The Gospel of Thomas: The Hidden Sayings of Jesus

by Barbara Thomas, Samuel Zinner, Didymos Judas Thomas, et al.

Book Overview

A fresh, authoritative English translation, with an informative introduction, fascinating explanatory notes, and the Coptic text, with interpretation by Harold Bloom, our pre-eminent literary critic.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 006065581X
• ISBN13: 9780060655815
• Release Date: April 2004
• Publisher: HarperOne
• Length: 160 Pages
• Weight: 0.61 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.8" x 8.6"

Customer Reviews

Lots of understanding comes through!

People can relate to this book to help one grow and challenge oneself. The spiritual is the most important aspect of ourselves and Jesus constantly reminded us in this Gospel. Thank you for your additions and the translation then interpretation being so clear! I would like to read more by these interpreters and commentators in the future. 10 star book and then triple that to infinity!

Engrossing

I find it very interesting that most people don't know the history of the Bible and how it came to be. Most Christians simply accept the four gospels with no questioning of any sort. I would imagine that other religious doctrines share much of a not exactly linear history like the Bible does. Aren't all religions essentially historical mythology? Most believers will accept the Bible at face value and never even think outside the pages of the book. Little do Christians know that there is much more to the story than we know or so it seems. There are many more than just four accounts of Jesus' life. Why aren't these in the Bible? Who had the authority or rather the audacity to lay into a manifest only 4 gospels? I found this book to be quite an intriguing read. Much more mystical and less fire and brimstone that the Bible tends to be. I found this book to be quite an inpirational read. Wonderful to see a Christ that was as human as all of us. And that's just the point Christ was trying to make. We are no different than he is, we are not apart from him. We are all the same, all children of God or Energy or the Universe, whatever you want to call it. This gospel was a refreshing read and one the mirrors other books or articles I have read on Buddha, Judaism and Hinduism. I don't believe in the supernatural part of Christianity I was exposed to. Well at least not any more. Most religion is mythological and metaphorical and has much to teach us but we all know that most of us get "caught in the metaphor" as Joseph Campbell put it. The purpose I now believe is to transcend the metaphor. I would never have the conceit to say one religion should reign over another because there is so much similarity between all the world religions (all religions for that matter) that it amazes me how we still compartmentalize this religion versus that religion. But that's a much bigger issue than my little ole review here. I give the book four stars because I felt that the author's interpretation could have been a little more detailed. Some of the logions in the book are interpreted by a mere paragraph and I am sure there is much more history there than just one paragraph. Nonetheless, this book is a wonderful read! I highly recommend it!

G of T

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.

Gospel of Thomas tr. Mayer/Review

This is a lucid, fluent, plain-English translation. Few readers will use the Coptic source text, but there it is for those who can appreciate such things. Book design & presentation aid reader access. A valuable book for historians, religious scholars & wise general readers.

The complete unearthing story!

". It contains a very complete story of the finding of GThomas and follows the ms to initial publication. There are photographs and a couple of maps in this first section. The text is done very much in the same style as Borgs recent "The Lost Gospel Q" and it features a few notes by J. D. Crossan. Also by Crossan, a five page commentary at the end called "Paradise Regained", where his emphasis is on the protology of and asceticism in GThomas. This is packaged for the general public but is worth the price for the 8 photographs, 2 small maps, and the complete "unearthing" story.