Victoria Hunter

Dr. Barzegar
RELS 2001 Intro to World Religions
15 December 2014
Final Case Study/Weebly Portal
The Gospel of Thomas
The Gospel According to Thomas is said to be a collection of sayings of Jesus dating
back to the 2nd Century, that was found alongside dozens of other texts. The discovery of these
integral texts occurred in December of 1945 in a cave near Nag Hammadi, located in the
Northern region of Egypt. The Gospel of Thomas is a non-canonical text, meaning it claims to
give accounts of Jesus and his teachings, but is excluded from the Christian text of the Bible. In
concordance with the Gospels of Mary, Phillip, Peter, and Truth, the Gospel of Thomas is also
considered my most to be a Gnostic Gospel. However, The Gospel of Thomas has historically
caused much confusion and debate since its discovery. While it is true that most considered it to
be a Gnostic Gospel, there has been some speculation that it only contains some of the
characteristics that make it a Gnostic Gospel and thus, should not be considered a Gnostic
Gospel. Some scholars and theologians would also venture to claim that Christianity wouldve
taken a much different path had the Gospel of Thomas been included, specifically instead of the
Gospel of John, in the Canonical Gospels. Lastly, The Gospel of Thomas has caused some
conflict when using the word gospel to describe this text. Gospel, meaning Good News, usually
refers to Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, all of which were included in the Canon, and all of
which give account of Jesus life, his teachings, and ways that Christians should live
accordingly. The Gospel of Thomas includes many sayings that seem to be in direct correlation
to the Gospels in the Canon, while others are so different that its surprising to some that both are
often times considered Gospels.

First and foremost, it is important to note the key similarities and some main
differences in the text of the Gospel of Thomas and that of the canonical gospels. There are many
examples in which verses from Thomas directly correlate to a verse in the Bible. One instance is
seen in the very first verse, in the Gospel of Thomas verse 1 reads And he said, "Whoever finds
the interpretation of these sayings will not experience death."1 In comparison John 8:51 reads
Very truly, I tell you, whoever keeps my word will never see death." Another example is from
verse 8. The Gospel of Thomas reads And he said, "The man is like a wise fisherman who cast
his net into the sea and drew it up from the sea full of small fish. Among them the wise
fisherman found a fine large fish. He threw all the small fish back into the sea and chose the
large fish without difficulty. Whoever has ears to hear, let him hear."2 An almost exact version of
that verse is found in Chapter 13, Verses 47-48 of Matthew. However, while the list of
similarities goes on, its important to make note of the fact that there are also quite a few
differences. Elaine Pagels, scholar, author, and professor, makes note in her book The Gnostic
Gospels that Orthodox Christians believe that Jesus is Lord and Son of God and that he came to
save humanity from which he is fundamentally different from (20)3. In verse 13 of Thomas
though, Jesus says to Thomas that their beings are of the same origin and that distinctness that
Orthodox Christians believe is thus contradicted. So while there may be similarities between the
non-canonical text of Thomas and some of the Gospels included in the Bible, the differences that
are presents are plentiful enough to raise questions from both religious scholars and theologians
alike.

"Gospel of Thomas (Lambdin Translation) -- The Nag Hammadi Library." Gospel of Thomas (Lambdin Translation) - The Nag Hammadi Library. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Dec. 2014.
2
Gospel of Thomas (Lambdin Translation) -- The Nag Hammadi Library." Gospel of Thomas (Lambdin Translation)
-- The Nag Hammadi Library. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Dec. 2014.
3
Pagels, Elaine H. The Gnostic Gospels. New York: Random House, 1979. Print.

