The Gospel of Thomas and Jesus

by Stephen J. Patterson

Book Overview

A masterfully drawn picture of the debate and controversy that has surrounded the Gospel of Thomas since its discovery in 1945. Stephen Patterson concludes that this collection of sayings is not a... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0944344321
• ISBN13: 9780944344323
• Release Date: April 1994
• Publisher: Polebridge Press
• Length: 286 Pages
• Weight: 0.75 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.0" x 9.1"

Customer Reviews

Best scholarly book on the Gospel of Thomas

I have read most books in English written on the Gospel of Thomas, and I can say with condidence that Patterson's book The Gospel of Thomas and Jesus provides the best treatment of the critical issues surrounding the Gospel of Thomas. The first section of the book (about a hundred pages) provides the most comprehensive argument for the independence of the Gospel of Thomas from the canonical Four Gospels in a form accessible to the general reader. With this, Patterson refutes the claim that the Gospel of Thomas is a worthless second century Gnostic epitome that just put together a mish-mash of biblical quotes. Instead, Patterson argues, the Gospel of Thomas represents an autonomous tradition about Jesus, confirmatory and complementary of the synoptic tradition. The second part of the book deals with the setting of the Gospel of Thomas, which Patterson portrays as itinerant radicalism in Syria in the second half of the first century. The final chapter concerns the importance of the Gospel of Thomas for the historical Jesus. Patterson maintains that the Gospel of Thomas provides fresh evidence against the apocalyptic portrait of Jesus, because the Gospel of Thomas does not have any of the end-time speculation found in the synoptic Gospels. I recommend this book highly to any student of early Christianity.