On Thomas

The “Gospel” of Thomas was one heck of a rabbit hole I went down in the last three days, primarily due to the partial truths I see in it as well as the contradictions and confusions. It was a hella fun puzzle to attempt to solve and provided an opportunity for a crash course on Gnosticism, which I had come across before in the early phase of discovering my faith when I was looking into Eastern Orthodoxy and Buddhism.

I recognised and cross-referenced some of the parallels in it with the Bible. The main thing I noticed in The “Gospel” of Thomas was the constant temptation offered to the reader hidden between the lines if they lean into their own understanding. And past a certain point, the “gospel” appears to suggest a direct relationship between God and the reader without Jesus. The “gospel” also seems to suggest the chosen elites should rejoice and be proud of the world’s rejection and prosecution, which caused quite a strong hangover given my recent personal experiences. However, my superficial conclusion on the “gospel” right now is it promotes pride in leaning into one’s own understanding of God rather than understanding through God, and that salvation is for the select few rather than mankind.

One thing that caused quite a tsunami for me was the following, according to Thomas.

Jesus said, “I am not your teacher. Because you have drunk, you have become intoxicated from the bubbling spring that I have tended.”

Through my interactions with people from all walks of life in these past few months, I have noticed on multiple occasions, that a believer, regardless of denomination, will lose all interest in the conversation if you want to talk about life rather than scripture for a change. I once wanted to share my testimony with a group of ladies from Jahovah’s Witnesses when they were preaching on the streets because I thought my memes would brighten their day and make them laugh. I was met with instant rejection and they questioned why my testimony would make them laugh. They didn’t even want to take my beautifully designed business cards.

I think we have got some drunkards even amongst believers.

Also, I don’t think the book is a gospel.

1 Corinthians 13:7-13

[7] Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

[8] Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. [9] For we know in part and we prophesy in part, [10] but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. [11] When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. [12] For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.

[13] So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.