Three important Thomasine Gospels are included in the Nag Hammadi Library. These are The Gospel of Thomas, The Book of Thomas and The Dialogue of the Savior. The Gospel of Thomas is commonly referred to as the Hidden Sayings of Jesus. Both Thomasines and Gnostic scholars believe that this book teaches the meaning of salvation and life. The author of the book is purported to be Judas Thomas, whom the Thomasines believe to be the twin brother of Jesus, and the ideal teacher of Jesus’ tradition and teachings. It is important to note that in this book Jesus is not the Christ or Messiah.
The second Thomasine book is The Book of Thomas. This book is considered to have two sources, and comprises a dialogue between Jesus and Judas Thomas. The Book of Thomas parallels The Gospel of Thomas. Building on the words of Jesus, this book’s message teaches that ignorance must be abolished, and knowledge adopted in its place. An important feature of this book is the metaphor of fire; which provides for harsher language than the other Thomasine Gospels.
The third important Thomasine book is The Dialogue of the Savior. This book composed recorded dialogue between Jesus and his disciples: Judas, Matthew and Mary. The Dialogue of the Savior’s main focus is upon living a life of gnosis. An important issue throughout this book is the fact that Mary is continually praised for her insight, possibly making the other disciples jealous. Some Gnostic scholars believe that this book may have been written in the early second century. |