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Church historian Eusebius of Caesarea, devised a method that enabled scholars to

find parallel texts.

In the 5th century, Augustine of Hippo developed what was later known as the Augustinian hypothesis, which proposed why these three gospels were so similar. In this view, the gospels were written in order of presentation, but that Mark was Matthew's "lackey and abbreviator" and that Luke drew from both sources.

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1. Agreement between Matthew and Luke begins where Mark begins and ends where Mark ends.

2. Matthew reproduces about 90% of Mark, Luke about 50%. They often reproduce Mark in the same order. When they disagree, either Matthew or Luke supports the sequence in Mark.

3. In segments the three share, agreement averages about 50% .4. When there is this “triple tradition,” Matthew and Mark often agree

against Luke, and Luke and Mark often agree against Matthew. On the other hand, Matthew and Luke only rarely agree against Mark.

Many, if not most, scholars have concluded that Mark was written before Matthew and Luke and that Matthew and Luke used Mark as the fundamental source for narrative information about Jesus in their gospels, to which they added other materials.

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http://www.utoronto.ca/religion/synopsis/meta-syn.htm

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The Gospel of JohnThe Gospel of John

In the synoptic gospels, Jesus speaks somewhat mysteriously in parables and aphorisms. He has little to say about himself. He is baptized by John, and announces the coming of the kingdom of God. Jesus performs many healings and exorcisms. His temple incident comes as a sort of climax prior to his arrest.

In John’s gospel, his baptism is presupposed rather than mentioned. Jesus speaks in long discourses and reflects extensively on his mission and person. There are no exorcisms. The temple incident happens early on. Foot washing seems to replace the last supper.

If the synoptic gospels have proved useful in imagining the historical Jesus, John’s gospel has provided a portrait of the Christ of faith. Jesus is not only Messiah but the Son of God, as well.

It is interesting that the earliest copy is found in Egypt.

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The words of JesusThe words of Jesus

The early Jesus movement or the early Church had, at some point, to preserve the saying and teachings of Jesus. Obviously, the four canonical Gospels are of paramount importance in this regard to the early followers of Christ and to each succeeding generation, including our own.

Some occur in only one Gospel, others in all three Synoptic Gospels, and others in only two of the Synoptic Gospels (especially Matthew and Luke). For the most part, all the sayings recorded in Mark occur in one form or another in both Matthew and Luke; however, Matthew and Luke also contain some 250 verses of sayings that are similar, at times identical, to one another but that do not occur in Mark. These include the Beatitudes and other portions of the Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 5-7, Luke 6; 9).

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QQ (> (> QuelleQuelle) oral or written tradition of transmission) oral or written tradition of transmission

These 250 verses of similar material not found in Mark include the Beatitudes, the Lord’s Prayer, and the parable of the lost sheep. Since this material is often nearly verbatim in Greek in Matthew and Luke, it suggests that the oral tradition had at some earlier stage been translated from Aramaic into Greek.

This translation may indicate a separate transmission from what we read in Mark as a “sayings source” for Jesus’ teaching. It does not include narrative features or miracles of Jesus’ life; only his words. Biblical scholars usually call it Q (from the German Quelle meaning ‘source’) or the Synoptic Sayings Source – or even Sayings Gospel – , and date this hypothetical material between 50 and 70 C.E. It is unclear whether it had already been written down in a fixed order since Matthew and Luke arrange the sayings differently.

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QQ (> (> QuelleQuelle) oral or written tradition of transmission) oral or written tradition of transmission

Whether written or oral, the Q tradition seems to reflect an early stage in the transmission of the oral tradition in the life of the early Christian communities.

Combining the most accepted solution to the synoptic problem with the Q tradition, it would seem that Matthew and Luke used two major, earlier sources, Mark and Q, to compose their respective Gospels. Each used Mark as their baseline outline but modified Mark by reordering material from Mark and inserting the Q material in unique ways.

The only form in which Q is preserved is precisely that found in Matthew and Luke, and perhaps the Gospel of Thomas!

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The four gospels of the New TestamentThe four gospels of the New Testament

Mark written 65-75, Papias (c.a. 130 C.E.) suggests that the Gospel was written by Mark)Matthew written 80-90, Papias names the Gospel Matthew, according to Eusebius.Luke written 80-100, In the 2nd century only, it was suggested that Luke, the companion of Paul is the author.John written 90-100, About 180 C.E., Irenaeus reports a tradition according to which John, son of Zebedee, was the author, although others ascribed it to John the elder in Ephesus, and still other ascribed it to the beloved disciple (mentioned in John).

The Gospel of Thomas has 47 parallels to Q (i.e., words common to Matt. & Luke but not in Mark), 17 parallels toMatthew, four to Luke and five to John.

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As Jesus taught his disciplesAs Jesus taught his disciples

In Mark 4:10 When he was alone, the Twelve and others around him asked him about the parables. He told them, “The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside everything is said in parables so that, ‘they may be ever seeing but never perceiving, ‘and ever hearing but never understanding …’”In Mark 13, Jesus predicts the destruction of Jerusalem. Peter, James, John and Andrew approached him privately, “Tell us, when will all these things happen? And what will be the sign that they are about to be fulfilled? In Mark 14, Jesus goes to pray in Gethsemane, and he takes with him Peter, James and John.In Mark 15, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of Jesus, and Salome go to Jesus’ tomb only to discover that Jesus had arisen. “When Jesus rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had driven seven demons.

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As Jesus taught his disciplesAs Jesus taught his disciples

Traditions grew up according to which Jesus taught more or differently to his 12 disciples, if not more or differently to certain of his 12 disciples.

Gnosticism, as it developed in Christian circles, made just such a claim. And a gnostic believer was/is one who hasgained insight into the secret teachings of Jesus.

The Gospel of Thomas begins, “These are the secret sayings that the living Jesus spoke and Didymos Judas Thomas recorded. “

Duccio's Calling of the Apostles Peter and Andrew

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Thomas the disciple / apostle / twinThomas the disciple / apostle / twin

Is this Thomas after whom the Gospel of Thomas is named Thomas the disciple, that is, the Doubting Thomas? Is this rather meant to be a twin brother of Jesus?

The Gospel of Thomas begins, “These are the secret sayings that the living Jesus spoke and Didymos Judas Thomas recorded. “ Both ‘Didymos’ and ‘Thomas’ mean ‘twin’.

Didymus Judas Thomas was revered in the Syrian church as an apostle (Matt. 10:3, Mark 3:18, Luke 6:15). He was also revered as the twin brother of Jesus (so claimed by the Acts of Thomas, a 3rd-century work). This attribution likely tells us more about where the gospel was written; it tells us nothing about the author!

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Mystery religions and personal salvationMystery religions and personal salvation

Orphic mysteries or Orphism, religious cult of ancient Greece, prominent in the 6th cent. B.C. According to legend Orpheus founded these mysteries and was the author of the sacred poems from which the Orphic doctrines were drawn. From the ashes of the Titans sprang the human race, who were part divine (Dionysus) and part evil (Titan). This double aspect of human nature, the Dionysian and the Titanic, is essential to the understanding of Orphism. The Orphics affirmed the divine origin of the soul, but it was through initiation into the Orphic Mysteries and through the process of transmigration that the soul could be liberated from its Titanic inheritance and could achieve eternal blessedness. Orphism stressed a strict standard of ethical and moral conduct. Initiates purified themselves and adopted ascetic practices (e.g., abstinence from eating animal flesh) for the purpose of purging evil and cultivating the Dionysian side of the human character.

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Mystery religions and personal salvationMystery religions and personal salvation

Osiris, lord of the dead. His green skin symbolizes rejuvenation.

Cult of Osiris (or Sarapis) Ptolemaic adaptation of ancient Egyptian religious tradition of Isis and Osiris. The cult of Osiris had a particularly strong interest towards the concept of immortality.

Plutarch recounts one version of the myth surrounding the cult in which Set (Osiris's brother) fooled Osiris into getting into a coffin, which he then shut, had sealed with lead and threw into the Nile. Osiris's wife, Isis, searched for his remains until she finally found him embedded in a tree trunk. She used a spell she had learned from her father and brought him back to life so he could impregnate her.

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Mystery religions and personal salvationMystery religions and personal salvation Cult of Osiris After they finished, he died again, so she hid his body in the desert. Months later, she gave birth to Horus. While she was off raising him, Set had been out hunting one night and he came across the body of Osiris. Enraged, he tore the body into fourteen pieces and scattered them throughout the land. Isis gathered up all the parts of the body, less the phallus which was eaten by a fish thereafter considered taboo by the Egyptians, and bandaged them together for a proper burial. The gods were impressed by the devotion of Isis and thus restored Osiris to life in the form of a different kind of existence as the god of the underworld.

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Mystery religions and personal salvationMystery religions and personal salvation Mithraic Mysteries - Mithras This cult came into the Pax Romana from older Hindu myth, but became a “mystery cult”during the Roman second century, especially.

In every Mithraic temple, the place of honor was occupied by a tauroctony, a representation of Mithras killing a sacred bull which was associated with spring. Mithras is depicted as an energetic young man, wearing a Phrygian cap, a short tunic that flares at the hem, pants and a cloak which furls out behind him. Mithras grasps the bull so as to force it into submission, with his knee on its back and one hand forcing back its head while he stabs it in the neck with a short sword. The figure of Mithras is usually shown at a diagonal angle and with the face turned forward.

