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Gospel of Thomas Is the Most Important Manuscript Discovery Ever Made
Introduction For those interested in Jesus of Nazareth and the origins of Christianity, the Gospel of Thomas is the most important manuscript discovery ever made. Apart from the canonical scriptures and a few scattered sayings, the Gospel of Thomas is our only historically valuable source for the teach- ings of Jesus. Although it has been available in European languages since the 1950s, it is still subject to intense scrutiny and debate by biblical schol- ars. The Gospel of Thomas is roughly the same age as the canonical New Testament gospels, but it contains sayings of Jesus that present very dif- ferent views on religion and on the nature of humanity and salvation, and it thereby raises the question whether the New Testament’s version of Jesus’ teachings is entirely accurate and complete. In late 1945, an Egyptian peasant named Mohammed Ali al-Samman Mohammad Khalifa rode his camel to the base of a cliff, hoping to find fertilizer to sell in the nearby village of Nag Hammadi. He found, instead, a large sealed pottery jar buried in the sand. He feared it might contain a genie that would haunt or attack him, and he hoped it might contain a treasure. Gathering his courage, he smashed open the jar and discov- ered only a collection of twelve old books. Suspecting that they might have value on the antiquities market, he kept the books and eventually sold them for a small sum. The books gradually came into the hands of scholars in Cairo, Europe, and America. Today those books are known as the Nag Hammadi library, a collection that is generally considered to be the most important archaeological discovery of the twentieth cen- tury for research into the New Testament and early Christianity. -
THE GNOSTIC SOCIETY LIBRARY “The Nag Hammadi Library”
THE GNOSTIC SOCIETY LIBRARY “The Nag Hammadi Library” The “Nag Hammadi Library” is a collection of early Christian Gnostic texts discovered near the Egyptian town of Nag Hammadi, in 1945. Nag Hammadi library The Nag Hammadi library (popularly known as The Gnostic Gospels) is a collection of early Christian Gnostic texts discovered near the town of Nag Hammâdi in 1945. That year, twelve leather-bound papyrus codices buried in a sealed jar were found by a local peasant named Mohammed Ali. The writings in these codices comprised fifty-two mostly Gnostic tractates (treatises), but they also include three works belonging to the Corpus Hermeticum and a partial translation / alteration of Plato's “Republic”. In his "Introduction" to “The Nag Hammadi Library” in English, James Robinson suggests that these codices may have belonged to a nearby Pachomian monastery, and were buried after Bishop Athanasius condemned the uncritical use of non-canonical books in his Festal Letter of 367 AD. The contents of the codices were written in Coptic, though the works were probably all translations from Greek. The best-known of these works is probably the “Gospel of Thomas”, of which the “Nag Hammadi Codices” contain the only complete text. After the discovery it was recognized that fragments of these sayings of Jesus appeared in manuscripts discovered at Oxyrhynchus in 1898, and matching quotations were recognized in other early Christian sources. Subsequently, a 1st or 2nd century date of composition circa 80 AD for the lost Greek originals of the Gospel of Thomas has been proposed, though this is disputed by many if not the majority of biblical matter researchers. -
The Fifth Gospel. the Gospel of Thomas Comes Of
The Fifth Gospel NEWI ED TION The Fifth Gospel The Gospel of Thomas Comes of Age NEWI ED TION Stephen J. Patterson With an essay by James M. Robinson And a New revised translation from Hans-Gebhard Bethge, et al. Published by T&T Clark International A Continuum Imprint The Tower Building, 80 Maiden Lane, 11 York Road, Suite 704, London SE1 7NX New York, NY 10038 www.continuumbooks.com All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. © Stephen J. Patterson, Hans-Gebhard Bethge, James M. Robinson 2011 Stephen J. Patterson, Hans-Gebhard Bethge and James M. Robinson have asserted their right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, to be identified as the Author of this work. British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library ISBN: 978-0-567-31084-2 Typeset by Fakenham Prepress Solutions, Fakenham, Norfolk NR21 8NN Contents Introduction Stephen J. Patterson vii CHAPTER 1 Revised English Translation 1 CHAPTER 2 Understanding the Gospel of Thomas Today 26 CHAPTER 3 The Story of the Nag Hammadi Library 67 Further Reading 97 Notes 100 General Index 118 Index of Gospel of Thomas References 126 Index of Biblical References 128 Introduction Stephen J. Patterson The Gospel of Thomas ranks among the most important manuscript discoveries in the last two hundred years. The debate it unleashed in the 1950s, when scholars first got a glimpse of the new gospel, continues unabated today. -
Nag Hammadi, Gnosticism and New Testament Interpretation
