The Gospel of Thomas
What is The Gospel of Thomas?
The Gospel of Thomas is a document dated to the mid-2nd century with 114 supposed sayings of Jesus. It was found in the year 1945 close to NajʿḤammādī, Egypt. The book supposedly speaks on Jesus' youth and other events that were not mentioned in the Bible.
Issues With The Gospel of Thomas:
The largest and most obvious issue with the Gospel of Thomas is it is a complete forgery. In the very first line of the book, this is written, "These are the secret sayings which the living Jesus spoke and which Didymos Judas Thomas wrote down," (The Gospel of Thomas). According to the book itself, the apostle Thomas wrote it. However, as mentioned prior, the Gospel of Thomas was written in the mid-2nd century and Thomas was reported to have been killed in the year 72 AD by 4 soldiers. Clearly, Thomas could have not written this book unless he was a zombie.
The Gospel of Thomas also has many contradictions in the text, for example in verse six this is said, "His disciples(likely in reference to the apostles) questioned him and said to him, "Do you want us to fast? How shall we pray? Shall we give alms? What diet shall we observe?" Jesus said, "Do not tell lies, and do not do what you hate, for all things are plain in the sight of heaven. For nothing hidden will not become manifest, and nothing covered will remain without being uncovered," (Gospel of Thomas, P.1, 6). This is a really weird response by "Jesus" as he said the contrary in the actual Bible. In the book of Luke, "And he spake(spoke) a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint," (Luke 18:1 KJV).
In Matthew 6, Jesus also says one can do alms and fasting but not with greedy our prideful intentions. However, as we saw in Thomas, "Jesus" seems to just dismiss their question even saying "do not tell lies." Later in verse 14, he says, "Jesus said to them, "If you fast, you will give rise to sin for yourselves; and if you pray, you will be condemned; and if you give alms, you will do harm to your spirits," (The Gospel of Thomas, P.2, 14). Why on earth would Jesus condemn praying, fasting, and alms if in the Bible we know he claims the opposite(and he is sinless so he cannot lie).
In verse 13, "Thomas" writes, "Thomas said to him, "Master, my mouth is wholly incapable of saying whom you are like." Jesus said, "I am not your master. Because you have drunk, you have become intoxicated from the bubbling spring which I have measured out,"' (The Gospel of Thomas, P.2, 13). In this passage, it is clear that "Jesus" is claiming he is not their Lord and that they perhaps are drunk for such an assertion, but the Bible is clear that Jesus is their Lord as it says it repeatedly. For example in Philippians 2:11, 1 Corinthians 12:3, Romans 10:9-13, Romans 1:3-4, John 20:28, Romans 6:23, 2 Thessalonians 1:1, and 2 Thessalonians 3:18.
The Gospel of Thomas also is extremely sexist. It even saying, "Simon Peter said to him, "Let Mary leave us, for women are not worthy of life." Jesus said, "I myself shall lead her in order to make her male, so that she too may become a living spirit resembling you males. For every woman who will make herself male will enter the kingdom of heaven," (The Gospel of Thomas, P.12, 114). The Bible, however, has a very different tune on equality of the sexes. "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus," (Galatians 3:28 KJV). Women deserve life just as any other does.
Works Cited:
Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Gospel of Thomas". Encyclopedia Britannica, 15 Jun. 2022, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Gospel-of-Thomas. Accessed 4 December 2022.
Dictionary of the Later New Testament & Its Developments: A Compendium of Contemporary Biblical Scholarship. United Kingdom, InterVarsity Press, 2010.
Farmer, David Hugh. The Oxford Dictionary of Saints, Fifth Edition Revised. United Kingdom, OUP Oxford, 2011 (P. 418).
Lambdin , Thomas O. Gospel of Thomas. Translated by Thomas O. Lambdin, Bentley Layton, B. P. Grenfell, and A. S. Hunt. Milwaukee, Wisconsin.: University of Marquette, 1975.