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Mystery religions and personal salvationMystery religions and personal salvation Mithraic Mysteries - Mithras Mithraism began to attract attention in Rome around the end of the first century. Statius mentions the typical Mithraic relief in his Thebaid (Book i. 719,720), around 80 CE. The earliest material evidence for the Roman worship of Mithras dates from that period, in a record of Roman soldiers who came from the military garrison at Carnuntum in the Roman province of Upper Pannonia.

By the year 200, Mithraism had spread widely through the army, and also among traders and slaves. During festivals all initiates were equals including slaves. The German frontiers have yielded most of the archaeological evidence of its prosperity: small cult objects connected with Mithras turn up in archaeological digs from Romania to Hadrian's Wall.

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Mystery religions and personal salvationMystery religions and personal salvation Mithraic Mysteries – Mithras Some commentators surmise that the Mithraists worshipped Mithras as the mediator between Man and the supreme God of the upper and nether world. Other commentators have additionally labeled Mithraism as a mystery religion with a life-death-rebirth deity, comparable to Isis, or Persephone/Demeter, the cult of the Eleusinian Mysteries.

Evaluation of the relationship of early Christianity with Mithraism has traditionally been based on the polemical testimonies of the 2nd century Church fathers, such as Justin's accusations that the Mithraists were diabolically imitating the Christians.

All three of these mystery religions, whatever else they taught, promised a means to personal salvation beyond the grave.

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Gnosis and Neo-PlatonismGnosis and Neo-Platonism Early Christian writers were Platonic or neo-Platonic in character (w/ an admixture of Stoicism). Pagan philosophers attacked the Church and her doctrine. Christian apologists and theologians were inclined to borrow the weapons of their adversaries.In Tertullian's eyes, pagan philosophy was little more than the foolishness of this world, whereas Clement of Alexandria considered it a gift from God, a means of educating the pagan world for Christ. Clement argued that Greek philosophy had been given by God to mankind as a second source of truth, comparable to the Hebrew revelation. He believed, as had Justin Martyr thought before him, that Plato had borrowed his wisdom from Moses and the prophets.Just as Philo of Alexandria had tried to reconcile Greek philosophy with the Old Testament, so Clement tried to reconcile Greek philosophy with the Christian religion. For Clement, Socrates and Plato were not pagan thinkers; they prefigured Christianity.

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Gnosis and Neo-PlatonismGnosis and Neo-Platonism Marcianus Aristides, a philosopher of Athens, wrote an apology in 140 CE in which he identifies the designer and mover of the world as the Christian God, of whom he predicates the attributes of eternity, perfection, incomprehensibility, wisdom, and goodness.

Justin Martyr wrote later in the second century in his Dialogue with Trypho that philosophy a most precious gift of God, designed to lead man to God. Justin explored Stoicism, then consulted the Peripatetics (inspired after Aristotle), turned next to Pythagorean philosophy, but found his lack of familiarity with music, geometry and astronomy made him ill fit for such study. At last, he turned to the Platonists and their doctrine of the immaterial Ideas with which he was delighted to find it gave him a clear vision of God. Eventually, another Christian showed him the inadequacy of Platonism whereupon Justin adopted a negative and hostile attitude to Greek philosophy.

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Gnosis and Neo-PlatonismGnosis and Neo-Platonism

Justin associated the neo-Platonic term Demiurge (designer of the world) with God. He also believed that Socrates endeavored to lead people from falsehood into truth, as the instrument of Logos, but was put to death by evil men as an impious atheist. Socrates professed that he did not fear for his immortal soul, believing as he did in reward and punishment after death. Justin saw a parallel with Christians, who follow and obey the Incarnate Logos and who denounce false gods but who are termed atheists. Just as the work of Socrates was a preparation for the complete work of Christ, so the condemnation of Socrates was, as it were, a rehearsal or anticipation of the condemnation of Christ and His followers.Tatian, who was likely a pupil of Justin, maintains that the Word, proceeding from the simple essence of God, does not 'fall into the void', as human words do, but remains in its subsistence and is the divine instrument of creation. In explaining the doctrine of creation, he uses language reminiscient of the Timaeus in respect of the Demiurge.

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Athenagoras wrote a Plea for Christians in 177 CE, addressed to the Emperors Marcus Aurelius and Commodus, in which he defends Christians against the three accusations of atheism, cannabalistic feasts and incest. He cites numerous Greek philosophers, including Plato, Aristotle and the Stoics. He quotes Plato in the Timaeus. He proves that there cannot be a multitude of material gods, that God, who forms matter, must transcend matter, that the Cause of perishable must be imperishable and spiritual, and he appeals to the testimony of Plato. Athenagoras, like Justin Martyr, adopts the view that there is one true 'philosophy' or wisdom. It is attained adequately only through the Christian revelation, though Greek philosphers divined something of the truth.

Socrates470 BCE - 399 BCE

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Justin Martyr writing to Roman Senate:And those who by human birth were more ancient than Christ, when they attempted to consider and prove things by reason, were brought before the tribunals as impious persons and busybodies. And Socrates, who was more zealous in this direction than all of them, was accused of the very same crimes as ourselves. For they said that he was introducing new divinities, and did not consider those to be gods whom the state recognized. […] and he exhorted them to become acquainted with the God who was to them unknown, by means of the investigation of reason, […] But these things our Christ did through His own power. For no one trusted in Socrates so as to die for this doctrine, but in Christ, who was partially known even by Socrates (for He was and is the Word who is in every man, and who foretold the things that were to come to pass both through the prophets and in His own person when He was made of like passions, and taught these things) […]

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Justin Martyr writing to Roman Senate (continued):For I myself, too, when I was delighting in the doctrines of Plato, and heard the Christians slandered, and saw them fearless of death, and of all other-things which are counted fearful, perceived that it was impossible that they could be living in wickedness and pleasure. For what sensual or intemperate man, or who that counts it good to feast on human flesh, could welcome death that he might be deprived of his enjoyments, and would not rather continue always the present life […] and we have the unbegotten and ineffable God as witness both of our thoughts and deeds. For why did we not even publicly profess […] that the mysteries of Saturn are performed when we slay a man, and that when we drink our fill of blood, as it is said we do, we are doing what you do before that idol you honor, and on which you sprinkle the blood not only of irrational animals, but also of men, making a libation of the blood of the slain by the hand of the most illustrious and noble man among you?

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These Apologists wrote in Greek and were mainly concerned with answering pagan attacks on Christiany. Two other early Christian thinkers who wrote in Greek are St. Irenaeus and Hippolytus, both of whom were opponents of a movement that flourish in the second century, gnosticism.

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The term ‘Neo-Platonism' is a modern construction. It derives its name from the fact that its first representatives drew their inspiration from Plato's doctrines, although many of the treatises on which they relied are not genuine works of Plato. It originated in Egypt. It is classical, pagan philosophy.

Plotinus, the great third-century thinker, is often considered the 'founder' of Neo-Platonism. Plotinus, is responsible for the grand synthesis of progressive Christian and gnostic ideas with the traditional Platonic philosophy. He answered the challenge of accounting for the emergence of a seemingly inferior and flawed cosmos from the perfect mind of the divinity by declaring outright that all objective existence is but the external self-expression of an inherently contemplative deity known as the One, or the Good.

Plotinus

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The Cosmos, in Plotinian terms, is to be understood as the concrete result or 'product' of the Soul's experience of its own Mind (nous). Ideally, this concrete expression should serve the Soul as a reference-point for its own self-conscious existence; however, the Soul all too easily falls into the error of valuing the expression over the principle (arkhê), which is the contemplation of the divine Forms.

Speusippus (Plato's successor in the Academy) taught that the One is utterly transcendent and "beyond being.” It is God. God exceeds all the categories of finite thought. It is not correct to say that He is a Being, or a Mind. He is over-Being, over-Mind. The only attributes which may be appropriately applied to Him are Good and One. Plotinus declares that the One is "alone with itself" and ineffable.

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The One does not act to produce a cosmos or a spiritual order, but simply generates from itself, effortlessly, a power (dunamis) which is at once the Intellect (nous) and the object of contemplation (theôria) of this Intellect.

While Plotinus suggests that the One subsists by thinking itself as itself, the Intellect subsists through thinking itself as other, and therefore becomes divided within itself: this act of division within the Intellect is the production of Being, which is the very principle of expression or discursivity. For this reason, the Intellect stands as Plotinus' sole First Principle.

Plotinus

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Plotinus, like his older contemporary, the Christian philosopher Origen of Alexandria, views the descent of the soul into the material realm as a necessary moment in the unfolding of the divine Intellect, or God. For this reason, the descent itself is not an evil, for it is a reflection of God's essence. Both Origen and Plotinus place the blame for experiencing this descent as an evil squarely upon the individual soul. Of course, these thinkers held, respectively, quite different views as to why and how the soul experiences the descent as an evil; but they held one thing in common: that the rational soul will naturally choose the Good, and that any failure to do so is the result of forgetfulness or acquired ignorance. But whence this failure? Origen gave what, to Plotinus' mind, must have been a quite unsatisfactory answer: that souls pre-existed as spiritual beings, and when they desired to create or 'beget' independently of God, they all fell into error, and languished there until the coming of Logos Incarnate.

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This view has more than a little gnostic flavor to it, which would have sat ill with Plotinus, who was a great opponent of gnosticism.