Grace Theological Journal 8.2 (1987) 195-212 Copyright © 1987 by Grace Theological Seminary. Cited with permission. NAG HAMMADI, GNOSTICISM AND NEW TESTAMENT INTERPRETATION WILLIAM W. COMBS The Gnostic heresy alluded to in the NT and widely repudiated by Christian writers in the second century and after has been in- creasingly studied in the last forty years. The discovery in upper Egypt of an extensive collection of Gnostic writings on papyri trans- formed a poorly known movement in early Christianity into a well documented heresy of diverse beliefs and practices. The relationship of Gnosticism and the NT is an issue that has not been resolved by the new documents. Attempts to explain the theology of the NT as dependent on Gnostic teachings rest on ques- tionable hypotheses. The Gnostic redeemer-myth cannot be docu- mented before the second century: Thus, though the Gnostic writings provide helpful insight into the heresies growing out of Christianity, it cannot be assumed that the NT grew out of Gnostic teachings. * * * INTRODUCTION STUDENTS of the NT have generally been interested in the subject of Gnosticism because of its consistent appearance in discussions of the "Colossian heresy" and the interpretation of John's first epistle. It is felt that Gnosticism supplies the background against which these and other issues should be understood. However, some who use the terms "Gnostic" and "Gnosticism" lack a clear understanding of the movement itself. In fact, our knowledge of Gnosticism has suffered considerably from a lack of primary sources. Now, however, with the discovery of the Nag Hammadi (hereafter, NH) codices, this void is being filled. -
EARL 8/2 No. 2
ATTRIDGE/VALENTINIAN AND SETHIAN APOCALYPSES 173 Valentinian and Sethian Apocalyptic Traditions* HAROLD W. ATTRIDGE The paper reexamines the relationship between “apocalyptic” and “gnostic” traditions, on the assumption that global definitions of these phenomena are problematic. Valentinian and Sethian corpora in the Nag Hammadi collection display different appropriations of apocalyptic literary forms and conceptual schemes. Apart from a few late works with traces of Valentinian positions, this tradition largely ignores features characteristic of apocalyptic literature. Valentinian eschatology seems to be founded primarily on philosophical cosmology and psychology. Sethian texts preserve many features of Jewish revelatory literature, and many details associated with various eschatological schemes familiar from apocalyptic sources. The most extensive use of the characteristic “heavenly ascent” topos in Sethian literature, however, seems to be a third-century development, perhaps responding to contemporary forms of religious propaganda. It has been almost forty years since R. M. Grant made his famous, and frequently discussed, suggestion that Gnosticism was born out of disap- pointed apocalyptic hopes.1 While containing an element of truth, the very formulation seems curiously dated. At the end of the millennium we are much more aware of the difficulties of dealing with each term of *A version of this paper was presented to the joint session of the Nag Hammadi and Pseudepigrapha groups at the annual meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature in Orlando, November 22, 1998. The subject of the joint session was the relationship of “apocalyptic” and “Gnosticism.” 1. Robert M. Grant, Gnosticism and Early Christianity (New York: Columbia University Press, 1959; rev. ed. 1966), 27–38. -
Ancient Myths and Modern Theories of the Gospel of Thomas and Christian Origins
ANCIENT MYTHS AND MODERN THEORIES OF THE GOSPEL OF THOMAS AND CHRISTIAN ORIGINS RON CAMERON I don't need any more data. What I need is a theory to explain it all. David Lodge, Small World 1. The discovery of any manuscript is always a joyous occasion, not least when the manuscript is a venerable document that makes a difference in our understanding of religion and culture. In the past century two such discoveries, each fifty years apart, have provided us with the opportunity to pause, take stock of our studies, and reassess what we know about the beginnings of Christianity. I am referring, of course, to two separate discoveries of the same early Christian text: the Gospel According to Thomas. The Gospel of 77zomas is an anthology of 114 sayings preserved in the name, and under the authority, of Jesus. Fragments of three different manuscripts of the Greek text of 77lOrnas(P. Oxy. 1, 654, 655) were discovered nearly one hundred years ago in a garbage dump in the ancient town of Oxyrhynchus, Egypt, and published at the tuni of the century. Fifty years later, a Coptic translation of the entire gospel was discovered at Nag Hammadi, Egypt, where it was buried (in a large storage jar) in the fourth century, unearthed in 1945 (by Muhammad Ali), and published the next decade. Thomas quickly became the subject of intense scholarly debate. Since no fewer than 68 of the 114 sayings in the text have biblical parallels, establishing a connection between Thomas and the New Testament was thought to have far-reaching consequences. -
