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The Gospel of Thomas is one of the most well-known early Christian writings that was not included in the biblical canon. It is classified as part of the Nag Hammadi texts, a collection of early Christian and Gnostic writings discovered in 1945 in Egypt. Despite its intriguing content and historical value, it is not considered part of the New Testament canon by mainstream Christianity. In this article, we will explore why the Gospel of Thomas is not included in the Bible, focusing on key theological, historical, and canonical reasons.
The Nature of the Gospel of Thomas
Content and Structure
The Gospel of Thomas is a collection of 114 sayings attributed to Jesus. It is often categorized as a sayings gospel, which means that it contains sayings of Jesus but does not include a narrative structure or detailed stories about His life, death, and resurrection, as seen in the canonical Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. The text presents itself as a compilation of wisdom sayings or logia (Greek for “sayings”), which purportedly were preserved by the apostle Thomas.
In terms of content, many of the sayings in the Gospel of Thomas bear resemblance to sayings found in the canonical Gospels, such as those in the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke). However, there are notable differences in the interpretation and focus. For example, the Gospel of Thomas emphasizes personal mystical knowledge and the self-revelation of the divine in a way that differs significantly from the canonical Gospels’ focus on the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.
Gnostic Influences
The Gospel of Thomas has long been associated with Gnosticism, an early heretical movement that emphasized secret knowledge (gnosis) as the key to salvation. Gnosticism often depicted the material world as inherently corrupt and sought spiritual enlightenment through hidden knowledge and personal revelation. Some of the sayings in the Gospel of Thomas reflect Gnostic themes, such as a focus on inner knowledge, spiritual enlightenment, and self-realization, rather than salvation through Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection.
This connection to Gnosticism is a crucial factor in why the Gospel of Thomas is not part of the biblical canon. The early Christian church was wary of Gnostic teachings, which it considered heretical because they deviated from the core doctrines of Christianity. The apostolic teachings, which the canon was intended to preserve, emphasized faith in Christ, His atoning death, and the resurrection, rather than a secret mystical knowledge available only to a few.
The Canon of Scripture and the Criteria for Inclusion
Early Christian Canonization Process
The process of determining which books would be included in the New Testament canon was gradual and complex. Early Christians did not have an officially defined canon of Scripture, and the process of establishing the biblical canon took several centuries. The first substantial list of New Testament books appears in Athanasius’ Festal Letter in 367 AD, which listed the 27 books we now recognize as the New Testament. By the end of the 4th century, the Councils of Hippo (393 AD) and Carthage (397 AD) confirmed this list.
A number of factors influenced the decisions about which books were included in the canon, including:
- Apostolic Origin: The book needed to be either written by an apostle or closely associated with the apostles.
- Orthodox Teaching: The book needed to reflect the core teachings of the Christian faith, particularly those centered on the person and work of Jesus Christ.
- Widespread Use: The book needed to be widely accepted and used in Christian worship and teaching across different regions.
- Consistency with Established Doctrine: The book had to align with the theology and practices that had been established in the broader Christian community.
The Role of Apostolic Authority
One of the most important criteria for inclusion in the New Testament canon was apostolic authority. Books that were written by the apostles or by close associates of the apostles were considered to have the highest authority. The Gospel of Thomas, however, does not meet this criterion. While it is attributed to Thomas, there is no strong historical evidence to suggest that the apostle Thomas actually wrote it. The Gospel of Thomas was likely composed in the mid-2nd century, at least a generation after Thomas’ death, and its authorship is debated among scholars.
The association of the Gospel with Thomas does not guarantee its authenticity or apostolic authority. Early Christians were particularly cautious about works that were falsely attributed to apostles, and many such writings were rejected because they did not have direct ties to the apostolic tradition.
Theological Concerns and Doctrinal Discrepancies
Theological Differences with the Canonical Gospels
One of the main reasons the Gospel of Thomas was not included in the canon is the theological differences it presents compared to the canonical Gospels. The canonical Gospels emphasize the death and resurrection of Jesus as the central aspects of the Christian faith, as these events are foundational to the concept of salvation in Christianity. For example, in the Gospel of John, Jesus’ death and resurrection are seen as the fulfillment of God’s plan for salvation (John 3:16; 19:30). The apostle Paul’s writings, such as Romans 3:23-25, underscore that salvation is achieved through faith in Jesus Christ’s atoning sacrifice.