Striving for or desiring salvation was not, for Plotinus, an excuse for simply abandoning oneself to faith or prayer or unreflective religious rituals; rather, salvation was to be achieved through the practice of philosophical investigation, of dialectic.

Plotinus is able to assert, in the same breath, that both life and death are good. He says this because life is the moment in which the soul expresses itself and revels in the autonomy of the creative act. However, this life, since it is characterized by action, eventually leads to exhaustion. Death is the relief of this exhaustion, and the return to a state of contemplative repose.

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In 529, Justinian closed the school of Athens. Damascius, the Aristotlean commentator Simplicius, and five other Neoplatonists set out for Persia, hoping they would be able to teach and continue there under Chosroes I. But conditions were unfavorable, and they were allowed to return to Athens.

Neo-Platonism was the last of the great Hellenistic systems of thought to fall. Yet quite a lot of it did survive in Christian and Islamic form.

Justinian I, Emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire. Justinian depicted

on one of the famous mosaics of the Basilica of San Vitale,

Ravenna

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Gnosticism (Greek: γνώσις gnōsis, knowledge) refers to a diverse, syncretistic religious movement consisting of various belief systems generally united in the teaching that humans are divine souls trapped in a material world created by an imperfect spirit, the demiurge, who is frequently identified with the Abrahamic God. The demiurge may be depicted as an embodiment of evil, or in other instances as merely imperfect and as benevolent as its inadequacy permits. This demiurge exists alongside another remote and unknowable supreme being that embodies good. In order to free oneself from the inferior material world, one needs gnosis, or esoteric spiritual knowledge available to all through direct experience or knowledge (gnosis) of God. Jesus of Nazareth is identified by some gnostic sects as an embodiment of the supreme being who became incarnate to bring gnosis to the Earth. In others he was thought to be a gnosis teacher, and yet others, nothing more than a man.

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Gnosticism was popular in the Mediterranean and middle eastern regions in the second and third centuries, though some scholars claim it was suppressed and was actually popular as early as the first century, predating Jesus Christ as a dualistic heresy in areas controlled by the Roman Empire when Christianity became its state religion in the fourth century.

Gnosticism holds an enormous appeal for people at the turn of the millennium. It offered personal salvation as did the mystery religions like those we have already mentioned: Orphic mysteries, Cult of Osiris, Mithraic Mysteries. As with these cults, Gnosticism made its adherents feel as though they were sharing special knowledge, knowledge that was esoteric, knowledge that they could keep for themselves, that the rulers and the rich were not necessarily privy to for being rulers or rich. It is also eclectic, it combines a number of diverse beliefs with ease, resulting in a correspondingly wide appeal.

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As with Neo-Platonism, gnosticism came with philosophic underpinnings – or at least – philosophic terminology, precisely because gnosticism borrows concepts from Neo-Platonism. Thus gnosticism appeals to those who are looking for salvation within a religion that meets the demands of Greek rationalism. It embraces the Pythagorean and Socratic claim of the immortality of the soul.

Finally, gnosticism appeals to numerous Christians, in particular, because it offers an interpretation of Christianity that avoids the difficult dogma that Jesus was resurrected bodily from the grave. And it resolves the “scandal” that God Incarnate was crucified and died on the cross as a criminal. It emphasizes the complete dichotomy of body – spirit. It also enhances the understanding of Mary Magdalene as a disciple of Jesus, if not an apostle of the Gospel. It also honors Wisdom (Sophia) as a feminine manifestation of the Truth, linking itself to the wisdom traditions of the Old Testament and the ethics of the Greeks.

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Gnosis and Neo-PlatonismGnosis and Neo-Platonism However inadequate for interpreting specific writings, it is helpful to provide some broad characterizations of gnosticism. -- Luke Timothy Johnson

A. Gnosis (= knowledge, insight, enlightenment) refers to revealed and saving knowledge, and salvation means liberation from the material world.B. Mythic systems (rather than historical narratives) provide a sense of origin, identity, and destiny.

C. The world of Torah is engaged mainly in a negative way, because the creator God is also the source of error and entrapment.

D. Humanity is divided into types: the hylic (body), the psychic (intellect), and the pneumatic (spirit), and salvation is for the few; this is an individualistic spirituality. E. Two moral responses are associated with gnosticism: libertinism and asceticism.

F. The role of Christ is fundamentally that of the revealer of saving knowledge.

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Gnosis and Neo-Platonism ~ Gnosis and Neo-Platonism ~ The Gnostic GospelsThe Gnostic Gospels -- Pagels -- Pagels

Certainly, in the eyes of those writers of the 2nd century later called "orthodox" (Justin, Tertullian, lrenaeus, Clement), the teachers and doctrines they described as gnostic represented a clear and present danger.

Elaine Pagels book offered the first clear exposition of Christian gnosticism based on the Nag Hammadi compositions in which gnostic writers spoke, after a fashion, for themselves.

Before the discoveries at Nag Hammadi (1945-1946), knowledge of gnosticism was, with the exception of a few compositions, based on the descriptions of orthodox opponents.

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Before the discoveries at Nag Hammadi (1945-1946), knowledge of gnosticism was, with the exception of a few compositions, based on the descriptions of orthodox opponents.


Bishop Irenaeus, who supervised the church in Lyons, c. 180, wrote five volumes entitled The Destruction and Overthrow of Falsely So-called Knowledge. (Gnostic Gospels, p. xvii). Fifty years later Hippolytus, a teacher in Rome, wrote another massive Refutation of All Heresies to “expose and refute the wicked blasphemy of the heretics.” (Gnostic Gospels, p. xviii)What was so offensive?

1) The gnostic teacher Theodotus writes in Asia Minor between 140-160 that to know oneself at the deepest level is simultaneously to know God (Gnostic Gospels, p. xix). Monoimus, another gnostic teacher says, “Abandon the search for God … you will find him in yourself.” (Gnostic Gospels, p. xix).

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2) Some of the gnostics question whether all suffering, labor, and death derive from human sin, which marred an originally perfect creation (Gnostic Gospels, p. xxxviii).


3) Others suggest there is a feminine element in the divine, and celebrate God as Father and Mother (Gnostic Gospels, p. xxxviii).

4) The resurrection is interpreted as wholly spiritual, and not at all physical.

5) Christ is also wholly spiritual and not at all human.

6) Christ, as a spiritual being, only appeared to suffer and die; whereas he had two natures, one human, one divine. (This particular claim is known as Docetism, i.e., that Jesus' physical body was an illusion, as was his crucifixion; that is, Jesus only seemed to have a physical body and to physically die, but in reality he was incorporeal, a pure spirit, and hence could not physically die. This belief has historically been regarded as

heretical by most Christian theologians.)

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It is significant that for those Christians who were alive during the persecutions and to the following church fathers in particular: Ignatius, Polycarp, Justin, Irenaeus, Tertullian, and Hyppolytus, the attitude toward martyrdom corresponds to the interpretation of Christ’s suffering and death. (Gnostic Gospels, pp. 107-108).


The discovery at Nag Hammadi allows some gnostics to present their teachings themselves. And in the process, those texts also reveal something hitherto unsuspected: the political implications of such orthodox doctrines as the bodily resurrection – and how gnostic views of resurrection bear opposite implications (Gnostic Gospels, p. xxxix). Pagel’s intent is “to show how gnostic forms of Christianity interact with orthodoxy – and what this tells us about the origins of Christianity itself.” (Gnostic Gospels, p. xxxvii)

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Pagels suggests that the proclamation that “Jesus Christ rose from the grave” may be the fundamental element of Christian faith (Gnostic Gospels, p. 3)


Tertullian, c. 190, defines the orthodox position for the majority:as Christ rose bodily from the grave, so every believer should anticipate the resurrection of the flesh (Gnostic Gospels, p. 4). He goes on to say that some reject this literal interpretation (Gnostic Gospels, p. 5).

Biblical witnesses are unclear as to the form in which Christ reappeared. Paul describes the resurrection as a mystery (Gnostic Gospels, pp. 6-7).1 Corin. 15:51: Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not sleep, but we will all be changed.

Pagels offers the idea that orthodox doctrine implies authoritarian form of exclusive church leadership, whereas gnostic Christians who interpret resurrection in other ways have a lesser claim to authority (Gnostic Gospels, p. 7).

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The beginning of the creed, “I believe in one God, Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth,” may have been so formulated to exclude followers of Marcion (c. 140) (Gnostic Gospels, p. 33).


The question of apostolic authority is implied in Matthew and Luke (Gnostic Gospels, p. 10). An apostle must be a witness.When the orthodox insisted on “one God,” they simultaneously validated the system of church governance by “one bishop” (Gnostic Gospels, p. 40)

Clement of Alexandria argues that God rules via his delegates. Just as God reigns in heaven, so on earth he delegates his rule to members of the church hierarchy. Ignatius goes one step further. Just as there is only one God in heaven, so there can be only one bishop on earth. “One God, one bishop” becomes the orthodox slogan (Gnostic Gospels, p. 42). Gnostics, however, have been “released” from the power and false claims of the demiurge, according to Valentinus.

