things for lesson 10: other non canonical gospels Flashcards
the types of gospels
narrative Gospels
sayings Gospels
infancy Gospels
narrative Gospels
are written accounts of Jesus’ sayings, deeds, and experiences
sayings Gospels
comprised almost exclusively of Jesus’ words to his disciples, whether during his ministry or after his resurrection
infancy Gospels
which are narratives of Jesus’ birth and youth
which gospels that we have already seen are narrative gospels
Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John
the signs source of the Fourth Gospel, and possibly the special sources for Matthew and Luke, called M and L
three Jewish-Christian Gospels from the writings of church fathers
the gospel of Nazareans
The Gospel of the Ebionites
The Gospel of the Hebrews
the gospel of Nazareans
written in Aramaic
similar to Matthew, but differed in some accounts
differences between Matthew and Nazareans
a) NAzareans lacked a birth narrative
b) it also modified the Matthew that we know, for example by deleting the opening chapters
c) it did not actually use a version of the Gospel of Matthew at all
The Gospel of the Ebionites
appears to have been a combination of the Synoptic Gospels
evidently written in Greek
encouraged jewish followers to abolish animal sacrifice and be vegan
was a gospel harmony
One of the ways later Christian authors were able to deal with the apparent inconsistencies in early gospels
Gospel harmonies
Gospel harmonies
versions that incorporated elements of each of the available Gospels so as to give a fuller and more harmonious accounts of what Jesus said, did, and experienced
The Gospel of the Hebrews
This Gospel was also written in Greek
narrated important events in the life of Jesus, including his baptism, temptation, and resurrection
–> It appears that the author collected stories, possibly from the oral tradition, and compiled a narrative of his own much as Mark and John had done
Marcion’s Gospel
Marcion decided to correct the work of the already existing scribes, and so produced a revised version of the Gospel
–> Evidently, he used the Gospel of Luke as his starting point
The Gospel of Peter
allegedly written by Jesus’ close disciple, Peter
claims hero ordered Jesus’ death
claims Jesus was silent as he felt no pain in his crucifixion
talks about a way more speciaculor resurrection
According to the author of our book, when was the Gospel of Peter written
after the canonical Gospels
According to the author of our book, was the Gospel of Peter written in reliance of the canonical gospels already existing?
how can we know this for sure?
no
There are no full sentences that the Gospel of Peter shares word for word with the other Gospels; indeed, there are virtually no verbatim agreements of any kind that extend for more than two or three words
According to the author of our book, what was the Gospel of Peter based on?
based on popular stories about Jesus’ Passion, which were in circulation in a number of Christian circles
how does the gospel of Peter depict jews?
they are made even more culpable for Jesus’ death than in the canonical Gospels
The best know gospel as a sayings gospel?
The Gospel of Thomas
The Gospel of Thomas
the most significant book discovered in the Nag Hammadi library
this book is completely preserved
a collection of 114 sayings of Jesus
The Sayings of The Gospel of Thomas
a collection of sayings that are meant to bring wisdom to the one who can understand
The Jesus of this Gospel is not the Jewish messiah that we have seen in other Gospels, not the miracle-working son of God, not the crucified and resurrected Lord, and not the Son of Man who will return on the clouds of heaven
–> He is the eternal Jesus, whose words bring salvation
The Author of The Gospel of Thomas
Didymus Judas Thomas
According to the Acts of Thomas, he was a blood relation of Jesus, the same one mentioned in the New Testament
–> was Jesus’ twin brother
The Character of the Sayings in The Gospel of Thomas
sometimes well known
sometimes vaguely familiar
sometimes straight up quite odd
The meanings of the sayings in the gospel of Thomas
Many of the most puzzling sayings in this collection appear to reflect the notion that within the hearer is a spark of the divine that had a heavenly origin
–> This spark has tragically fallen into the material world, where it has become entrapped in a body
–> It needs to be reawakened by learning the truth about this material world and the impoverished material body that it inhabits
–> Jesus is the one who conveys this truth; once the spirit learns the meaning of his words, it will be able to strip off this body of death, symbolized sometimes as garments of clothing, and escape this material world. It will then have salva- tion, life eternal; it will rejoin the divine realm and rule over all
true or false
There is not a word in the Gospel of Thomas about Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection
true
for this author none of Jesus’ earthly activities appears to matter; there is no word here of his miracles or encounters or experiences
What matters are Jesus’ secret teachings
Thomas and the Synoptics
some of the sayings in Thomas are like those found in the Synoptics, with slight differences
Other sayings cannot be found in the Synoptics
It does not appear that the Gospel of Thomas actually used the Synoptic Gospels to formulate its own sayings of Jesus
does it appear that the Gospel of Thomas used the Synoptic Gospels to formulate its own sayings of Jesus?
how do we know
nah
if Thomas did use the Synoptics, it would be especially hard to explain why he left out of his account most of their sayings of Jesus, many of them relevant to his agenda
we do not find proof in the words of Thomas that he copied another written source
There are not verbal similarities between the Gospel of Thomas and the synoptics
Thomas and the Q Source
The final product reminds many scholars of the Q source
There is at least one stark difference between Q and Thomas, which relates directly to the beliefs of the communities that preserved them
–> Thomas denies the future coming of the Son of Man in judgment upon the earth
–> Q says the son of man will arrive
what is a way historians use to find which came first between synoptics and Thomas
they see which saying was less complex and straight to the point
–> whichever was like this was most likely an earlier version
Conclusion: The Date of Thomas and Its Traditions
how can we know when it was written or not?
Although we cannot know whether a source like Thomas existed during the first century, there are good reasons for thinking that Thomas itself did not
The most obvious is that the full-blown Christian-gnostic myth that many of Thomas’s sayings presuppose cannot be documented as existing prior to the second century
This is not to deny, however, that individual sayings found in Thomas may go back to Jesus himself
Revelation Discourses
the other kind of sayings Gospel in which Jesus appears to one or more of his disciples after his resurrection and conveys the secret revelation that is necessary for their salvation
Often these secret revelations have to do with the mysteries of how the universe came into existence, how souls came to be present here, and how they can escape
the vast majority of these Gospels are Gnostic in their orientation
One other period about which the earliest traditions were largely silent
Jesus’ infancy and youth
the Infancy Gospel of Thomas
a fascinating account of Jesus’ youth beginning at the tender age of five
if Jesus was a miracle working Son of God as an adult, what was he like as a kid?
he was more than a little mischievous
–> story with the sparrows
had a temper and is not to be crossed
–> When a child accidentally runs into him on the street, Jesus turns in anger and declares, “You’ll go no further on your way.” The child falls down dead
–> killed teacher
can we say the synoptics and Matthew are for certain the earliest written accounts in Christianity?
nah bruv
