# Who wrote the Gospel of Thomas and other Gnostic gospels?



## chuckd (Nov 18, 2014)

Were these written by men who were intentionally deceiving like Joseph Smith, or are they "useful, but not canonical" like the Roman Catholic apocrypha?


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## SeanAnderson (Nov 18, 2014)

I've often seen the New Testament apocrypha divided into different categories. The Gnostic writings, which were historically condemned by the Catholic Church, are separated from the other pseudepigrapha which are legendary and can be fairly spectacular, but not necessarily heterodox; they add supplementary details, forming the basis of some Catholic traditions such as in the infancy narratives and acts of apostles not recorded in the Bible. Many of these were probably written by Christians with vivid imaginations who did not intend their writings to be taken as anything more than pious stories.


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## whirlingmerc (Nov 18, 2014)

Some are out to lunch with talking crosses walking out of the tomb ( Gospel of Peter ) or Jesus doing frivolous miracles and telling Mary Magdalene she needs to become a man to be saved (Gospel of Thomas) In the Gospels John and Luke avoid their own names saying "the disciple who Jesus loved' or in the case of Luke saying only 'we' even during the shipwreck and Matthew obliquely refers to himself as Levi. Not so allot of these other writings that use big names.


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## Phil D. (Nov 18, 2014)

chuckd said:


> Were these written by men who were intentionally deceiving like Joseph Smith,



I would suspect some were. Any others were certainly written by deceived individuals.



chuckd said:


> are they "useful, but not canonical" like the Roman Catholic apocrypha?



They are not put in the same category as the writings typically called _apocryphal_ by Trinitarian Christians or groups, since their teachings are intentionally antithetical to this truth. As such they are not useful in terms of furthering orthodox theology. 

Rather they are typically classified as among "Christian" _pseudepigrapha - _that is, falsely attributed writings (e.g., the _Gospel of Thoma_s obviously wasn't any such thing). 

Some apocryphal works were deemed useful and even ascribed various degrees of authority by some early church fathers, whereas Gnostic pseudepigraphic works all had later origins, and were never deemed authentic or valuable by orthodox Christians.


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## SeanAnderson (Nov 19, 2014)

I like Anglo-Saxon literature, so I am fond of some of the NT apocrypha. They can be fun, but beyond historical interest, they are of little value.

There were some very popular apocrypha in the Middle Ages:

The Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew is a redaction of the Protevangelium of James and the Infancy Gospel of Thomas. It relates the tale of the Virgin Mary's parents Joachim and Anna (this is the likely source of their names in Church tradition), how they are unable to bear children and are promised by an angel that they will have a remarkable daughter. It then proceeds to tell of Mary as an especially righteous child who is taken to the Temple to live among the Temple virgins. When she is too old to live there, a reluctant Joseph is miraculously chosen as her guardian. In this story, an ox and an ass are present at Jesus' nativity, an allusion to Isaiah and inspiration for nativity scenes.

The Gospel of Nicodemus, or Acta Pilati, a purported account of Pilate concerning the resurrection of Christ. An appendix describes what became known as the 'Harrowing of Hell', a dramatic narrative where Jesus descends to Sheol after his death and delivers the Old Testament saints. This was re-enacted in the popular mystery plays. The Gospel of Nicodemus names the man who speared Christ as Longinus (the source of another Church tradition).

The Transitus literature relates the Marian Assumption legends: how the apostles were miraculously transported to the Virgin Mary's deathbed and that after she died, it would not be proper that the body of the God-bearer should see corruption, so a manifestation of Christ appeared and took her up to heaven. 

The Apocalypse of Thomas is a much plainer narrative than Revelation, listing the 'Fifteen Signs before Doomsday', well known in the Middle Ages.

All of these, alongside a host of hagiographies, were enjoyed by the general medieval population and, to varying degrees, even embraced as a source of teaching in the Church. It should be noted, however, that there were godly men even at that time who urged caution against them. The Anglo-Saxon Ælfric, who for the most part upheld biblical orthodoxy, refused to preach from them in sermons (although he did believe some of the traditions they recounted) lest he quote false witnesses.


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## bookslover (Nov 19, 2014)

All that gnostic stuff was written by...........gnostics.

You're welcome.


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