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Some gnostics called the literal view of resurrection the “faith of fools.” (Gnostic Gospels, p. 12) The true disciple encounters the resurrected Christ, as did Paul, on the level of inner experience (Gnostic Gospels, p. 13). The gnostic Gospel of Mary interprets the resurrection appearances of Christ as visions received in dreams or in ecstatic trances (Gnostic Gospels, p. 13). Mark & Mary Magdalene at the empty tomb; Gospel of Mary and Peter. (Gnostic Gospels, pp. 14-15)


Did Paul have secret wisdom? (Gnostic Gospels, pp. 17-18) Does he indicate that the body is incapable of apprehending such wisdom? (2 Corin. 12:2-4)According to the Gospel of Thomas, Jesus says, “If spirit came into being because of the body, it is a wonder of wonders. Indeed, I am amazed at how this great wealth [the spirit] has made its home in this poverty [the body].” (Gnostic Gospels, p. 32)

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Similarly, we read in the Gospel of Thomas, 87. Jesus said, "How miserable is the body that depends on a body, and how miserable is the soul that depends on these two."


Both the titles of the Gospel of Thomas and the Book of Thomas the Contender may suggest that you, the reader, are Jesus’ “twin brother.” (Gnostic Gospels, p. 22). What do the Twelve know, anyway? (Gnostic Gospels, p. 26)

Irenaeus defends orthodoxy over and against the gnostics (Gnostic Gospels, pp. 20-21, 25, 28-29). So, too, Tertullian (Gnostic Gospels, pp. 27-28). Both emphasize the anticipation of bodily resurrection (Gnostic Gospels, p. 31).

Just as Christian tradition has preserved orthodox writings that denounce the gnostics, now with the discovery of the Nag Hammadi, we read how the gnostics denounced the orthodox (Gnostic Gospels, p. 123).

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In the Second Treatise of the Great Seth, “… we were hated and persecuted, not only by the ignorant [pagans], but also by those who think they are advancing the name of Christ, since they were unknowingly empty, not knowing who they are, like dumb animals.” “having proclaimed a doctrine of a dead man and lies, so as to resemble the freedom and purity of the perfect church.”


The author of the Apocalypse of Peter alleges that the orthodox “blaspheme the truth and proclaim evil teaching.” Similarly, in the Testamony of Truth, ecclesiastical believers are attacked as those who say “we are Christians,” but “who [do not know who] Christ is.”

Another Nag Hammadi text, the Authoritative Teaching, accuses “those who contend with us” of being “dealers in bodies,” senseless, ignorant, worse than pagans. (Gnostic Gospels, pp. 124-125)

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By the late second century, objective criteria for church membership include confession of the creed, baptism, participation in worship and obedience to the clergy.The orthodox Ignatius, Bishop of Antioch says, “Let no one do anything without the bishop. Let that be considered a valid eucharist which is celebrated by the bishop, or by the person whom he appoints … Wherever the bishop offers [the eucharist], let the congregation be present, just as wherever Jesus Christ is, there is the catholic church.” (Gnostic Gospels, p. 126)


Lest any “heretic” suggest that Christ may be present without the bishop, Ignatius sets him straight, “It is not legitimate either to baptize or to hold an agape meal without the bishop… To join with the bishop is to join the church; to separate oneself from the bishop is to separate oneself not only from the church, but from God himself.” (Gnostic Gospels, p. 127)

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Gnostic Christians, on the other hand, assert that what distinguishes the false and the true church is not its relationship to the clergy, but the level of understanding of its members. They attempt neither to dominate nor to submit to the bishop; they experience Christ directly and inwardly. One member of the true church is united to another through gnosis and they love each other as “fellow spirits.” (Gnostic Gospels, p. 128)


Gnostic Christians, according to Irenaeus, conducted their meetings by having members draw lots for the roles of priest, bishop, and prophet. The next meeting, they would throw lots again so that the persons taking each role changed continually. All initiates, men and women alike, participated equally in the drawing; anyone might be selected to be priest, bishop, or prophet. There could never be among them permanent “ranks.” (Gnostic Gospels, p. 49)

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The purpose of accepting authority is to learn to outgrow it. When one becomes mature, one no longer needs any external authority. The one who formerly took the place of a disciple comes to recognize himself as Jesus’ “twin brother.”


Gnostic sources do often depict Jesus answering questions, taking the role of a teacher, revealer, and spiritual master. Yet his role serves as only a provisional measure. In our Gospel of Thomas, Jesus refuses to validate the experience that the disciples must discover for themselves (Gnostic Gospels, p. 157):91. They said to him, "Tell us who you are so that we may believe in you." He said to them, "You examine the face of heaven and earth, but you have not come to know the one who is in your presence, and you do not know how to examine the present moment."

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In frustration, the disciples inquire, "Who are you to say these things to us?" "You don't understand who I am from what I say to you. " (Gospel of Thomas, #43). Jesus, instead of answering, criticizes their question.


Elsewhere in the Gospel of Thomas, 24. His disciples said, "Show us the place where you are, for we must seek it." He said to them, "Anyone here with two ears had better listen! There is light within a person of light, and it shines on the whole world. If it does not shine, it is dark." Jesus seizes the opportunity to make a larger point by directing the disciples to discover the resources within, rather than expect the answer to come from him.

The same theme appears in another Nag Hammadi composition, the Dialogue of the Savior. As Jesus talks with three chosen disciples, Matthew asks him to show him the “place of life,” which is, he says, he “pure light.” Jesus answers, “Every one [of you] who has known himself has seen it.” (Gnostic Gospels, p. 158)

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Indeed, Jesus praises the concentration on inner well being in solitude, “Jesus said, "Congratulations to those who are alone and chosen, for you will find the kingdom. For you have come from it, and you will return there again." (Gospel of Thomas, #49)


One group of gnostics claim to have received a secret tradition from Jesus through James and through Mary Magdalene. Members of this group prayed to both the divine Father and Mother. Since Genesis, Chap. 1, says that humanity was created in God’s image, then some concluded that the God in whose image we are made must also be masculine and feminine. – both Father and Mother. (Gnostic Gospels, p. 59) This, however, is not the case for our Gospel of Thomas, as the last saying make clear:114. Simon Peter said to them, "Make Mary leave us, for females don't deserve life." Jesus said, "Look, I will guide her to make her male, so that she too may become a living spirit resembling you males. For every female who makes herself male will enter the kingdom of Heaven."

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Pagels points out that Clement of Alexandria, though on the side of the orthodox and very much opposed to the gnostics, characterizes God in feminine as well as masculine terms:“The Word is everything to the child, both father and mother, teacher and nurse … The nutriment is the milk of the Father … and the Word alone supplies us children with the milk of love .. For this reason, seeking is called sucking; to those infants who seek the Word, the Father’s loving breasts supply milk.” (Gnostic Gospels, p. 81)


The majority of the orthodox, however, adopted the view of Tertullian , c. 190, :“It is not permitted for a woman to speak in the church, nor is it permitted for her to teach, nor to baptize, nor to offer [the eucharist], nor to claim for herself a share in any masculine function – least of all, in priestly office.”In 1977, Pope Paul VI declared that a woman cannot be a priest “because our Lord was a man.” (Gnostic Gospels, p. 83)

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The Nag Hammadi discoveries reopen fundamental questions. 1) origins of Christianity. Might Christianity have developed differently?


2) Had Christianity remained multiform, it might have disappeared with dozens of rival religious cults.

3) Whereas the gnostics considered the created world something out of which Christ will lead us and from which he will free us, the orthodox insisted that the creation is “good.” Irenaeus says that Christ, did not despise or evade any condition of humanity, nor set aside for himself the law which he had appointed for the human race, but sanctified every age, becoming infant for infants, thus sanctifying infants; a child for children, thus sanctifying those who are at this age …, then , at last, he came onto death itself.” (Gnostic Gospels, p. 81)

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4) Whereas the gnostic viewed himself as “one out of a thousand,” the orthodox viewed himself as one member of the common human family. As Origen points out in the third century, God would not have offered a way of salvation accessible only to an intellectual or spiritual elite.


5) The gnostic saw a solitary Christ who encourages solitary disciples, who reject family (as suggested in Luke), home (also Luke), avoid marriage (as in Paul), and who have no use for unbelievers, whereas the orthodox saw Jesus bless marriage and call it inviolable, welcome children who surround him willingly, alleviate human suffering through acts of healing and weep when he understood people have rejected him; the same Christ encourages his disciples to acts of the same compassion and self-involvement and sacrifice. (Gnostic Gospels, p.177-178)

6) Exactly what were the words and teachings of Jesus’ own mouth? Are there perhaps more of them available to us than only those recorded in the canonical New Testament?

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7) The Gospel of John is a remarkable book that many gnostic Christians claimed for themselves and used as a primary source for gnostic teaching. Yet the emerging church, despite some orthodox opposition, included John within the New Testament. Why does the church reject the gnostic Gospel of Thomas but include the Gospel of John? (Gnostic Gospels, p.143) That will be addressed in Elaine Pagel’s Beyond Belief: The Secret Gospel of Thomas, to which we now turn our attention.


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In examining the Nag Hammadi compositions, Pagels hoped to rediscover the purer, simpler “early Christianity,” but instead found a more diverse and complicated situation. Many scholars are now convinced that John emerged at the end of the first century in the framework of an intense debate over who Jesus was. Her research has clarified for her not only what John’s gospel is for but what it is against.

