Gospels of Thomas and Philip and Truth - Syriac Christian Church
Gospels of Thomas and Philip and Truth - Syriac Christian Church Gospels of Thomas and Philip and Truth - Syriac Christian Church
33:10, Th 76; here the idea seems similar to that expressed in those extraordinary Hindu religious paintings which show all men and creatures as countless manifestations of one transcendental Deity (the Brahman) — this metaphysic is found in the Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita; see Emanation. Form (23 29 38 52): Latin FORMA; it is a noteworthy idiosyncrasy of both this text and the Supremacy that the Latin term is employed rather than the Gk ΜΟΡΦΗ (www.metalog.org/files/supremacy.txt). Logoi (43): Gk ΛΟΓΟΙ; this is the plural of ΛΟΓΟΣ (see Meaning in Th Notes), indicating that each Son-or-Daughter of God is a divine Logos like unto the Savior (see Lk 6:40 with Jn 1:1 + Th 108, also Ph 133 where John the Baptist is quoted as Logos!). Metanoia (39): see Rethink in Th Notes. Midst (8): Copt mhte (C190b: amidst, in transition, hence this transitory world); see Transition in Ph Notes and in Tr 3. Recognize (1): see Recognition in Th Notes, Hos 6:6, Mt 5:8. Scheme (18): Gk ΣΧΗΜΑ; form, plan, appearance as opposed to the substantial reality. Seal (42): Copt tb-be (C398b); a sealant such as retsina, used to affix the top onto a jar/amphora to make it airtight (perhaps led to the tradition of retsina flavoring in Gk wine). Commentary The I Ching, hexagram 50 (The Ritual Vessel): The truly divine does not manifest itself apart from humankind. The supreme revelation of God appears in prophets and holy men. To venerate them is true veneration of God. The will of God, as revealed thru them, should be accepted in humility; this brings inner enlightenment and true understanding of the world, and this leads to great good fortune. (Cary Barnes' rendition of Richard Wilhelm's translation) 110
(1) Are the Coptic Gospels Gnostic? ‘The leaning of sophists towards the bypaths of apocrypha is a constant quantity.’ — James Joyce, Ulysses Ever since the initial announcement of the Nag Hammadi find, and unto the present day, the library as a whole has been consistently called ‘gnostic’, both in the scholarly literature and in the popular press. 1 To begin with, the entire Nag Hammadi Library was so labelled in the Preface to the first bilingual editions of Thomas (1959; Biblio.6)— which classification was subsequently accepted by virtually everyone who looked into the text. Thus, representative of almost all subsequent publications was the report of Robert M. Grant & David Noel Freedman, The Secret Sayings of Jesus (1960): ‘[Regarding] the Gospel of Thomas, [Jean] Doresse looked through this gospel in the spring of 1949 and later announced that it was “a Gnostic composition”.... The Gospel of Philip contains nothing but Gnostic speculations.’ Wiser counsel, at least regarding Thomas, soon came from no less an authority than Gilles Quispel at the centenary meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature in 1964: ‘The Gospel of Thomas ... is not gnostic at all. The adherents of the gnostic interpretation ... must explain how the author could possibly say that the buried corpse could rise again (logion 5, Greek version).’ Unfortunately, however, Quispel's seemingly irrefutable point was soon eclipsed by a surge of fascination, in both academic publications and the media, with gnosticism's apparently more exotic enticements. While there may well be gnostic writings amongst the several dozen titles found so significantly near the site of Saint Pachomius' archetypal monastery, the three Coptic Gospels in that collection are demonstrably not gnostic in content. This can most readily be shown via an ordinary syllogism; the remainder of the present essay 1 The citations in Recent Scholarly Comments, in the Introduction above, are but notable exceptions— which the student will encounter only by an extensive review of the more academic literature. More typical are the prejudicial titles of Elaine Pagel’s best-selling The Gnostic Gospels (1979); E.J. Brill’s entire scholarly series, Nag Hammadi Studies: The Coptic Gnostic Library; and The Coptic Gnostic Library: A Complete Edition of the Nag Hammadi Codices, General Editor James M. Robinson (2006 edition)— for these last two, more appropriate titles would surely be The Coptic Monastic Library etc. 111
- Page 59 and 60: are born. Therefore we also are mot
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(1) Are the Coptic <strong>Gospels</strong> Gnostic?<br />
‘The leaning <strong>of</strong> sophists towards the bypaths <strong>of</strong> apocrypha is a constant quantity.’<br />
— James Joyce, Ulysses<br />
Ever since the initial announcement <strong>of</strong> the Nag Hammadi find, <strong>and</strong> unto the<br />
present day, the library as a whole has been consistently called ‘gnostic’, both in the<br />
scholarly literature <strong>and</strong> in the popular press. 1 To begin with, the entire Nag Hammadi<br />
Library was so labelled in the Preface to the first bilingual editions <strong>of</strong> <strong>Thomas</strong> (1959;<br />
Biblio.6)— which classification was subsequently accepted by virtually everyone<br />
who looked into the text. Thus, representative <strong>of</strong> almost all subsequent publications<br />
was the report <strong>of</strong> Robert M. Grant & David Noel Freedman, The Secret Sayings <strong>of</strong><br />
Jesus (1960): ‘[Regarding] the Gospel <strong>of</strong> <strong>Thomas</strong>, [Jean] Doresse looked through<br />
this gospel in the spring <strong>of</strong> 1949 <strong>and</strong> later announced that it was “a Gnostic<br />
composition”.... The Gospel <strong>of</strong> <strong>Philip</strong> contains nothing but Gnostic speculations.’<br />
Wiser counsel, at least regarding <strong>Thomas</strong>, soon came from no less an authority than<br />
Gilles Quispel at the centenary meeting <strong>of</strong> the Society <strong>of</strong> Biblical Literature in 1964:<br />
‘The Gospel <strong>of</strong> <strong>Thomas</strong> ... is not gnostic at all. The adherents <strong>of</strong> the gnostic<br />
interpretation ... must explain how the author could possibly say that the buried<br />
corpse could rise again (logion 5, Greek version).’ Unfortunately, however, Quispel's<br />
seemingly irrefutable point was soon eclipsed by a surge <strong>of</strong> fascination, in both<br />
academic publications <strong>and</strong> the media, with gnosticism's apparently more exotic<br />
enticements.<br />
While there may well be gnostic writings amongst the several dozen titles found<br />
so significantly near the site <strong>of</strong> Saint Pachomius' archetypal monastery, the three<br />
Coptic <strong>Gospels</strong> in that collection are demonstrably not gnostic in content. This can<br />
most readily be shown via an ordinary syllogism; the remainder <strong>of</strong> the present essay<br />
1 The citations in Recent Scholarly Comments, in the Introduction above, are but notable exceptions— which the student will<br />
encounter only by an extensive review <strong>of</strong> the more academic literature. More typical are the prejudicial titles <strong>of</strong> Elaine Pagel’s<br />
best-selling The Gnostic <strong>Gospels</strong> (1979); E.J. Brill’s entire scholarly series, Nag Hammadi Studies: The Coptic Gnostic<br />
Library; <strong>and</strong> The Coptic Gnostic Library: A Complete Edition <strong>of</strong> the Nag Hammadi Codices, General Editor James M. Robinson<br />
(2006 edition)— for these last two, more appropriate titles would surely be The Coptic Monastic Library etc.<br />
111
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