You guys are carrying on a great discussion here. I'd like to see more of this kind of conversation on other topics.
It was a long time ago. I don't recall all the sources. I believe one of the sources was from R.C. Sproul, a Presbyterian theologian and seminary professor in Florida. I confirmed his thoughts from other sources but it as over 25 years ago, and my brain isn't what it used to be.
Sorry if it seems I was trying to call you out. Your statement half-sounded like an invitation, and I have minimal impulse control I'm familiar with Sproul. I used to listen to his radio program all the time. I believe Janet Parshall and Focus on the Family were on the same station around that same point in time. A quick Wiki look says Sproul was a proponent of Thomistic approaches (truth is to be accepted regardless of where it is to be found) rather than presupposition (the Bible is divine revelation and all else is to be proven as flawed.)
Sproul "saw the light" in 2008 and completely changed his attitude. He became very anti-Catholic and started down the road to get more money rather than educate. I stopped listening to him around 2007, so I was totally unaware of his conversion. He had several books out by that time, but he may have pulled them from publication after his conversion to money before truth. I never invite people to name sources, as I feel we can do our own research should we choose to not believe statements made. If I have done so in the past, I failed and I apologize for that. As far as the Gospel of Thomas or any of the other Gnostic Gospels, I feel that you can believe what you want. I find some of the stories in some of the Gnostics to be interesting but not theological. I seem to recall a story from The Gospel of Mary in which Jesus' birth in detailed and tells a story of joseph leaving to find Mary's sister Salome, who is a midwife, leaving his son (I can't recall the name) to oversee his betrothed. Jesus is supposedly born in the interim and thus Joseph is not present at the birth of his "son". True or not, I don't know, but I find the tale interesting.
The earliest example of gnosticism that I can remember is when Paul conversed with the Colossians. Paul was fairly strong with the them when he said that whilst they had “knowledge” he had full knowledge and then went about his way explaining his reasoning. The Colossians intermixed their belief system (which included Christianity) with human reasoning and gave little to no recognition of deity relating to Jesus in as much as one’s salvation wasn’t totally dependent upon one’s dedication to the Christ. The Colossians also worshiped angels and were steeped in mysticism and adjusted for sins by doing good works just as there are some denominations of Christianity that are guilty of the same thing today. Now, fast forward to the OP, much of the Book of Thomas (Gospel of Thomas) has been found to agree with the Gospel as taught by Jesus and much of it is found to be whatever reasoning can be found in mankind. Some of it agrees with and moreover proofs some of what is written in the Synoptics and yet some of it is antithetical to what we find in the synoptics and gives more credit to the actions of man than it does of God.
Back when they came out with the movie, The Da Vinci Code, I was flying somewhere and was seated next to a religious person working feverishly over books and notes and bibles. He never said a work till we were landing. He said he was going to a religious convention to try to fight the blow back from this movie. Blow back, I would assume meaning that Jesus had been married and had progeny. I did not get the frantic concern. So I said he need not worry, the message was still the same: Love God above all things and your neighbor as yourself. I just thought the gospel of Thomas and the gospel of Mary added something to the scriptures that were interesting. and maybe futuristic.
I guess the main question is do we trust that God's hand has truly guided the content of the Bible, or has Man perverted it for his own need?
I had also stopped listening to him by then. Like most of us, jobs/commutes/other stuff drive my radio listening habits (mostly listen in the car, rarely in the house.) I listened to the folks I cited from 1990 until maybe 2000. They were all FM syndicated at the time...perhaps still are. I hear Parshall's name come up every once in a while, probably in some reference to CPAC.
Mary, I have read much of the Gospel of Thomas. Fascinating! The content and style are very unusual because it is a Gnostic gospel. There are no miracles and the writing is very mystical. The Gnostics were a spiritual movement not only in Palestine but throughout most if not all of the Mediterranean countries like Egypt, Greece, Persia, etc. There were many Gnostic mystery schools throughout the whole region including Palestine. These schools taught a path to enlightenment called Gnosis, which means fully knowing that God is in you. An early St Paul letter put as "Christ in you". One of my favorite Jesus sayings in this gospel is "Know what is in front of your face, and what is hidden from you will be disclosed to you."
I sort of think of that quote when topics of astral and other physics come up. I don't get the collider. Everything is interesting that there is so little we actually know.
I think it is the Word of God, but it can also be influenced by men and I think it has been since Rome maybe before. If it couldn't be then God wouldn't have put this verse in Revelation, of course if it really is in Revelations. Rev.22:19, Nothing May Be Added 18I testify to everyone who hears the words of prophecy in this book: If anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book. 19And if anyone takes away from the words of this book of prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and the holy city, which are described in this book. 20He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!… Berean Standard Bible · Download BibleHub. https://www.bing.com/ck/a?!&&p=7d3e...ZWh1Yi5jb20vcmV2ZWxhdGlvbi8yMi0xOS5odG0&ntb=1
Maybe because we don';t have the ability to know, I think it is explained in this verse, Isa.55:9, “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts.
Namaste Marie. In the conventional four gospels, Jesus speaks in parables that weren't easy for many Jews to understand. Maybe because they weren't ready. The Gospel of Thomas sounds like Jesus' parables on steroids. I like it because it makes me think more deeply about what the verses mean.