Gnosis and Neo-Platonism ~ Gnosis and Neo-Platonism ~ Beyond BeliefBeyond Belief -- Pagels -- Pagels

John says that he writes “so that you may believe, and believing, may have life in [Jesus’] name.” What John opposed, includes what the Gospel of Thomas teaches – that God’s light shines not only in Jesus but, potentially at least, in everyone. Thomas’s gospel encourages the hearer not so much to believe in Jesus, as John requires, as to seek to know God through one’s own, divinely given capacity, since all are created in the image of God. (Beyond Belief, p. 34)

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There was disagreement among John’s first readers (c. 90-130 C.E.) about whether John was a true gospel. Its detractors pointed out that John’s narrative differs significantly from those of the synoptic gospels. This is particularly evident concerning Jesus’ final days. Jesus is arrested shortly after the Temple incident, whereas John places this act at the beginning of his ministry. John intends instead that the story of the raising of Lazarus be understood as the event that leads to the decision by the high priest Caiaphas to have Jesus dealt with once and for all. (Beyond Belief, pp. 34-35)


John the Apostle by El Greco

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Caiaphas argues that “if we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and destroy our holy place and our nation.” (Beyond Belief, p. 36)


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Arch of Titus in Rome (copy)Second Temple, temple of Herod, completed only during lifetime of Jesus, destroyed (70 C.E.)


Tertullian’s younger contemporary Irenaeus had lived as a boy with his teacher Polycarp, Bishop of Smyrma. Polycarp had personally heard Jesus’ teaching from John himself, “the disciple of the Lord.” Convinced that this disciple wrote the Gospel of John, Irenaeus was among the first to champion this gospel.

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Pagels states that the seminal idea for this book came because,“I was amazed when I went back to the Gospel of John after reading Thomas, for Thomas and John clearly draw upon similar language and images, and both, apparently, begin with similar ‘secret teaching’. But John takes this teaching to mean something so different from Thomas that I wondered whether John could have written his gospel to refute what Thomas teaches. … John – and only John – presents a challenging and critical portrait of the disciple he calls ‘Thomas, the one called Didymus’. … [I]t is John who invented the character we call Doubting Thomas, perhaps as a way of caricaturing those who revered a teacher – and a version of Jesus’ teaching – that he regarded as faithless and false.” (Beyond Belief, p. 58)


Elaine Pagels,Princeton University

Polycarp of Smyna, burned at the stake c. 155 C.E., said to have known the Apostle John.

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On the face of it, the Gospel of John has what could be considered gnostic tendencies, as Rudoph Bultmann pointed out.Gnostics must have read John because it is found with Gnostic texts. The root of Gnosticism is that salvation comes from gnosis, secret knowledge. The nearly five chapters of the "farewell discourses" (John 13, 18) Jesus shares only with the Twelve Apostles. Jesus pre-exists birth as the Word (Logos). This origin and action resemble a gnostic aeon (emanation from God) being sent from the pleroma (region of light) to give humans the knowledge they need to ascend to the pleroma themselves. John's denigration of the flesh, as opposed to the spirit, is a classic gnostic theme. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gospel_of_John#Gnostic_elements)


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Bultmann states, “Gnostic terminology places its stamp mainly on the words and discourses of Jesus” in The Gospel according to John; however, he goes even further stating that Gnostic terminology “runs through the whole Gospel and Epistles.” He proceeds further with this thought specifying that, “If the author’s background was Judaism, as rather frequently occurring rabbinical turns of speech perhaps prove, it was….out of a gnosticizing Judaism that he came.” Bultmann further notes that “the literary devices with which [the author of John’s Gospel] builds the discussions—the use of ambiguous concepts and statements to elicit misunderstandings—are indicative that he lives within the sphere of Gnostic-dualistic thinking.”


Bultmann, Rudolf, Theology of the New Testament, Volume II, Translated by Kendrick Grobel, Charles Scribner’s Sons, New York, paperback edition, 1955, Part III, “The Theology of the Gospel of John and the Johannine Epistles.”(http://www.theandros.com/pregnostic.html)

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John is in any case quite distinct from the synoptic gospels, as we have already seen. During the second century, those who argued for what are now called the four canonical gospels recognized John’s uniqueness. First, Irenaeus writes in his Against Heresies of the importance of the gospels by Matthew, Mark, Luke and John,


“So Matthew among the Hebrews issued a Writing of the gospel in their own tongue, while Peter and Paul were preaching the gospel at Rome and founding the Church. After their decease Mark, the disciple and interpreter of Peter, also handed down to us in writing what Peter had preached. Then Luke, the follower of Paul, recorded in a book the gospel as it was preached by him. Finally John, the disciple of the Lord, who had also lain on his breast, himself published the Gospel, while he was residing at Ephesus in Asia.”

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Next, Irenaeus demonstrates with an argument from anology the “fourfold” gospel:


“The Gospels could not possibly be either more or less in number than they are. Since there are four zones of the world in which we live, and four principal winds, while the Church is spread over all the earth, and the pillar and foundation of the Church is the gospel, and the Spirit of life, it fittingly has four pillars … From this it is clear that the Word … gave us the gospel, fourfold in form but held together by one Spirit.” (Quoted from In Quest of Jesus by W. Barnes Tatum, Abingdon Press, 1999, p. 28.)

Irenaeus, bishop and martyr

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It was Irenaeus who became the principal architect of the four gospel cannon. First Irenaeus denounces various Christian groups that settle on only one gospel, like the Ebionite Christians, who, he says, accept only Matthew, or followers of Marcion, who use only Luke. Equally mistaken, Irenaeus continues are those who invoke many gospels. Irenaeus resolved to pare down the forest of “apocryphal and illegitimate” writing like the Secret Book of James and the Gospel of Mary. (Beyond Belief, p. 111)


Tatian, who was a student of Justin like Irenaeus, attempted to harmonize the various gospels by rewriting them into one single, composite account; however, Irenaeus urged believers to accept all four distinct gospels despite their obvious differences. (Beyond Belief, p. 134)

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According to Eusebius, Clement of Alexandria, reflected on some of the circumstances surrounding the composition of Mark’s and John’s gospels with these words,

“When Peter had publicly preached the word at Rome …, those present … exhorted Mark, as one who had followed him for a long time and remembered what had been spoken, to make a record of what was said; and that he did this, and distributed the Gospel among those that asked him. … But that John, last of all, conscious that the outward facts had been set forth in the Gospels, was urged on by his disciples, and divinely moved by the Spirit, composed a spiritual Gospel.” (In Quest of Jesus p. 29)

Augustine, following Clement, writes of John’s gospel,“These three evangelists, however, were for the most part engaged with those things which Christ did through the vehicle of the flesh of man, and after the temporal fashion. But John, on the other hand, had in view that true divinity of the Lord in which He is the Father’s equal, and directed his efforts above all to the setting forth of the divine nature in his Gospel…” (In Quest of Jesus p. 30)

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1. John presents a different outline of Jesus’ ministry and many peculiar stories. In the synoptic gospels, Jesus begins his public ministry only after the arrest of John the Baptist. But in John, before his arrest. In the Synoptics, Jesus makes one visit to Jerusalem and at Passover; in John, his ministry includes at least three Passover seasons. Since Jesus cleanses the Temple on his first visit to Jerusalem in John, another event leads to the conspiracy against him: the raising of Lazarus from the dead. In the Synoptics, the Last Supper occurs on Passover evening and Jesus dies on Passover day. In John, the Last Supper, during which Jesus washes his disciples’ feet, occurs on the evening before Passover evening; Jesus dies the day before Passover. (In Quest of Jesus p. 71)

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2. John presents a different characterization of Jesus and his message. In the Synoptics, Jesus usually tries to keep his messiahship a secret, forbidding demons and the healed from proclaiming it. In John, Jesus is open about his messiahship. In the Synoptics, Jesus teaches in parables. In John, there are no parables. There are instead longer discourses. In the Synoptics, Jesus talks about the future apocalyptic hope; in John, he emphasizes renewed life is possible in the present. In the Synoptics, Jesus’ mighty acts include exorcisms; in John, there are no exorcisms. The nature miracles, healings and even dead raisings are viewed in John as “signs.” (In Quest of Jesus, pp. 71-72)

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John presents a series of sayings that begin with “I am.”

“I am the bread of life (6:35, 48)

“I am the light of the world” (8:12, 9:5)

“I am the gate for the sheep” (10:7)

“I am the good shepherd” (10:11, 14)

“I am the resurrection and the life” (11:25)

“I am the way, and the truth, and the life” (14:6)

“I am the true vine (15:1) (In Quest of Jesus, p. 72. and p. 419)

also “Before Abraham was, I am” (8:58) (Beyond Belief, p. 65)

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Jesus frequently speaks of himself in John’s gospel using the emphatic phrase I AM (Greek: ego eimi). This expression was widely in the Graeco-Roman world, and would have been recognized by John’s readers as an established formula attributed to one of the gods. It is even possible that the famous self-revelation of God is being evoked in Exodus 3:14: “I am who I am.” The Greek version of this phrase, recorded in the Septuagint, reads, “I am the one who is.”(The Five Gospels: The Search for the Authentic Words of Jesus, Robert W. Funk, et al., Macmillan, 1993.)

See for a detailed list of differences and characteristics unique to John: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gospel_of_John#Differences_from_the_Synoptic_Gospels

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Perhaps in part because his gospel is so distinctive, the early church judged John to have been familiar with the Synoptics and to have composed his gospel afterward. Recently, however, the case has been made for its literary independence from the Synoptics, as more and more evidence of an oral tradition has come to light.