In contrast, the Gospel of Thomas is much more focused on personal enlightenment and spiritual knowledge. It does not mention the crucifixion or the resurrection of Jesus, and the message it conveys is more in line with mysticism and Gnostic thought than with the core doctrines of Christianity. For example, in Thomas 113, Jesus states:
“His disciples said to him, ‘When will the kingdom come?’ Jesus said, ‘It will not come by waiting for it. It will not be a matter of saying, “Here it is” or “There it is.” Rather, the kingdom of the Father is spread out upon the earth, and people do not see it.'” (Thomas 113)
This teaching contrasts sharply with the New Testament’s understanding of the kingdom of God as something that is both a present spiritual reality and a future physical one, fully realized at the second coming of Christ (Matthew 6:10; Revelation 21:1-4). The Gospel of Thomas’ more abstract and mystical approach to the kingdom of God raises concerns about its theological consistency with the apostolic gospel.
The Absence of the Atonement
Another key doctrinal concern is the absence of the doctrine of the atonement in the Gospel of Thomas. The canonical Gospels make it clear that Jesus’ death on the cross was a sacrificial atonement for the sins of humanity (Matthew 26:28; Mark 14:24; Luke 22:20; John 1:29; Romans 5:8). This atonement is central to Christian salvation.
However, the Gospel of Thomas does not mention the crucifixion or atonement, and instead emphasizes knowledge and self-realization. This focus on knowledge rather than redemption through Christ’s sacrifice is a significant departure from orthodox Christian theology and made the Gospel of Thomas unacceptable to those who were forming the canon.
The Gospel of Thomas and Gnosticism
The Gnostic Influence
The Gospel of Thomas is often categorized as a Gnostic gospel, and its ideas reflect many of the hallmarks of Gnosticism, a religious movement that was deemed heretical by the early church. Gnostic teachings typically emphasized the pursuit of hidden knowledge or “gnosis” as the key to salvation. They also tended to devalue the physical world, often viewing it as evil or corrupt, and promoted a spiritual salvation that was attained through inner knowledge.
In contrast, the canonical Gospels affirm the goodness of God’s creation (Genesis 1:31) and the importance of Jesus’ physical death and resurrection as a means of atoning for sin and reconciling humanity to God. The Christian Gospel teaches that salvation is not attained through esoteric knowledge but through faith in the person and work of Jesus Christ (John 14:6; Acts 4:12).
The Gnostic influence in the Gospel of Thomas is one of the primary reasons it was excluded from the canon. The early church fathers were adamantly opposed to Gnosticism, and they saw it as a distortion of the true Christian message. Church leaders such as Irenaeus and Tertullian wrote extensively against Gnostic teachings, arguing that they misrepresented the nature of Christ and salvation.
The Gospel of Thomas and the Heresies of the Second Century
The Gospel of Thomas is associated with early Christian heresies, particularly Gnostic sects that flourished in the 2nd century. Many of the church fathers, such as Irenaeus (Against Heresies, 3.2.1) and Origen (Commentary on Matthew, 10.17), rejected Gnostic texts as counterfeit and untrustworthy.
The inclusion of the Gospel of Thomas in the canonical New Testament would have contradicted the orthodox Christian doctrine that was being affirmed at the time by the apostles and early church leaders. For this reason, the church decisively rejected the Gospel of Thomas and similar Gnostic writings, which presented a version of Christianity that was considered unorthodox and outside of the apostolic tradition.
Conclusion
The Gospel of Thomas is not part of the biblical canon because it fails to meet several key criteria for inclusion. First, it lacks clear apostolic authority, as it was likely written in the 2nd century, well after the apostles had died. Second, its theological content diverges significantly from the teachings of the canonical Gospels, particularly in its emphasis on personal mystical knowledge rather than the death and resurrection of Jesus for salvation. Third, its strong Gnostic influence places it outside of the orthodox Christian tradition that the New Testament canon sought to preserve.
While the Gospel of Thomas has historical and scholarly value in understanding early Christian thought and the diversity of religious movements in the 2nd century, it does not align with the core doctrines of Christianity as understood by the early church. As such, it was rightly excluded from the biblical canon, which affirms that salvation is found through faith in the person and work of Jesus Christ. The New Testament canon remains the definitive collection of writings that communicate the apostolic witness to Jesus Christ and His gospel.