The Infancy Gospel of Thomas

What is The Infancy Gospel of Thomas?

The Infancy Gospel of Thomas, not to be confused with the Gospel of Thomas, is a 2nd-century gnostic work that claims to show stories of Jesus as a young man, specifically from the age of 5-12. It describes Jesus as very poor and opposed to his nature in the Bible. Many early church fathers are also known to criticize this work. 

Issues With This Gnostic Gospel:

Firstly, the date is a huge red flag. This Gnostic text specifically claims to have been written by Thomas, as it says: "I, Thomas the Israelite, have considered it my duty to recount to all the gentile brethren the deeds of our Lord ..." (Infancy Gospel of Thomas, 1). As mentioned earlier, this text was written in the second century, so unless Thomas was a zombie or sent the book down from Heaven, he did not write this text.

This fake Jesus also is disobedient to his parents. Joseph tells Jesus, holding him by his ear, to stop cursing people (I.G.T., 5), but instead of listening, he insults Joseph stating: "in your brute ignorance" (I.G.T., 5). People in the book even note that Jesus does not respect his elders nor other boys for he had killed, paralyzed, and blinded many (It is to be noted he eventually healed them after humiliating a priest, I.G.T., 8). This attitude contradicts when Jesus tells us to honor our parents (Matthew 15:4). 

In the I.G.T., Jesus also claims to have lived far before Zacchaeus. The Jews shout in amazement (I.G.T 6), but in the Gospels, when Jesus says this, they try to stone him (John 10:30-33). This situation seems very unlikely based on what is known about the Jews of the time.

Work Cited:

The Apocryphal Gospels. United Kingdom, Penguin Books Limited, 2021.