It has also been suggested that the fourth evangelist may have had access to a “signs source” a written document consisting of a series of miracle stories so much in evidence in Chapters 1-12. Evidence for this source appears in the Gospel itself where the first two miracles and are explicitly numbered as the “first” and the “second” signs that Jesus performed in Galilee (2:11 and 4:54). (In Quest of Jesus, p. 54)

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It seems that Polycarp did not know of John’s gospel. Nor is it even mentioned by another martyr much revered by Irenaeus, Ignatius, bishop of Antioch. It is not even mentioned by Justin Martyr, the philosopher in Rome whose works Irenaeus admired.

Irenaeus mentions that some Christians rejected John’s gospel. The Roman teacher Gaius had even called the Gospel of John heretical. (Beyond Belief, p. 149)

Nevertheless, for Irenaeus, John was not the fourth gospel, as Christians call it today, but the first and foremost of the gospels, because he believed that John alone understood who Jesus really is – God in human form. (Beyond Belief, p. 112)

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Nevertheless, for Irenaeus, John was not the fourth gospel, as Christians call it today, but the first and foremost of the gospels, because he believed that John alone understood who Jesus really is – God in human form. (Beyond Belief, p. 112) But don’t the other gospels also say that Jesus is God? Elaine Pagels remarks that for herself, I assumed that all the gospels say the same […]. Only in graduate school, when I investigated each gospel […] in its historical context, did I see how radical is John’s claim that Jesus is God manifest in human form.(Beyond Belief, p. 112) p. 37

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Irenaeus knew that the claim far oversteps anything found in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, where, he notes, each pictures Jesus as a man who receives special divine power, as God’s “anointed one.” Each gospel write assigns to Jesus a somewhat different role. Irenaeus says Matthew depicts Jesus as God’s appointed king and traces his family back to King David. Luke emphasizes his role as priest. Mark depicts him as God’s prophet. But each of these gospels stops short of identifying Jesus with God, much less as God.

For Irenaeus, however, the Gospel of John does precisely that. As Origen will say later, only John speaks of Jesus’ “divinity.” Both Irenaeus and Origen took this to mean that John is not only different but also “more elevated.” (Beyond Belief, pp. 152-153)

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Origen, when asked about discrepancies between John, on the one hand, and Matthew, Mark and Luke, on the other, explains that although “John does not always tell the truth literally, he always tells the truth spiritually” – that is, symbolically. He agreed with Valentinus, a gnostic teacher and poet who was widely respected in Rome by his fellow Christians, that the reader of John must plunge beyond the surface of John’s words. (Beyond Belief, pp. 118-119)As Pagels sees it, Irenaeus’ effort to discourage fanciful exegesis of John (involving secret teachings) was successful, despite the acceptance of the commentaries of disciples of Valentinus by many Christians. So, too, his insistence on the four fold gospel resulted in the acceptance of four and only four canonical gospels. His interpretation of the prologue to John’s gospel, according to which the Lord God is the Word and Jesus is the Word incarnate, was enshrined in the Nicene Creed.

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Given the popularity of the gnostic teachings and compositions, indeed given the respectability among certain Christians of the early second century of those teachings, John may have written his gospel as a polemical response to the Gospel of Thomas. For on the one hand, Thomas and John both emphasize Thomas’ recognition of the resurrected Christ and Jesus’ extensive teaching that is, in some sense, restricted to his disciples. On the other, Thomas’ gospel presents Jesus as a sage, the ultimate spiritual guide, an esoteric philosopher, whereas John insists on the unmitigated divinity of Jesus, Lord and God.

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The Gospel of ThomasThe Gospel of ThomasTranslated by Stephen Patterson and Marvin Meyer (Visit the Gospel of Thomas Collection for additional information)These are the secret sayings that the living Jesus spoke and Didymos Judas Thomas recorded. 1. And he said, "Whoever discovers the interpretation of these sayings will not taste death." 2. Jesus said, "Those who seek should not stop seeking until they find. When they find, they will be disturbed. When they are disturbed, they will marvel, and will reign over all. [And after they have reigned they will rest.]" 3. Jesus said, "If your leaders say to you, 'Look, the (Father's) 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 (Father's) kingdom is within you and it is outside you. When you know yourselves, then you will be known, and you will understand that you are children of the living Father. But if you do not know yourselves, then you live in poverty, and you are the poverty.” http://www.gnosis.org/naghamm/gosthom.html

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4. Jesus said, "The person old in days won't hesitate to ask a little child seven days old about the place of life, and that person will live. For many of the first will be last, and will become a single one." 5. Jesus said, "Know what is in front of your face, and what is hidden from you will be disclosed to you. For there is nothing hidden that will not be revealed. [And there is nothing buried that will not be raised.]" 6. His disciples asked him and said to him, "Do you want us to fast? How should we pray? Should we give to charity? What diet should we observe?" Jesus said, "Don't lie, and don't do what you hate, because all things are disclosed before heaven. After all, there is nothing hidden that will not be revealed, and there is nothing covered up that will remain undisclosed."

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7. Jesus said, "Lucky is the lion that the human will eat, so that the lion becomes human. And foul is the human that the lion will eat, and the lion still will become human." 8. And he said, "The person is like a wise fisherman who cast his net into the sea and drew it up from the sea full of little fish. Among them the wise fisherman discovered a fine large fish. He threw all the little fish back into the sea, and easily chose the large fish. Anyone here with two good ears had better listen!" 9. Jesus said, "Look, the sower went out, took a handful (of seeds), and scattered (them). Some fell on the road, and the birds came and gathered them. Others fell on rock, and they didn't take root in the soil and didn't produce heads of grain. Others fell on thorns, and they choked the seeds and worms ate them. And others fell on good soil, and it produced a good crop: it yielded sixty per measure and one hundred twenty per measure."

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10. Jesus said, "I have cast fire upon the world, and look, I'm guarding it until it blazes." 11. Jesus said, "This heaven will pass away, and the one above it will pass away. The dead are not alive, and the living will not die. During the days when you ate what is dead, you made it come alive. When you are in the light, what will you do? On the day when you were one, you became two. But when you become two, what will you do?" 12. The disciples said to Jesus, "We know that you are going to leave us. Who will be our leader?" Jesus said to them, "No matter where you are you are to go to James the Just, for whose sake heaven and earth came into being."

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13. Jesus said to his disciples, "Compare me to something and tell me what I am like." Simon Peter said to him, "You are like a just messenger." Matthew said to him, "You are like a wise philosopher." Thomas said to him, "Teacher, my mouth is utterly unable to say what you are like." Jesus said, "I am not your teacher. Because you have drunk, you have become intoxicated from the bubbling spring that I have tended." And he took him, and withdrew, and spoke three sayings to him. When Thomas came back to his friends they asked him, "What did Jesus say to you?" Thomas said to them, "If I tell you one of the sayings he spoke to me, you will pick up rocks and stone me, and fire will come from the rocks and devour you."

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14. Jesus said to them, "If you fast, you will bring sin upon yourselves, and if you pray, you will be condemned, and if you give to charity, you will harm your spirits. When you go into any region and walk about in the countryside, when people take you in, eat what they serve you and heal the sick among them. After all, what goes into your mouth will not defile you; rather, it's what comes out of your mouth that will defile you." 15. Jesus said, "When you see one who was not born of woman, fall on your faces and worship. That one is your Father." 16. Jesus said, "Perhaps people think that I have come to cast peace upon the world. They do not know that I have come to cast conflicts upon the earth: fire, sword, war. For there will be five in a house: there'll be three against two and two against three, father against son and son against father, and they will stand alone."

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17. Jesus said, "I will give you what no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, what no hand has touched, what has not arisen in the human heart." 18. The disciples said to Jesus, "Tell us, how will our end come?" Jesus said, "Have you found the beginning, then, that you are looking for the end? You see, the end will be where the beginning is. Congratulations to the one who stands at the beginning: that one will know the end and will not taste death." 19. Jesus said, "Congratulations to the one who came into being before coming into being. If you become my disciples and pay attention to my sayings, these stones will serve you. For there are five trees in Paradise for you; they do not change, summer or winter, and their leaves do not fall. Whoever knows them will not taste death."

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The Gospel of ThomasThe Gospel of Thomas20. The disciples said to Jesus, "Tell us what Heaven's kingdom is like." He said to them, "It's like a mustard seed, the smallest of all seeds, but when it falls on prepared soil, it produces a large plant and becomes a shelter for birds of the sky." 21. Mary said to Jesus, "What are your disciples like?" He said, "They are like little children living in a field that is not theirs. When the owners of the field come, they will say, 'Give us back our field.' They take off their clothes in front of them in order to give it back to them, and they return their field to them. For this reason I say, if the owners of a house know that a thief is coming, they will be on guard before the thief arrives and will not let the thief break into their house (their domain) and steal their possessions. As for you, then, be on guard against the world. Prepare yourselves with great strength, so the robbers can't find a way to get to you, for the trouble you expect will come. (continued)

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The Gospel of ThomasThe Gospel of Thomas21. (continued) Let there be among you a person who understands. When the crop ripened, he came quickly carrying a sickle and harvested it. Anyone here with two good ears had better listen!" 22. Jesus saw some babies nursing. He said to his disciples, "These nursing babies are like those who enter the (Father's) kingdom." They said to him, "Then shall we enter the (Father's) kingdom as babies?" Jesus said to them, "When you make the two into one, and when you make the inner like the outer and the outer like the inner, and the upper like the lower, and when you make male and female into a single one, so that the male will not be male nor the female be female, when you make eyes in place of an eye, a hand in place of a hand, a foot in place of a foot, an image in place of an image, then you will enter [the kingdom]."

