Before We get to Thomas

There is a lot in the Gospel of Thomas that echoes with the other Gospels: parables and sayings that match - sometimes word for word - with those in the New Testament, but this is a very different gospel. There is no 'story' here. Thomas is a collection of sayings and aphorisms, lessons with no real context.

There is, however, some context, sometimes implied by little bits of information or comments from other characters, sometimes it is assumed from other gnostic writings.

Although I find the term 'gnostic' a bit troubling (there was a VAST range of different groups that we now consider part of the 'gnostic' worldview), there are two general points that are pretty consistent throughout these writings that some suggest are underlying the sayings in Thomas.

First, the creator of this world is not the highest god. The world was created by a lesser divine being and both that creator and the cosmos are marked by ignorance, a lack of knowledge.

Second, Jesus does not save people from death by dying, but by showing them the truth of the world and revealing the hidden god who resides above the creator and the cosmos.

So, without further ado....