The Thomas Gospel

“Split a piece of wood and I'm there;
lift a stone and you will find me”

Gospel of Thomas - Logion 77

The words above come from the core of the Gospel of Thomas, found in 1945 in Nag Hammadi, Egypt. These writings were rejected by the Church and described as heresy. Mainly because its teachings tell us that faith is not manifest in buildings or statues, but in everyday things.

The Gospel of Thomas contains 114 statements that come from Jesus' own mouth. Because Jesus does not entirely match the Jesus in the Bible in this Gospel, we can therefore assume that it is precisely why the church has not recognized this important scripture as an important Gospel. And that is a shame, because it is an interesting and instructive part of Jesus' life.

What is special about Thomas' testimony is that, although a majority of the statements mentioned in his Gospel are found in the canonical gospels, he confronts us with a religious perception that is different from the faith held by the Christian Church. The new thing in Jesus' message is completely different from the old. It's the new wine that doesn't belong in old bottles, the new rug that doesn't need to be confused with an old piece of cloth, a religious experience that has no message about Jewish circumcision. In the awareness of an inner and thus spiritual connection with his absolute Source of Life - a connection for which Jesus appeals to the image of the relationship that united a son with his father in his culture - every person can have access to a more realistic perception of their true nature. Because of that Father, we are all children, just like Jesus himself. So the purpose of his testimony would have been to make each of his brothers and sisters aware of a spiritual presence within themselves. In that experience, true salvation would lie.

Some of Jesus' statements in the Gospel of Thomas