Download Ancient Apocryphal Gospels
MARKus BOcKMuEhL Ancient Apocryphal Gospels Interpretation Resources for the Use of Scripture in the Church BrockMuehl_Pages.indd 3 11/11/16 9:39 AM © 2017 Markus Bockmuehl First edition Published by Westminster John Knox Press Louisville, Kentucky 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26—10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the pub- lisher. For information, address Westminster John Knox Press, 100 Witherspoon Street, Louisville, Kentucky 40202- 1396. Or contact us online at www.wjkbooks.com. Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. and are used by permission. Map of Oxyrhynchus is printed with permission by Biblical Archaeology Review. Book design by Drew Stevens Cover design by designpointinc.com Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data Names: Bockmuehl, Markus N. A., author. Title: Ancient apocryphal gospels / Markus Bockmuehl. Description: Louisville, KY : Westminster John Knox Press, 2017. | Series: Interpretation: resources for the use of scripture in the church | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: LCCN 2016032962 (print) | LCCN 2016044809 (ebook) | ISBN 9780664235895 (hbk. : alk. paper) | ISBN 9781611646801 (ebook) Subjects: LCSH: Apocryphal Gospels—Criticism, interpretation, etc. | Apocryphal books (New Testament)—Criticism, interpretation, etc. Classification: LCC BS2851 .B63 2017 (print) | LCC BS2851 (ebook) | DDC 229/.8—dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016032962 The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of the American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48- 1992. -
The Gospel of Thomas' Lisa Haygood Fullerton College, [email protected]
LUX: A Journal of Transdisciplinary Writing and Research from Claremont Graduate University Volume 3 | Issue 1 Article 6 2013 The aB ttle oT Authenticate 'The Gospel of Thomas' Lisa Haygood Fullerton College, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: http://scholarship.claremont.edu/lux Part of the Christianity Commons, Church History Commons, History of Christianity Commons, and the History of Religions of Western Origin Commons Recommended Citation Haygood, Lisa (2013) "The aB ttle oT Authenticate 'The Gospel of Thomas'," LUX: A Journal of Transdisciplinary Writing and Research from Claremont Graduate University: Vol. 3: Iss. 1, Article 6. Available at: http://scholarship.claremont.edu/lux/vol3/iss1/6 Haygood: 'Gospel of Thomas' Haygood 1 The Battle to Authenticate “The Gospel of Thomas” Lisa Haygood Fullerton College Abstract Many early Christian sects were aware of and accepted The Gospel of Thomas as authentic Christian scripture, despite its unorthodox, radical doctrine, igniting an ideological battle in and around the Thomasine communities of the ancient world. This ideological war is still raging and conflict renewed and amplified with the discoveries of the Greek and Coptic texts of The Gospel of Thomas in the first half of the 20th Century. Since its discovery, The Gospel of Thomas has presented scholars with ferocious debate, as serious probability exists that Thomas preserves an older tradition of the historical Jesus than that of the Synoptic Gospels. Though the fierce theological battle of religious scholars in the 1990s hardly sparked The Gospel of Thomas debate, their combined research has renewed questions of how to validate Thomas, and thus, Jesus scholarship over the last half century has been restrained in the use and acceptance of Thomas. -
Barbelo 1 Barbelo
Barbelo 1 Barbelo Part of a series on Gnosticism History • Early • Syrian-Egyptic • Mandaeism • Manichaeism • Sabians of Haran • Modern schools Proto-Gnostics • Philo • Simon Magus • Cerinthus • Valentinus • Basilides • Menander Scriptures • Gnostic Gospels • Nag Hammadi library • Pseudo-Abdias • Clementine literature • Gnosticism and the New Testament Codices • Codex Tchacos • Askew Codex • Bruce Codex • Berlin Codex Lists • Gnostic sects • Gnostic terms Related articles • Gnosis • Jnana • Esoteric Christianity • Theosophy • Neoplatonism and Gnosticism • v • t [1] • e Barbelo 2 The Gnostic term "Barbēlō" (Greek: Βαρβηλώ)[2] refers to the first emanation of God in several forms of Gnostic cosmogony. Barbēlō is often depicted as a supreme female principle, the single passive antecedent of creation in its manifoldness. This figure is also variously referred to as 'Mother-Father' (hinting at her apparent androgyny), 'First Human Being', 'The Triple Androgynous Name', or 'Eternal Aeon'. So prominent was her place amongst some Gnostics that some schools were designated as Barbeliotae, Barbēlō worshippers or Barbēlōgnostics. The nature of Barbēlō Nag Hammadi Library In the Apocryphon of John, a tractate in the Nag Hammadi Library containing the most extensive recounting of the Sethian creation myth, the Barbēlō is described as "the first power, the glory, Barbēlō, the perfect glory in the aeons, the glory of the revelation". All subsequent acts of creation within the divine sphere (save, crucially, that of the lowest aeon Sophia) occurs through her coaction with God. The text describes her thus: This is the first thought, his image; she became the womb of everything, for it is she who is prior to them all, the Mother-Father, the first man (Anthropos), the holy Spirit, the thrice-male, the thrice-powerful, the thrice-named androgynous one, and the eternal aeon among the invisible ones, and the first to come forth. -
