Before we start diving into the actual sayings of Jesus found in the Gospel of Thomas – and we really are doing that in this post…I promise – let’s first take a moment to establish a few important aspects of this Gospel up front. Why?
Before we start diving into the actual sayings of Jesus found in the Gospel of Thomas – and we really are doing that in this post…I promise – let’s first take a moment to establish a few important aspects of this Gospel up front. Why?
As I’ve been going through the sayings of Jesus from the Gospel of Thomas in this weekly blog series, something hit me last night that kept me awake half the night. Before the Synoptic Gospels and John’s Gospel were written, the Apostle Paul was
Over the last few months it seems there’s been a resurgence of the notion that Jesus of Nazareth is a myth and that “there is absolutely zero historical evidence that Jesus ever existed,” as some popular memes going around on social media assert. However, the truth is this: “There is absolutely zero historical evidence that Jesus of Nazareth wasn’t a real person.” In fact, there is SO much historical evidence for the existence of an actual, human being named Jesus... Read more
Arguments For The Early Date of Thomas’s Gospel As we mentioned last time, there are some scholars who believe that the Gospel of Thomas predates even the New Testament Gospels of Mark, Matthew and Luke. Here’s why: Because The Gospel of Thomas and the Q-document
As I mentioned in my latest post, I’ll be launching a brand-new subscription-only blog series here called THE INNER CIRCLE starting this week. Our series will cover the sayings of Jesus in the Gospel of Thomas and will most likely become the foundation for my next book project. Here’s an introduction to give you a taste of what this weekly series will cover. If you’d like to join us, please SUBSCRIBE today to read future posts in THE INNER CIRCLE... Read more
One of the main objections to the so-called “Gnostic Gospels” is that they claim to contain the secret teachings of Jesus that were not recorded in the Gospels of the New Testament. Many Christian theologians and apologists strongly deny the existence of any sort of hidden insight to be found outside of the red letters of Matthew, Mark, Luke or John. But, curiously enough, those same Gospels all affirm the notion that Jesus really did have secret teachings that he... Read more
Imagine my shock when, as I was reading Elaine Pagel’s excellent book, Beyond Belief, which provides insight into how and why the early Gnostics and Orthodox Church Fathers first clashed over theology, I realized that pretty much NOTHING has changed in nearly 2,000 years of Church history. For example, as she was explaining how Irenaeus viewed Gnostic Christians like Valentinus, Ptolemy, and Heracleon, she quotes Irenaeus’s response to their [in his mind, at least] “Heretical” teaching by saying: “This faith... Read more
My previous blog post unleashed a surprising number of reactions from both strangers and friends who were either worried about my spiritual condition or excited about my newest declaration of heretical insight. Funny enough, I actually appreciated both reactions. Those who knew me in the real world messaged or texted or called me because they were genuinely confused, or concerned, about my post. They either wanted to see how I was doing, or they hoped to gain some clarity on... Read more
I find myself drifting farther and farther away from the Christianity I grew up with. What I mean is….I really just DO NOT CARE anymore about what the Bible says about this or that topic…and I am SO DONE with conversations about what was going on in the Garden of Eden or if Satan is real, or debates about this doctrine or that theology….It just exhausts me to my core and I really cannot find the strength to give a... Read more
Can I be honest with you? Every time a Christian responds to the numerous nonviolent teachings of Jesus by asking, “But what about … ?”, I cannot help but hear those objections as another way of asking: “What are the scenarios where I don’t have to obey Jesus?” In other words, if our posture as Christ-followers was genuinely focused on how to best follow his teachings, then we wouldn’t spend our time trying to discover situations where we wouldn’t have... Read more
