The Gospel of Thomas: Unearthing the Lost Words of Jesus

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Summary: Gospel of Thomas
Review: A book for research, and also for curiosity, The Gospel of Thomas, Unearthing the Lost Words of Jesus, tells the reader, not only the sacred text, but the history of the Gnostic people. But what is fantastic about the actual text is the uncertainty of it, which makes you ponder about it, and wonder what Jesus the Messiah, the prophet, or the madman was trying to say. Although lacking some detailed discussion on the gospel's sayings, it is a very well researched book that gives us points to look at dealing with spirituality and history itself.

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Summary: Early Christianity
Review: As a student of the Hebrew and Christian Scriptures, I have found this book very helpful. I believe that those who are interested in early Christianity and the quest for the "Historical Jesus" would find this book very insightful, and should consider reading it.

Rating:
Summary: Very interesting
Review: I thought that this book was very interesting because unlike the other gospels, this book shows Jesus more as a sort of philosopher/teacher. I thought that the text was great and I also enjoyed the history of the discovery of the text at the end of the book. It gave me a new perspective on Jesus Christ as not only the Son of our Lord but as a wise teacher as well. I really enjoyed it.

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Summary: This is a true book
Review: I'm a Portuguese man who beleives in God and His son Jesus, and I assure to you that this book "Gospel of Thomas" and "The Gospel of Philip" and all those that were found in the Dead Sea and In Nag Hammadi are true, all that there is writen in them is from the time of Jesus to the 2nd century after his birth, you can buy them with security. Don't believe in those fanatics Protestants and Catholics who want the truth far away from God's children. The Bible was not completed, God said " I will give the wisdom word by word" and not all at the same time.

Rating:
Summary: Gospel of Thomas
Review: I'm a Portuguese man who beleives in God and His son Jesus, and I assure to you that this book "Gospel of Thomas" and "The Gospel of Philip" and all those that were found in the Dead Sea and In Nag Hammadi are true, all that there is writen in them is from the time of Jesus to the 2nd century after his birth, you can buy them with security. Don't believe in those fanatics Protestants and Catholics who want the truth far away from God's children. The Bible was not completed, God said " I will give the wisdom word by word" and not all at the same time.

Rating:
Summary: Takes This For What It Is ¿ Fiction
Review: The error of The Gospel of Thomas starts as early as the back cover. "Here were 100 lost sayings of Jesus that would rewrite early Christian history and introduce a new image of Jesus - unadulterated by 2000 years of myth and interpretation." The overwhelming majority of credible historians, both secular and nonsecular, date the writing of the New Testament documents to within one generation of the events they record. None place them later than the turn of the second century. Among these documents' greatest assets as historical records lies in the fact that they are eye-witness accounts, or are written by close associates of eye-witnesses. Myth and legend cannot arise until the second or third generation after events transpire because legend cannot grow while the eye-witnesses still live or while historical memory of the events is still fresh. It takes generations for truth to evolve into fiction.

The Gospel of Thomas is one of those fictions. This book was written in the second century, and in these pages, the evidence of myth and legend abound. In fact, the differences between the "lost sayings of Jesus" and the recorded historical sayings of Jesus are so vast that they have reached the realm of fantasy.

No reputable historian would agree with editors of this book that this gospel is "attributed to the Doubting Thomas of the New Testament." Nor do "most biblical scholars believe that Thomas represents one of the many independent schools of Christianity that developed early in the history of the religion." Fringe historians who do not follow the academics' standards for evaluation, yes. Reputable historians following the academics' standards for the evaluation of historical evidence, no. The editors apparently rely entirely on the members of the Jesus Seminar for their information when not even mainstream secular historians consider this group's research to be credible. The Jesus Seminar's skill is in spinning a story for the media, not evaluating historical evidence with an objective eye for the facts.

Those who would argue that the Gospel of Thomas is the accurate recording of the words of Christ have a dilemma. The overwhelming amount of historical and archeological evidence points to the New and Old Testaments as reliable documents of history. We may disagree about what they mean, but the documents themselves are accurate records of the events. Even more challenging for those who promote this "gospel" as authentic: All of the fundamental elements of the gospel taught by the New Testament Jesus are confirmed by first and second century secular, as well as religious, sources. For skeptics, the most important to consider is the secular - often hostile - record. When the teachings of the New Testament Jesus are authenticated by hostile sources in a secular culture that sought to destroy the Christian faith, there is no stronger proof of authenticity. So do we throw out the 66 books of the Bible and believe the Gospel of Thomas? Or do we recognize this gospel for what it is - fiction? Those who accept the Gospel of Thomas as reliable history do so based on preference, not the facts. Not only is the Gospel of Thomas a work of fiction, it is downright silly. The level of writing and philosophy is childish, at best.