Gospel of Luke, Infancy Gospel of Thomas, and Gospel of John Vernon K
Gospel of Luke, Infancy Gospel of Thomas, and Gospel of John Vernon K. Robbins, Emory University The next Gospel of importance for our discussion is the Infancy Gospel of Thomas, which is not in the New Testament but probably was written during or shortly after Marcion's activity in the second century CE. The earliest existing manuscript for this Gospel is a sixth century Syriac manuscript in the British Museum.1 The existence of this manuscript exhibits the popularity of this Gospel in eastern Christianity during the time of the emergence of Qur'anic tradition about Jesus. This Gospel contains a "backfilling" from the Lukan story of the twelve year old Jesus in the Jerusalem Temple (Luke 2:41-52; InfThom 19:1-12) to Jesus playing on a Sabbath day at five years of age (InfThom 2:1-3). In other words, the Infancy Gospel of Thomas begins with Jesus at five years of age and reaches its end point in the Lukan story of Jesus in the Temple at twelve years of age. There are two items of special importance in the Infancy Gospel of Thomas for the story of the transmission of Lukan tradition in this essay. The initial insight of importance emerges with the special prominence of Mary, the mother of Jesus, in the account of Jesus in the Temple at twelve years of age at the end of the Infancy Gospel of Thomas. When Jesus' parents return to Jerusalem and find Jesus in the Temple, Infancy Thomas names "His mother Mary" as the major actor in the event (InfThom 19:6). -
Gospel of Thomas from the Scholars Version Translation Published in the Complete Gospels
The Text of the Gospel of Thomas from the Scholars Version translation published in The Complete Gospels PROLOGUE 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. 2When they find, they will be disturbed. 3When they are disturbed, they will marvel, 4 and will rule over all." 3 Jesus said, "If your leaders say to you, 'Look, the (Father's) imperial rule is in the sky,' then the birds of the sky will precede you. 2If they say to you, 'It is in the sea,' then the fish will precede you. 3Rather, the (Father's) imperial rule is inside you and outside you. 4When you know yourselves, then you will be known, and you will understand that you are children of the living Father. 5But if you do not know yourselves, then you live in poverty, and you are the poverty." 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. 2For many of the first will be last, 3and 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. 2 For there is nothing hidden that won't be revealed." 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?" 2Jesus said, "Don't lie, 3 and don't do what you hate, 4because all things are disclosed before heaven. -
The Gnostic Context of the Gospel of Judas
BYU Studies Quarterly Volume 45 Issue 2 Article 5 5-1-2006 The Gnostic Context of the Gospel of Judas Gaye Strathearn Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/byusq Recommended Citation Strathearn, Gaye (2006) "The Gnostic Context of the Gospel of Judas," BYU Studies Quarterly: Vol. 45 : Iss. 2 , Article 5. Available at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/byusq/vol45/iss2/5 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Journals at BYU ScholarsArchive. It has been accepted for inclusion in BYU Studies Quarterly by an authorized editor of BYU ScholarsArchive. For more information, please contact [email protected], [email protected]. Strathearn: The Gnostic Context of the Gospel of Judas Florence Darbre (conservator from the Martin Bodmer Foundation) and Gregor Wurst (Coptic expert and professor at the University of Augsburg) looking over two pages of the codex as they resembled the text, revealing the Gnostic context of the Gospel of Judas. © Kenneth Garrett Published by BYU ScholarsArchive, 2006 1 BYU Studies Quarterly, Vol. 45, Iss. 2 [2006], Art. 5 The Gnostic Context of the Gospel of Judas Gaye Strathearn he Gospel of Judas views Jesus and his ministry from a Gnostic T perspective—a very different perspective from the one described in the canonical Gospels. What Is Gnosticism? During the second century ad a number of Christian groups were vying with each other to legitimate their particular interpretation of Christianity. History records that the group that eventually won the battle became known as “orthodox” Christians, while those who lost became the “heterodox.” Latter-day Saints, however, recognize that by the sec- ond century the Apostasy was already in full swing and that the labels of orthodox/heterodox are largely artificial terms.