Orthodoxy and the Gospel of Thomas

[Scott Pierson]

I was wondering if anyone could provide me with some information (books, links, or maybe an informative post of your own) on an Orthodox understanding of the Gospel of Thomas? Is there anything particularly heretical about it and does it possibly contain some valid expressions of Christian thought?

I know that it's often attributed to a heretical "Gnostic" mileu but it seems to be lacking in the normal elabrate mythologies, talk of a blind demiurge fashioning the universe, a distinction between the Creator and the true hidden God, and some of the commonly found elements you see in the heterodox "Gnostic" texts.

I'm not sure if this is the appropriate area to post this question in and if it's not I apologize.

[Eric Peterson]

From what I know of it, there is plenty of gnosticism in the so-called Gospel of Thomas. There are other apocryphal books which, while having certain oddities, are not nearly as bad. It appears to be, perhaps, a rather "newly discovered" book. What I have in my Fathers series are two Infancy Gospels of Thomas, which are manifestly different from what is more widely (History Channel, Elaine Pagels) known as the Gospel of Thomas, which is nothing but a collection of sayings ascribed to Jesus. I have seen this, but do not possess it. From what I have read, some of the sayings are alike or similar to sayings from the canonical Gospels, but others are overtly gnostic, like one saying that women have to become men to be saved. A few others are like sayings from the canonical Gospels, but have a kind of gnostic twist.

There are good reasons that many of these books were not accepted as Scripture by the Church. With some, it was simply because they were not universal. With others, it was because there was a dispute over authorship. But, with others, it was because they were outright heretical.

The Church derives a lot from texts such as The Gospel of Nicodemus and the Protoevangelion of James. In a way, these are sort of like the texts of the Apostolic Fathers. However, one needs to realize that there was a lot of heresy troubling the early Church, even in the days of the Holy Apostles. Not unlike today, actually.

[Herman Blaydoe]

I was wondering if anyone could provide me with some information (books, links, or maybe an informative post of your own) on an Orthodox understanding of the Gospel of Thomas? Is there anything particularly heretical about it and does it possibly contain some valid expressions of Christian thought?

I know that it's often attributed to a heretical "Gnostic" mileu but it seems to be lacking in the normal elabrate mythologies, talk of a blind demiurge fashioning the universe, a distinction between the Creator and the true hidden God, and some of the commonly found elements you see in the heterodox "Gnostic" texts.

I'm not sure if this is the appropriate area to post this question in and if it's not I apologize.

St. Cyril of Jerusalem, in the 4th century, was quoted as saying in his Cathechesis V, "Let none read the gospel according to Thomas, for it is the work not of one of the Twelve apostles, but of one of Mani's three wicked disciples."

There is nothing in this "gospel" mentioning the Resurrection. It merely portrays Christ Jesus as a guide and teacher, no different than Siddhartha Buddha or Confucius, and it seems to imply that anyone by understanding the "hidden things" we become a "christ" ourselves. I do believe the Church has a problem with this.

[Scott Pierson]

St. Cyril of Jerusalem, in the 4th century, was quoted as saying in his Cathechesis V, "Let none read the gospel according to Thomas, for it is the work not of one of the Twelve apostles, but of one of Mani's three wicked disciples."Mani lived between 216–276 AD and we have fragments of the Gospel of Thomas dating from AD 200 so that makes it rather unlikly that one of Manis dsciples authored this particular "Gospel of Thomas" . Maybe St Cryil was talking about a differnt Gospel of Thomas? It could also be possible that Manicheans re-worked the older text of the Gospel of Thomas and thats what St Cyril is talking about ?

[Scott Pierson]

It's been a while since I've read the Gospel of Thomas but now that I look over it again (and read a few articles about it online) I do notice a few things that could be indicative of it coming from a heretical "gnostic" mileu. It appears to devalue the material world and claims that it is ruled over by a lion like being. The "evil demiruge" Yaldabaoth is often portrayed with a lion head so this could be a refernce to him which means that its author may have accepted the idea that the creator and the Father are differnt beings even though it isn't explicitly stated. I've also read that some scholars consider the text to have been edited and added to on many occasions and if the more heretical "gnostic" elements were there from the start or accrued over time is something I really have no idea about.

The reason I brought this up is because I'm re-reading that book "A Different Christianity" by Robin Amis and he quotes the Gospel of Thomas twice so it had me thinking about it.

[Scott Pierson]

I found it odd that Amis was quoting the Gospel of Thomas when he devoted a whole chapter of the book to pointing out the difference between authentic Christian gnosis and so the called "gnosis" of the heretical sects. He quoted both St Ireneus and clement of Alexandria to point out the differnces in outlook between the Church and these sects. The only thing I can think of is that maybe Mr Amis does not consider the Gospel of Thomas to be part of that heretical school of thought. The verse he quoted from it seemed rather Orthodox so maybe he wasn't trying to promote the text as a whole but merely a statement or two from it though?

[Speros]

Scholars make a distinction between the Gospel of Thomas and Gnosticism. While Thomas' focus is on restoring the nature of man as it was before the fall, Gnosticism is world-negating. Thomas is better seen in light of Jewish wisdom literature than Gnosticism.

Thomas was not universally rejected in the early church. For example, 2 Clement quotes from it. The Orthodox Christians of India and Mesopotamia trace their heritage to the Apostle Thomas. If he visited those regions, it could explain some of the Gospel's eastern tinge.