For readers looking for the Jesus of history, and for proof that the New Testament is reliable as recorded - with proof coming from both secular as well as nonsecular sources - I recommend The Historical Jesus, written by respected historian Gary Habermas, who evaluates the life, death, and resurrection of Christ as recorded in the New Testament documents according to the most rigorous standards of academic scholarship. Or, better yet, read the New Testament itself.

Unlike all of the religions of the world, traditional Christianity is a historical faith. If you want to read about the Jesus of history, I urge you to read the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, not the fantasy of a man who called himself Thomas.

Rating:
Summary: Takes This For What It Is ? Fiction
Review: The error of The Gospel of Thomas starts as early as the back cover. "Here were 100 lost sayings of Jesus that would rewrite early Christian history and introduce a new image of Jesus - unadulterated by 2000 years of myth and interpretation." The overwhelming majority of credible historians, both secular and nonsecular, date the writing of the New Testament documents to within one generation of the events they record. None place them later than the turn of the second century. Among these documents' greatest assets as historical records lies in the fact that they are eye-witness accounts, or are written by close associates of eye-witnesses. Myth and legend cannot arise until the second or third generation after events transpire because legend cannot grow while the eye-witnesses still live or while historical memory of the events is still fresh. It takes generations for truth to evolve into fiction.

The Gospel of Thomas is one of those fictions. This book was written in the second century, and in these pages, the evidence of myth and legend abound. In fact, the differences between the "lost sayings of Jesus" and the recorded historical sayings of Jesus are so vast that they have reached the realm of fantasy.

No reputable historian would agree with editors of this book that this gospel is "attributed to the Doubting Thomas of the New Testament." Nor do "most biblical scholars believe that Thomas represents one of the many independent schools of Christianity that developed early in the history of the religion." Fringe historians who do not follow the academics' standards for evaluation, yes. Reputable historians following the academics' standards for the evaluation of historical evidence, no. The editors apparently rely entirely on the members of the Jesus Seminar for their information when not even mainstream secular historians consider this group's research to be credible. The Jesus Seminar's skill is in spinning a story for the media, not evaluating historical evidence with an objective eye for the facts.

Those who would argue that the Gospel of Thomas is the accurate recording of the words of Christ have a dilemma. The overwhelming amount of historical and archeological evidence points to the New and Old Testaments as reliable documents of history. We may disagree about what they mean, but the documents themselves are accurate records of the events. Even more challenging for those who promote this "gospel" as authentic: All of the fundamental elements of the gospel taught by the New Testament Jesus are confirmed by first and second century secular, as well as religious, sources. For skeptics, the most important to consider is the secular - often hostile - record. When the teachings of the New Testament Jesus are authenticated by hostile sources in a secular culture that sought to destroy the Christian faith, there is no stronger proof of authenticity. So do we throw out the 66 books of the Bible and believe the Gospel of Thomas? Or do we recognize this gospel for what it is - fiction? Those who accept the Gospel of Thomas as reliable history do so based on preference, not the facts. Not only is the Gospel of Thomas a work of fiction, it is downright silly. The level of writing and philosophy is childish, at best.

For readers looking for the Jesus of history, and for proof that the New Testament is reliable as recorded - with proof coming from both secular as well as nonsecular sources - I recommend The Historical Jesus, written by respected historian Gary Habermas, who evaluates the life, death, and resurrection of Christ as recorded in the New Testament documents according to the most rigorous standards of academic scholarship. Or, better yet, read the New Testament itself.

Unlike all of the religions of the world, traditional Christianity is a historical faith. If you want to read about the Jesus of history, I urge you to read the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, not the fantasy of a man who called himself Thomas.

Rating:
Summary: G of T
Review: This is a welcome addition to anyone's library who is trying to reconstruct the historical Jesus. Written around 120 c.e.( though , in its original form, it was probably written before Mark), its a semi gnostic work. It presents sayings of Jesus that are in some instances recognizable to orthodox christians and some that are not. In one instance the same saying occurs four times, each one more gnostic than before. but on the whole, the translation is excellent and the intro is superb.