What is the Gospel of Thomas?

Answer

The Gospel of Thomas is a Coptic manuscript discovered in 1945 at Nag Hammadi in Egypt. This manuscript contains 114 sayings attributed to Jesus. Some of these sayings are similar to sayings found in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Other sayings were previously unknown until their discovery or even contradict what is written in the four Gospels.

On a December day in 1945, far up the Nile Valley, two Egyptian peasants were searching for a local type of crumbly nitrate rock used as fertilizer. They stumbled upon a large jar, about a meter tall, concealed by a boulder. Inside, they discovered a collection of ancient leather-bound books or codices. The location where the books were unearthed is just a few miles from the site of an early monastery, founded by the pioneer of Christian “cenobitic” monasticism in Egypt, Pachomius. Nag Hammadi, a nearby village, has lent its name to this extraordinary collection.

The Nag Hammadi Library comprises fifty-two texts or “tractates” inscribed in Coptic on papyrus and compiled in thirteen volumes, with twelve having distinct leather bindings. Forty of these texts were previously unfamiliar to contemporary scholars. The majority of the writings exhibit a Gnostic nature. Fragments of paper discovered in the bindings of eight codices bear dates indicating that the books were crafted in the mid-fourth century, with at least one of them evidently originating from a monastery. Ongoing efforts to pinpoint the exact dates of the books persist. In general, it can be stated that the collection dates back to around the middle of the fourth century. The Coptic texts may be much older, and the original manuscripts (likely written in Greek or Aramaic) from which the Coptic translations were derived could be even earlier.

For insights into the formation of the Bible as we recognize it today, please refer to the following two articles:
What is the canon of Scripture? and
How was the Canon determined?

Should the Gospel of Thomas be included in the Canon?

On?

The early church councils followed something similar to the following principles to determine whether a New Testament book was truly inspired by the Holy Spirit: 1) Was the author an apostle or did they have a close connection with an apostle? 2) Was the book being accepted by the Body of Christ at large? 3) Did the book contain consistency of doctrine and orthodox teaching? 4) Did the book bear evidence of high moral and spiritual values that would reflect a work of the Holy Spirit?

The Gospel of Thomas fails all of these tests. The Gospel of Thomas was not written by Jesus’ disciple Thomas. The early Christian leaders universally recognized the Gospel of Thomas as a forgery. The Gospel of Thomas was rejected by the vast majority of early Christians. The Gospel of Thomas contains many teachings that contradict the biblical Gospels and the rest of the New Testament. The Gospel of Thomas does not bear the marks of a work inspired by the Holy Spirit.

Are there any other arguments that preclude the Gospel of Thomas from being included in the Bible? If we examine the 114 sayings in this writing, then we find some that are similar to existing sayings, some that are slightly different, but the majority cannot be found anywhere in the entirety of Scripture itself. Scripture must always confirm itself, and the majority of sayings in the Gospel of Thomas cannot be confirmed anywhere else in Scripture.

One argument for precluding the Gospel of Thomas from the Bible is found in the overt “secretness” attributed to these 114 sayings by the work itself. Nowhere in Scripture is God’s Word given “in secret” but is given for all to read and understand. The Gospel of Thomas very clearly tries to maintain an air of secrecy in its words.

The Gospel of Thomas is a Gnostic gospel, espousing a Gnostic viewpoint of Christianity. The Gospel of Thomas is simply a heretical forgery, much like the Gospel of Judas, the Gospel of Mary, and the Gospel of Philip. Perhaps the disciple ThomAs the nickname “doubting Thomas” is fitting in this context. We all should question the Gospel of Thomas!