📺 Introduction to the New Testament History and Literature RLST 152 – Lecture 8: The Gospel of Thomas | Open Yale Courses

Watched Lecture 8: The Gospel of Thomas by Dale B. Martin from RLST 152: Introduction to the New Testament History and Literature

We have known of the existence of the Gospel of Thomas from ancient writers, but it was only after the discovery of the Nag Hammadi Codices that the actual text became available. The Gospel of Thomas is basically a collection of sayings, or logia, that sometimes seem similar, perhaps more primitive than sayings found in the canonical Gospels. Sometimes, however, the sayings seem better explained as reflecting a “Gnostic” understanding of the world. This involves a rejection of the material world and a desire for gnosis, a secret knowledge, in order to escape the world and return to the divine being.

The best part here is the background material on the gnostics and the general tenor of the movement which, once consumed, gives much more insight into the writings in the Gospel of Thomas. The idea of multiple types of Christianities is intriguing. Though we have a few today, they’re not as obviously different as earlier incarnations in the first several centuries in the common era.

I just heard a snippet of a radio show recently in which the interview guest would be talking about practicing multiple faiths simultaneously could be interesting and fruitful. Obviously this is not a new ideas…