After examining the actual text of the Gospel of Thomas more closely, the question of
whether or not it is even acceptable to deem the Gospel of Thomas a Gnostic Gospel must be
looked at. Pheme Perkins, a Professor of Theology at Boston College, makes note of the
difficulty in compiling a precise definition of both the words Gnostic and Gospel (1)4.
Unfortunately for us The Gospel of Thomas often contains both words. A gnostic gospel would
have characteristics of defying the material world and wholeheartedly attempting to embrace
spirituality. Most of the phrases that correlate from the Gospel of Thomas to the Bible come
from the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke). However, English author, A.J.B.
Higgins conquered the task of compiling a list of sayings from the Gospel of Thomas that are
what he calls non-gnostic sayings. One of the non-gnostic sayings that Higgins points out is
from saying 54 in the Gospel of Thomas. It reads Blessed are the poor, for yours is the kingdom
of heaven. Higgins says this is a non-gnostic saying due to the fact the other beatitudes do not
follow as they do in canonical texts, and that Thomas tends to avoid speaking of the Kingdom
of God in his sayings (298)5. This is just one of the many non-gnostic sayings that is looked
at. Others that are considered in Higgins research include sayings 46, 41, 31, and 20. So while
the Gospel of Thomas is more often than not considered to be a Gnostic Gospel, the mere fact
that so many non-gnostic sayings can be located in the text, demands that we look at this
historical writing from both perspectives.
The last thing I want to consider is whether or not the course of Christianity would be
different had the Gospel of Thomas been included in the Canon. Elaine Pagels argues that it
would have been drastically different if it had been included either instead of the Gospel of John,
4

Perkins, Pheme. "What Is A Gnostic Gospel?." Catholic Biblical Quarterly 71.1 (2009): 104-129. MasterFILE Elite.
Web. 15 Dec. 2014.
5
Higgins, A J B. "Non-Gnostic Sayings In The Gospel Of Thomas." Novum Testamentum 4.4 (1960): 292-306. ATLA
Religion Database with ATLASerials. Web. 15 Dec. 2014.

or even alongside it. One of the reasons that Christianity might be different if the Gospel of
Thomas had been included is that fact that John focuses a lot on community, while the Gospel of
Thomas focuses on personal spirituality. John describes religion as exclusive, while Thomas
seems to portray a more inclusive religion. 6 The main difference had the Gospel of Thomas been
included is that Pagels would argue The Gospel of Thomas is a bunch of paradoxes for spiritual
study, but it's not very useful for building an institution. And lastly, there is a lot of research
done on how the Gospel of Thomas mirrors Jewish Mysticism in many ways. 7 Had this Gospel
been included in the Canon, Christianity might look a lot more like Mysticism than it does now.
In conclusion, one can see that by looking at both the texts included in the canon and
those non canonical gospels, it can give you deeper insight into pressing theological questions.
However, the answers arent clear cut and issues such as the Gospel of Thomas are undoubtedly
going to central to many debates between theologians for decades to come.

Works Cited

6
7

"Matthew, Mark, Luke, And...Thomas?." U.S. Catholic 68.9 (2003): 18-22. MasterFILE Elite. Web. 15 Dec. 2014.
Matthew, Mark, Luke, And...Thomas?." U.S. Catholic 68.9 (2003): 18-22. MasterFILE Elite. Web. 15 Dec. 2014.

Gospel of Thomas (Lambdin Translation) -- The Nag Hammadi Library." Gospel of Thomas
(Lambdin Translation) -- The Nag Hammadi Library. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Dec. 2014.

Higgins, A J B. "Non-Gnostic Sayings In The Gospel Of Thomas." Novum Testamentum 4.4

(1960): 292-306. ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials. Web. 15 Dec. 2014.

Pagels, Elaine H. The Gnostic Gospels. New York: Random House, 1979. Print.

Perkins, Pheme. "What Is A Gnostic Gospel?." Catholic Biblical Quarterly 71.1 (2009): 104-129.
MasterFILE Elite. Web. 15 Dec. 2014.

Matthew, Mark, Luke, And...Thomas?." U.S. Catholic 68.9 (2003): 18-22. MasterFILE Elite.
Web. 15 Dec. 2014.