Thomas: Seeking the Historical Context of the Gospel of Thomas
Many
scholars believe that the Gospel of Thomas, the famous collection of
Jesus' sayings found in Nag Hammadi in 1945, radically changes our
understanding of the origins of Christianity. The Gospel is generally
studied closely for the new light it throws on pre-canonical traditions
and for the different world of wisdom it seems to represent. By
contrast, Risto Uro seeks to locate the Gospel of Thomas on the map of
early Christian literature and history by comparing the Gospel to other
related writings and traditions of the period. These include the
writings ascribed to the mysterious apostle, Judas Thomas, other
documents from Nag Hammadi, Paul and Stoic teachers, and the Gospel of
Matthew. Uro argues that the conventional methods scholars have been
using in their studies are in need of rethinking and refinement. Among
many conclusions is the author's belief that Thomas is an early
second-century work written by people who, like many other first- and
second-century Christians, understood Jesus' message in terms of the
Hellenistic belief in the divine origin of the self.
This book, like the doubt famously attributed to Thomas, appears, in the end, to have gone missing. Could it possibly be restored, please?
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