The Original "Gospel of Thomas" Author(s): April D. DeConick Source: Vigiliae Christianae, Vol. 56, No. 2 (May, 2002), pp. 167-199 Published by: BRILL Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1584857 . Accessed: 08/10/2013 15:04 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at . http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp . JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact
[email protected]. BRILL is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Vigiliae Christianae. http://www.jstor.org This content downloaded from 128.42.202.150 on Tue, 8 Oct 2013 15:04:46 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions THE ORIGINAL GOSPEL OF THOMAS1 BY APRIL D. DECONICK Interpretersof the Gospelof Thomas,for decades now, have been con- fronted with an enigmatic set of apparently random sayings which contain a wide diversity of religious traditions including Christian-Jewish,encratic, hermetic, and even apocalyptic-mysticaltraditions.2 This gospel is addi- tionally perplexing in that it contains doublets (L. 3 and 113; L. 38 and 92; L. 48 and 106; 55 and 101; 56 and 80; L. 87 and 112) and sayings which seem to contradict themselves. For instance, the gospel lauds the authority and legitimacy ofJames (L. 12), the first bishop ofJerusalem and leader of conservative Christian-Judaism,while at the same time applaud- ing the "true circumcision in spirit" and rejecting physical circumcision: "If it [physical circumcision]were beneficial, their father would beget them from their mother already circumcised"(L.