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The Gospel of ThomasThe Gospel of Thomas23. Jesus said, "I shall choose you, one from a thousand and two from ten thousand, and they will stand as a single one." 24. His disciples said, "Show us the place where you are, for we must seek it." He said to them, "Anyone here with two ears had better listen! There is light within a person of light, and it shines on the whole world. If it does not shine, it is dark." 25. Jesus said, "Love your friends like your own soul, protect them like the pupil of your eye." 26. Jesus said, "You see the sliver in your friend's eye, but you don't see the timber in your own eye. When you take the timber out of your own eye, then you will see well enough to remove the sliver from your friend's eye." 27. "If you do not fast from the world, you will not find the (Father's) kingdom. If you do not observe the Sabbath as a Sabbath you will not see the Father."

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The Gospel of ThomasThe Gospel of Thomas28. Jesus said, "I took my stand in the midst of the world, and in flesh I appeared to them. I found them all drunk, and I did not find any of them thirsty. My soul ached for the children of humanity, because they are blind in their hearts and do not see, for they came into the world empty, and they also seek to depart from the world empty. But meanwhile they are drunk. When they shake off their wine, then they will change their ways." 29. Jesus said, "If the flesh came into being because of spirit, that is a marvel, but if spirit came into being because of the body, that is a marvel of marvels. Yet I marvel at how this great wealth has come to dwell in this poverty." 30. Jesus said, "Where there are three deities, they are divine. Where there are two or one, I am with that one." 31. Jesus said, "No prophet is welcome on his home turf; doctors don't cure those who know them."

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The Gospel of ThomasThe Gospel of Thomas32. Jesus said, "A city built on a high hill and fortified cannot fall, nor can it be hidden." 33. Jesus said, "What you will hear in your ear, in the other ear proclaim from your rooftops. After all, no one lights a lamp and puts it under a basket, nor does one put it in a hidden place. Rather, one puts it on a lamp stand so that all who come and go will see its light." 34. Jesus said, "If a blind person leads a blind person, both of them will fall into a hole." 35. Jesus said, "One can't enter a strong person's house and take it by force without tying his hands. Then one can loot his house."

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The Gospel of ThomasThe Gospel of Thomas36. Jesus said, "Do not fret, from morning to evening and from evening to morning, [about your food--what you're going to eat, or about your clothing--] what you are going to wear. [You're much better than the lilies, which neither card nor spin. As for you, when you have no garment, what will you put on? Who might add to your stature? That very one will give you your garment.]" 37. His disciples said, "When will you appear to us, and when will we see you?" Jesus said, "When you strip without being ashamed, and you take your clothes and put them under your feet like little children and trample then, then [you] will see the son of the living one and you will not be afraid." 38. Jesus said, "Often you have desired to hear these sayings that I am speaking to you, and you have no one else from whom to hear them. There will be days when you will seek me and you will not find me."

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The Gospel of ThomasThe Gospel of Thomas39. Jesus said, "The Pharisees and the scholars have taken the keys of knowledge and have hidden them. They have not entered nor have they allowed those who want to enter to do so. As for you, be as sly as snakes and as simple as doves." 40. Jesus said, "A grapevine has been planted apart from the Father. Since it is not strong, it will be pulled up by its root and will perish." 41. Jesus said, "Whoever has something in hand will be given more, and whoever has nothing will be deprived of even the little they have." 42. Jesus said, "Be passersby." 43. His disciples said to him, "Who are you to say these things to us?" "You don't understand who I am from what I say to you. Rather, you have become like the Judeans, for they love the tree but hate its fruit, or they love the fruit but hate the tree."

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The Gospel of ThomasThe Gospel of Thomas44. Jesus said, "Whoever blasphemes against the Father will be forgiven, and whoever blasphemes against the son will be forgiven, but whoever blasphemes against the holy spirit will not be forgiven, either on earth or in heaven." 45. Jesus said, "Grapes are not harvested from thorn trees, nor are figs gathered from thistles, for they yield no fruit. Good persons produce good from what they've stored up; bad persons produce evil from the wickedness they've stored up in their hearts, and say evil things. For from the overflow of the heart they produce evil." 46. Jesus said, "From Adam to John the Baptist, among those born of women, no one is so much greater than John the Baptist that his eyes should not be averted. But I have said that whoever among you becomes a child will recognize the (Father's) kingdom and will become greater than John."

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The Gospel of ThomasThe Gospel of Thomas47. Jesus said, "A person cannot mount two horses or bend two bows. And a slave cannot serve two masters, otherwise that slave will honor the one and offend the other. Nobody drinks aged wine and immediately wants to drink young wine. Young wine is not poured into old wineskins, or they might break, and aged wine is not poured into a new wineskin, or it might spoil. An old patch is not sewn onto a new garment, since it would create a tear." 48. Jesus said, "If two make peace with each other in a single house, they will say to the mountain, 'Move from here!' and it will move." 49. Jesus said, "Congratulations to those who are alone and chosen, for you will find the kingdom. For you have come from it, and you will return there again."

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The Gospel of ThomasThe Gospel of Thomas50. Jesus said, "If they say to you, 'Where have you come from?' say to them, 'We have come from the light, from the place where the light came into being by itself, established [itself], and appeared in their image.' If they say to you, 'Is it you?' say, 'We are its children, and we are the chosen of the living Father.' If they ask you, 'What is the evidence of your Father in you?' say to them, 'It is motion and rest.'" 51. His disciples said to him, "When will the rest for the dead take place, and when will the new world come?" He said to them, "What you are looking forward to has come, but you don't know it." 52. His disciples said to him, "Twenty-four prophets have spoken in Israel, and they all spoke of you." He said to them, "You have disregarded the living one who is in your presence, and have spoken of the dead."

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The Gospel of ThomasThe Gospel of Thomas53. His disciples said to him, "Is circumcision useful or not?" He said to them, "If it were useful, their father would produce children already circumcised from their mother. Rather, the true circumcision in spirit has become profitable in every respect." 54. Jesus said, "Congratulations to the poor, for to you belongs Heaven's kingdom." 55. Jesus said, "Whoever does not hate father and mother cannot be my disciple, and whoever does not hate brothers and sisters, and carry the cross as I do, will not be worthy of me." 56. Jesus said, "Whoever has come to know the world has discovered a carcass, and whoever has discovered a carcass, of that person the world is not worthy."

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The Gospel of ThomasThe Gospel of Thomas57 Jesus said, "The Father's kingdom is like a person who has [good] seed. His enemy came during the night and sowed weeds among the good seed. The person did not let the workers pull up the weeds, but said to them, 'No, otherwise you might go to pull up the weeds and pull up the wheat along with them.' For on the day of the harvest the weeds will be conspicuous, and will be pulled up and burned." 58. Jesus said, "Congratulations to the person who has toiled and has found life." 59. Jesus said, "Look to the living one as long as you live, otherwise you might die and then try to see the living one, and you will be unable to see."

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The Gospel of ThomasThe Gospel of Thomas60. He saw a Samaritan carrying a lamb and going to Judea. He said to his disciples, "that person ... around the lamb." They said to him, "So that he may kill it and eat it." He said to them, "He will not eat it while it is alive, but only after he has killed it and it has become a carcass." They said, "Otherwise he can't do it." He said to them, "So also with you, seek for yourselves a place for rest, or you might become a carcass and be eaten." 61. Jesus said, "Two will recline on a couch; one will die, one will live." Salome said, "Who are you mister? You have climbed onto my couch and eaten from my table as if you are from someone." Jesus said to her, "I am the one who comes from what is whole. I was granted from the things of my Father." "I am your disciple." "For this reason I say, if one is whole, one will be filled with light, but if one is divided, one will be filled with darkness."

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The Gospel of ThomasThe Gospel of Thomas62. Jesus said, "I disclose my mysteries to those [who are worthy] of [my] mysteries. Do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing.63. Jesus said, "There was a rich person who had a great deal of money. He said, 'I shall invest my money so that I may sow, reap, plant, and fill my storehouses with produce, that I may lack nothing.' These were the things he was thinking in his heart, but that very night he died. Anyone here with two ears had better listen!" 64. Jesus said, "A person was receiving guests. When he had prepared the dinner, he sent his slave to invite the guests. The slave went to the first and said to that one, 'My master invites you.' That one said, 'Some merchants owe me money; they are coming to me tonight. I have to go and give them instructions. Please excuse me from dinner.' (continued)

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The Gospel of ThomasThe Gospel of Thomas64. (continued) The slave went to another and said to that one, 'My master has invited you.' That one said to the slave, 'I have bought a house, and I have been called away for a day. I shall have no time.' The slave went to another and said to that one, 'My master invites you.' That one said to the slave, 'My friend is to be married, and I am to arrange the banquet. I shall not be able to come. Please excuse me from dinner.' The slave went to another and said to that one, 'My master invites you.' That one said to the slave, 'I have bought an estate, and I am going to collect the rent. I shall not be able to come. Please excuse me.' The slave returned and said to his master, 'Those whom you invited to dinner have asked to be excused.' The master said to his slave, 'Go out on the streets and bring back whomever you find to have dinner.' Buyers and merchants [will] not enter the places of my Father."

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The Gospel of ThomasThe Gospel of Thomas65. He said, "A [...] person owned a vineyard and rented it to some farmers, so they could work it and he could collect its crop from them. He sent his slave so the farmers would give him the vineyard's crop. They grabbed him, beat him, and almost killed him, and the slave returned and told his master. His master said, 'Perhaps he didn't know them.' He sent another slave, and the farmers beat that one as well. Then the master sent his son and said, 'Perhaps they'll show my son some respect.' Because the farmers knew that he was the heir to the vineyard, they grabbed him and killed him. Anyone here with two ears had better listen!" 66. Jesus said, "Show me the stone that the builders rejected: that is the keystone." 67. Jesus said, "Those who know all, but are lacking in themselves, are utterly lacking."

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The Gospel of ThomasThe Gospel of Thomas68. Jesus said, "Congratulations to you when you are hated and persecuted; and no place will be found, wherever you have been persecuted." 69. Jesus said, "Congratulations to those who have been persecuted in their hearts: they are the ones who have truly come to know the Father. Congratulations to those who go hungry, so the stomach of the one in want may be filled." 70. Jesus said, "If you bring forth what is within you, what you have will save you. If you do not have that within you, what you do not have within you [will] kill you." 71. Jesus said, "I will destroy [this] house, and no one will be able to build it [...]."

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The Gospel of ThomasThe Gospel of Thomas72. A [person said] to him, "Tell my brothers to divide my father's possessions with me." He said to the person, "Mister, who made me a divider?" He turned to his disciples and said to them, "I'm not a divider, am I?" 73. Jesus said, "The crop is huge but the workers are few, so beg the harvest boss to dispatch workers to the fields." 74. He said, "Lord, there are many around the drinking trough, but there is nothing in the well." 75. Jesus said, "There are many standing at the door, but those who are alone will enter the bridal suite." 76. Jesus said, "The Father's kingdom is like a merchant who had a supply of merchandise and found a pearl. That merchant was prudent; he sold the merchandise and bought the single pearl for himself. So also with you, seek his treasure that is unfailing, that is enduring, where no moth comes to eat and no worm destroys."

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The Gospel of ThomasThe Gospel of Thomas77. Jesus said, "I am the light that is over all things. I am all: from me all came forth, and to me all attained. Split a piece of wood; I am there. Lift up the stone, and you will find me there." 78. Jesus said, "Why have you come out to the countryside? To see a reed shaken by the wind? And to see a person dressed in soft clothes, [like your] rulers and your powerful ones? They are dressed in soft clothes, and they cannot understand truth." 79. A woman in the crowd said to him, "Lucky are the womb that bore you and the breasts that fed you." He said to [her], "Lucky are those who have heard the word of the Father and have truly kept it. For there will be days when you will say, 'Lucky are the womb that has not conceived and the breasts that have not given milk.'" 80. Jesus said, "Whoever has come to know the world has discovered the body, and whoever has discovered the body, of that one the world is not worthy."

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The Gospel of ThomasThe Gospel of Thomas81. Jesus said, "Let one who has become wealthy reign, and let one who has power renounce <it>." 82. Jesus said, "Whoever is near me is near the fire, and whoever is far from me is far from the (Father's) kingdom." 83. Jesus said, "Images are visible to people, but the light within them is hidden in the image of the Father's light. He will be disclosed, but his image is hidden by his light." 84. Jesus said, "When you see your likeness, you are happy. But when you see your images that came into being before you and that neither die nor become visible, how much you will have to bear!" 85. Jesus said, "Adam came from great power and great wealth, but he was not worthy of you. For had he been worthy, [he would] not [have tasted] death." 86. Jesus said, "[Foxes have] their dens and birds have their nests, but human beings have no place to lay down and rest."

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The Gospel of ThomasThe Gospel of Thomas87. Jesus said, "How miserable is the body that depends on a body, and how miserable is the soul that depends on these two." 88. Jesus said, "The messengers and the prophets will come to you and give you what belongs to you. You, in turn, give them what you have, and say to yourselves, 'When will they come and take what belongs to them?'" 89. Jesus said, "Why do you wash the outside of the cup? Don't you understand that the one who made the inside is also the one who made the outside?" 90. Jesus said, "Come to me, for my yoke is comfortable and my lordship is gentle, and you will find rest for yourselves." 91. They said to him, "Tell us who you are so that we may believe in you." He said to them, "You examine the face of heaven and earth, but you have not come to know the one who is in your presence, and you do not know how to examine the present moment."

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The Gospel of ThomasThe Gospel of Thomas92. Jesus said, "Seek and you will find. In the past, however, I did not tell you the things about which you asked me then. Now I am willing to tell them, but you are not seeking them." 93. "Don't give what is holy to dogs, for they might throw them upon the manure pile. Don't throw pearls [to] pigs, or they might ... it [...]." 94. Jesus [said], "One who seeks will find, and for [one who knocks] it will be opened." 95. [Jesus said], "If you have money, don't lend it at interest. Rather, give [it] to someone from whom you won't get it back." 96. Jesus [said], "The Father's kingdom is like [a] woman. She took a little leaven, [hid] it in dough, and made it into large loaves of bread. Anyone here with two ears had better listen!"

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The Gospel of ThomasThe Gospel of Thomas97. Jesus said, "The [Father's] kingdom is like a woman who was carrying a [jar] full of meal. While she was walking along [a] distant road, the handle of the jar broke and the meal spilled behind her [along] the road. She didn't know it; she hadn't noticed a problem. When she reached her house, she put the jar down and discovered that it was empty." 98. Jesus said, "The Father's kingdom is like a person who wanted to kill someone powerful. While still at home he drew his sword and thrust it into the wall to find out whether his hand would go in. Then he killed the powerful one." 99. The disciples said to him, "Your brothers and your mother are standing outside." He said to them, "Those here who do what my Father wants are my brothers and my mother. They are the ones who will enter my Father's kingdom."

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The Gospel of ThomasThe Gospel of Thomas100. They showed Jesus a gold coin and said to him, "The Roman emperor's people demand taxes from us." He said to them, "Give the emperor what belongs to the emperor, give God what belongs to God, and give me what is mine." 101. "Whoever does not hate [father] and mother as I do cannot be my [disciple], and whoever does [not] love [father and] mother as I do cannot be my [disciple]. For my mother [...], but my true [mother] gave me life." 102. Jesus said, "Damn the Pharisees! They are like a dog sleeping in the cattle manger: the dog neither eats nor [lets] the cattle eat." 103. Jesus said, "Congratulations to those who know where the rebels are going to attack. [They] can get going, collect their imperial resources, and be prepared before the rebels arrive."

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The Gospel of ThomasThe Gospel of Thomas104. They said to Jesus, "Come, let us pray today, and let us fast." Jesus said, "What sin have I committed, or how have I been undone? Rather, when the groom leaves the bridal suite, then let people fast and pray." 105. Jesus said, "Whoever knows the father and the mother will be called the child of a whore." 106. Jesus said, "When you make the two into one, you will become children of Adam, and when you say, 'Mountain, move from here!' it will move." 107. Jesus said, "The (Father's) kingdom is like a shepherd who had a hundred sheep. One of them, the largest, went astray. He left the ninety-nine and looked for the one until he found it. After he had toiled, he said to the sheep, 'I love you more than the ninety-nine.'"

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The Gospel of ThomasThe Gospel of Thomas108. Jesus said, "Whoever drinks from my mouth will become like me; I myself shall become that person, and the hidden things will be revealed to him." 109. Jesus said, "The (Father's) kingdom is like a person who had a treasure hidden in his field but did not know it. And [when] he died he left it to his [son]. The son [did] not know about it either. He took over the field and sold it. The buyer went plowing, [discovered] the treasure, and began to lend money at interest to whomever he wished." 110. Jesus said, "Let one who has found the world, and has become wealthy, renounce the world." 111. Jesus said, "The heavens and the earth will roll up in your presence, and whoever is living from the living one will not see death." Does not Jesus say, "Those who have found themselves, of them the world is not worthy"?

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The Gospel of ThomasThe Gospel of Thomas112. Jesus said, "Damn the flesh that depends on the soul. Damn the soul that depends on the flesh." 113. His disciples said to him, "When will the kingdom come?" "It will not come by watching for it. It will not be said, 'Look, here!' or 'Look, there!' Rather, the Father's kingdom is spread out upon the earth, and people don't see it." [Saying probably added to the original collection at a later date:]114. Simon Peter said to them, "Make Mary leave us, for females don't deserve life." Jesus said, "Look, I will guide her to make her male, so that she too may become a living spirit resembling you males. For every female who makes herself male will enter the kingdom of Heaven."

Selection from Robert J. Miller, ed., The Complete Gospels: Annotated Scholars Version. (Polebridge Press, 1992, 1994).See also : http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/thomas/

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The five gospelsThe five gospels

http://www.utoronto.ca/religion/synopsis/meta-5g.htm

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Interactive QuizzesInteractive Quizzes1. January 6, 2008

2. January 13, 2008

3. January 27, 2008

4. February 17, 2008

5. March 2, 2008

6. March 16, 2008

the gospel of thomas adult sunday school january-march 2008 nathan love

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